Are there any Tangs that arent Ich Magnets??

[ghstrider]

Ive had a Hippo tang for 3 years and he gets ich like i get a cold... A few times a year. Most of the time he doesnt spread it but it has happened. Hes by far my strongest and fattest fish but I may swap him out and was wondering if there are any type of tangs that are better at not getting ich? And i know that if i let my tank run for several weeks and treat all the fish i could eliminate the ich but i dont have a big enuff qt so thats not possible.

I dont see yellow tangs being known as ich magnets like the pbt and hippo.

[ghstrider]

Thoughts??

[chalice]

I have a scopas tang and he seems to never get ick! I had two bouts with ick once it killed 2 of my fish and left the scopas unharmed, and the other time my Blue Hippo got it but my scopas once again did not get it! I do not know if mine is special but I guess its something to do more research on!

[TampaReefer79]

I don't think your question even has an answer...but I'll say that I've seen quite a few yellow tangs with 'black ich'. Never in my own tanks thang god, and I've never seen it on any other fish. I think your question is really so broad that it can't be answered. I think ANY fish can be an 'ich magnet' if in the wrong conditions, wrong tank, wrong diet, wrong tankmates (stressed), and if no qt has been in order.


Of course after typing all of that I think back through the years and can say that I've never seen a member of the unicorn family with ich. I'm not advocating you go buy 4, but I guess they'd be 'less' of an ich magnet. Or maybe I've just not seen enough of them. ;)

[ghstrider]

I don't think your question even has an answer...but I'll say that I've seen quite a few yellow tangs with 'black ich'. Never in my own tanks thang god, and I've never seen it on any other fish. I think your question is really so broad that it can't be answered. I think ANY fish can be an 'ich magnet' if in the wrong conditions, wrong tank, wrong diet, wrong tankmates (stressed), and if no qt has been in order.


Of course after typing all of that I think back through the years and can say that I've never seen a member of the unicorn family with ich. I'm not advocating you go buy 4, but I guess they'd be 'less' of an ich magnet. Or maybe I've just not seen enough of them. ;)

Tampa, i disagree... This is a broad question and CAN be answered. I am not looking for a set in stone answer but rather an educated opinion. Ive always seen hippos and powder blues have a higher susceptibilty. But thats from my limited knowledge.

I was thinking of a yellow eye kole or a mustard tang... Opinions?

[HASBRO]

Over the years i have ick in my tank every so often but have never seen a spot on my orange shoulder or my unicorn.

[AfricaOffroad]

Try a Sohal tang.
They are so mean that even ich is intimidated by them.

[jaa1456]

Yellow tangs get ich easily, I have seen several with it over 16 years. Hippos, Goldrim, Powder brown and blue, And achilles are the "Ick magnent fish" so to speak. What size tank do you have? That will determine also what fish would be better suited. Naso tangs are very hardy and great looking fish, But do you have a tank large enough for one? Anything in the Zebrosoma family is generally an Ick magnent also.

[TampaReefer79]

Almost ANY fish can be an 'ich magnet' in a stressful environment with ich present...thus the question is not valid.

[Trichome]

Almost ANY fish can be an 'ich magnet' in a stressful environment with ich present...thus the question is not valid.

this is very true. If you QT your fish from day one you should not have ich present in you tank. Any tang you put in your tank will get ich if you have it in your tank.

[AfricaOffroad]

So here is my recent experiences ( 8 months) with tangs and ich:

1) Sohal - zero
2) Yellow tang, extremely resistant even when other fish were infested
3) Purple - dropped him in tank, not one spot
4) Convict - bullet proof from day 1
5) Olivaceas - few spots initially but quickly cleared up
6) Blochii - tiny caught specimen, came with ich that quickly cleared
7) Nigrofuscus - same as above
8) Naso - no white spot, but died anyway as he simply refused to eat properly
9) Japonicus - nightmare, a ich breeding factory that infected my whole system, had to treat him twice and only now, after 6 months is he spot free in my quarantine tank where he now lives permanently. I'm too scared of him reinfecting my whole system, plus the sohal will moer him stukkend (beat the hell out of him). All the while he was infested he was fine, eating and carrying on as normal. Unfortunately everything else in the tank caught his disease.


When I kept fish some years ago, I found powder blues to be a problem, although they did clear up after treatment. Regals were a nightmare, bit on the lines of my powder brown, killing everything around them. Will not put one in my tank now, nor an achilles which seems to have a reputation worse than my powdered friends

[jaa1456]

So here is my recent experiences ( 8 months) with tangs and ich:

1) Sohal - zero
2) Yellow tang, extremely resistant even when other fish were infested
3) Purple - dropped him in tank, not one spot
4) Convict - bullet proof from day 1
5) Olivaceas - few spots initially but quickly cleared up
6) Blochii - tiny caught specimen, came with ich that quickly cleared
7) Nigrofuscus - same as above
8) Naso - no white spot, but died anyway as he simply refused to eat properly
9) Japonicus - nightmare, a ich breeding factory that infected my whole system, had to treat him twice and only now, after 6 months is he spot free in my quarantine tank where he now lives permanently. I'm too scared of him reinfecting my whole system, plus the sohal will moer him stukkend (beat the hell out of him). All the while he was infested he was fine, eating and carrying on as normal. Unfortunately everything else in the tank caught his disease.


When I kept fish some years ago, I found powder blues to be a problem, although they did clear up after treatment. Regals were a nightmare, bit on the lines of my powder brown, killing everything around them. Will not put one in my tank now, nor an achilles which seems to have a reputation worse than my powdered friendsI have never personally owned a Convict tang, but from others I have seen and stories I have heard they were mostly on the bad side.

[Stuart60611]

All tangs are ich magnets not because they attract ich but instead because they lack much of a slime coat. Most fish have a substantial slime coat which assist the fish in terms of preventing parasites from geting under the skin. Tangs lack much of a slime coat and therefore ich has much less of a barrier in terms of geting under the skin of a tang. The reverse can be said for a dragonet or an eel which have very substantial slime coats and therefore are more resistant to the ich parasite.