Are there preventative measures for battling ich?
- Thread starter jdnumis
- Start date
Oh boy.
QT a good solid 3 weeks, medically treat only if symptoms are noticed.
Buy from a reputable source that has clean healthy tanks to start with.
QT all future fish and corals (yes, coral can transfer ich to your tank)
There is never a guarantee that you will avoid ich with a Hippo Tang, no matter where it comes from
..and cross your fingers, cause that never hurts
- Location
- Staten Island
uv sterilizer helps also
- Location
- Southampton UK
Good advice there from Kathy imo.
Additionaly (and this applies to all tangs ime,) feed feed feed....get the fish onto the most nutritious and varied diet as soon as possible. (vitamin soaking algae sheet is good as well as other foods)....theres one common trend with tangs that ive encounterd over many years....you'll rarely loose one to whitespot thats fat and fed several times a day (auto feeder is a very useful tool)....
In many cases ive seen, tangs that have mild infections easily shrug it off over time as long as the imune system is up to scratch and the fish has the energy reserves there to help it along...
this doesnt overule good quarentine proceeedures imo, but it is a good guide to solving mild intank infections in all but the most sensitive acanthurus species (achillese, white cheek, powder blues etc)...simply bulk the fish up and keep it relaxed and happy.
regards
Additionaly (and this applies to all tangs ime,) feed feed feed....get the fish onto the most nutritious and varied diet as soon as possible. (vitamin soaking algae sheet is good as well as other foods)....theres one common trend with tangs that ive encounterd over many years....you'll rarely loose one to whitespot thats fat and fed several times a day (auto feeder is a very useful tool)....
In many cases ive seen, tangs that have mild infections easily shrug it off over time as long as the imune system is up to scratch and the fish has the energy reserves there to help it along...
this doesnt overule good quarentine proceeedures imo, but it is a good guide to solving mild intank infections in all but the most sensitive acanthurus species (achillese, white cheek, powder blues etc)...simply bulk the fish up and keep it relaxed and happy.
regards
I quarantine using hyposalinity and use display tank water for top off to raise the salinity back to normal after the quarantine period is over. I will also slowly raise the temperature of the quarantine tank to 86 degree if there is any sign of ich on the fish.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2004/short.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2004/short.htm
All these precautions are great if you have a highly advanced tank with a lot of livestock to protect. I fully respect that. But, if you have a basic tank that is really healthy there is another way.
I just placed a hippo in my tank. It examined one at Tropical Showcase all over. He was the only one in the tank and he had no spots. Wasn't swimming like he was stressed out.
After I acclimated it I put him straight in with my other fish. He took a couple hours and he was swimming around checking everything out.
The next couple days he took to flakes and now runs the tank. No Ick no problems.
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
I just placed a hippo in my tank. It examined one at Tropical Showcase all over. He was the only one in the tank and he had no spots. Wasn't swimming like he was stressed out.
After I acclimated it I put him straight in with my other fish. He took a couple hours and he was swimming around checking everything out.
The next couple days he took to flakes and now runs the tank. No Ick no problems.
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
Im merely stating that precautionary measures are not always necessary. When I thoroughly researched how other people acclimated their hippo tangs I read many people had successfully added them to their tanks through quarantine tanks and still go through ick cycles just because of the nature of the fish. You could go to extreme lengths to acclimate them over weeks and they still contract ick.
Precautionary measures to guard against ick would mean to stay away from the hippo tang all-together.
Precautionary measures to guard against ick would mean to stay away from the hippo tang all-together.
Btw, how many people do you think have, as you say have ''highly advanced tanks with lots of livestock to protect ?''And what do you call a ''basic tank that is really healthy''?And what is the other way?No offence,
i'm just taking notes for my log.Oh! one more thing isn't livefish any fish livestock you would, i hope you would what to protect?
The best and most effective preventative measure for me is to dose their food with garlic, one or two drops is usually sufficient, this will bring up their immune system working as a preventative measure. I usually dose their food for a few weeks when they are new, especially tangs.
No offense taken. I respect your opinion, just adding another level.
Some people in this hobby have tanks with acro, sps, very thought out designs that incorporate calcium reactors, dosers, meters and all kinds of filtration components. They look amazing and that's cool, for them.
Other people keep things really simple, a tank a sump a skimmer and they get just as much satisfaction out of them.
However, if you have a more complex system that has more time and investment then I can see quarantining every fish. Some people go to great lengths to get their tanks exactly where they want them.
Other people don't have the equipment, keeping an average sized hippo tang in quarantine for a month would require at least 40gal.
Some people dont have the time or they simply dont want to go to those lengths. And dont have to. I didnt.
You also have to account for the stress another tank move would put on the fish.
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
Some people in this hobby have tanks with acro, sps, very thought out designs that incorporate calcium reactors, dosers, meters and all kinds of filtration components. They look amazing and that's cool, for them.
Other people keep things really simple, a tank a sump a skimmer and they get just as much satisfaction out of them.
However, if you have a more complex system that has more time and investment then I can see quarantining every fish. Some people go to great lengths to get their tanks exactly where they want them.
Other people don't have the equipment, keeping an average sized hippo tang in quarantine for a month would require at least 40gal.
Some people dont have the time or they simply dont want to go to those lengths. And dont have to. I didnt.
You also have to account for the stress another tank move would put on the fish.
Sent from my iPhone using Reefs
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- Location
- westchester
Listen to Trigger man. All the talk doesn't live up to a UV. In my personal exp. I couldn't keep a single fish until I got one. I had a thriving coral population with no fish. I added the UV and I kept a hippo for three years. He recently died and I replaced him with another Ich prone fish - the powder blue. Proof is in the Pudding!!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tSroRHja1Tg
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tSroRHja1Tg
- Location
- westchester
I guess photographic evidence isn't enough for some people )
)Your photogrphic evidence mean nothing to people how keep these trouble some Tangs without UV's for many years.Besides 3 years isn't even a long time to keep a Hippo Tang alive.Nice job though, i hope you can keep the Powder Blue for much longer.Regaurding the use of a UV.Yes they work for me.Over the years of observations i came up with my own method and specifications i use 30 watt UV's on my fish only tanks.Reef Tanks i may add, the corals didn't do so well. Every tank is different, even if you use an over size UV it doesn't necessarily mean it will do wonders.There is much more to it but as i said they work for me.I guess photographic evidence isn't enough for some people
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