Purple Tang/ICK

[dakine]

I added a purple tang to my tank last night and I found him this morning with a few ick spots on him. I have a maroon clown and a coral beauty in the tank as well and everything has been running smoothly (sal 1.023, ph 8.4, nitrates, nitrites, and amonia are at 0). He still seems very active and picking algae off the LR. Despite my LFS saying how hardy this tang is, I now see almost everywhere that tangs are prone to ick. I've heard of everything from lowering salinity to removing the fish and giving the fish a copper bath. What's the best course of action to take to rid my tank of this dreaded affliction?

 

[Len]

If it's just a few spots, I would leave him along. Tangs will get sick but heal on their own if in a healthy environment. If he's eating and the Ich isn't progressing, it's best to leave him be; stress at this point in time (such as removing him to a new tank) may incite a bigger outbreak. The stress from being put in a new home probably caused the current Ich infection.

Lowering the salinity(hyposalnity) is an effective treatment that I'd try first before copper baths. But again, I'd leave the tang alone and see how his condition gets before doing anything more drastic.

My tang gets Ich every once in a while and heals on its own every time.

 

[dakine]

What about cleaner shrimp? Would they help out much?

 

[Len]

I've had mixed experiences with cleaners helping out with ich. Personally, I don't think they do all that much in regards to C.irritans, but this is just my limited experience.

 

[Anonymous]

I'll back up when Len has already said. I've got a cleaner shrimp, and while he'll really go to town cleaning and taking care of the fish, I've still lost fish to C. Irritans. If the outbreak is bad enough, the shrimp won't be able to clean fast enough. In a situation like yours, though, it might be a help. Plus it's just really damn cool to see that mutualistic interaction between the cleaner and the fish. :-D

 

[Revstarky]

It's my understanding that cleaner shrimp specialize on larger external parasites (flukes, etc.). I agree with the above, give him time to shake it on his own. If the disease does get worse, you'll need to remove all the fish from the infected tank and treat them with hypo in QT.