To catch a Powder Blue

oharaell · 05/14/2007, 11:35 AM

OK... It just aint happening...

My PB has a horrible case of ich. Well, it looks horrible anyway. He's eating fine and doesn't seem to mind it too much. But the ich has killed 2 of my Black Saddle Backs, and I've gotta get him into my quarenteen tank. I just CAN NOT catch the quick little sucker!

Any ideas? Short of breaking down my tanks?

I'm actually thinking I'm gunna quarenteen him for like 6 weeks, get rid of the ich, and take him back to my LFS.

Reading about them makes me feel guilty for having him in my 36x18x24 70 gal. I just didn't do my research before I got him.

J. Montgomery · 05/14/2007, 11:41 AM

If you're going to QT one fish for ich, then you need to QT all of your fish and treat them with copper-based medication. Otherwise, theres no real point.

When the normal fish traps don't work, I hear fishing with a hook (with barb cut off) works pretty well, though I've never tried any methods myself.

oharaell · 05/14/2007, 12:00 PM

OUCH!

I mean, he'd heal ok?

Has anyone else tried this? Seems a bit cruel, but I mean, if it makes just a little "boo-boo", and he heals fine, and I can get rid of his ich and maybe get him in a bigger tank it might be worth it...

What does everyone think about this?

About QTing the whole tank...
I understand why you'd do it. I've read and read about the ich life cycle. However, none of my other fish seem to have any problem. The PB has had ich for over 2 months now.
Health seems fine, fat as ever and will just about eat out of my hand (but too quick for me to grab him). Plus, I've got a spotted Rabbit fish in there, and I'd rather not be trying to hand catch fish with him running around.

Anyway, the ich issue is mainly cosmetic. None of my other fish seem to come down with it, and the PB has had it for at least 2 ich cycles...

Drifter9 · 05/14/2007, 02:28 PM

I've had to catch my Purple Tang a couple of times when I moved to my new house and then again when I moved the tank to another room. I took most of my live rock out or at least put it on the bottom of the tank, then I used a large zip lock "big bag" and hearded him in there. Those bags are massive and it worked very well. He swims in and kind of wedges himself in the folds of the bag, thinking he's hiding. You may catch a few other fish when doing this but I was trying to catch them all so it didn't bother me too much when my clown came along for the ride.

oharaell · 05/14/2007, 02:39 PM

interesting idea! Thanks.. I'll give that a shot!

SDguy · 05/14/2007, 03:24 PM

Normal fish traps will work. You just have to be patient and feed the fish in the trap every day. Eventually they will go in.

carnavor · 05/14/2007, 04:41 PM

if you have a reef tank, just use kill ick its reef safe takes about a week of treatments. make sure you remove carbon and turn off skimmer.
stuff work great. thatpetplace.com and marinedepot.co have the stuff.

GOOD LUCK

oharaell · 05/14/2007, 05:07 PM

Marine Depot has some rough reviews about it-- BUT
3 of the 5 are the same guy...
I wish MD would fix that!

anjhof · 05/14/2007, 09:05 PM

get a nice u/v sterilizer and some cleaner shrimp.
but, if you want to get him out anyways, do what it takes - i had to catch one a couple of times - only way was to take out all the rock and most of the water.
Use 2 nets!

oharaell · 05/15/2007, 08:16 AM

Just bought the Coralife 18W... Got a cleaner that the PB sometime lets work on him...

I'll let everyone know how it goes. I think I'm gunna plumb up the uv and let that run for a couple weeks and see if it helps.

andrewsmart · 05/15/2007, 08:32 AM

those are really just cosmetic measures might help to some extent. but will not cure the problem.

if you want rid of ich i would get all your fish out and treat them leaving the display empty for 8 weeks.

i would use hypo to treat them. see www.marineaquariumadvice.com.

in the library under news from the waterfront.

anjhof · 05/15/2007, 03:00 PM

From personal experience:
I had an ich outbreak in my tank. The steps I performed were:
1. Bought a Coralife turbo twist UV
2. Bought a cleaner shrimp
3. Soaked their food in fresh garlic juice for about a week or two.

My ich went away - that was nearly 3 years ago. I did not lose a fish and have never seen it come back.
Every few weeks someone on this site posts something about their fish getting ich. Different people propose different solutions. Many people say that UV and shrimp and garlic don't work. I am here to tell you what worked for me. I am 100% convinced this worked - I have 7 happy fish to prove me correct. Ich did not disappear on its own -I am not that lucky : )
- it went away because of the steps I took.
There are multiple solutions to most problems - and this is true in this case too. Give it a try and share your results.
Just be careful you don't have large temperature swings. A sudden chill seems to trigger PBT's coming down with ich very easily.

oharaell · 05/15/2007, 03:32 PM

Well-- UV is on the way, and I've been garlic soaking for about a month now...

I'll see how the UV works...

joeychitwood · 05/15/2007, 03:53 PM

Whatever method you use, try not to stress the fish too much. It's already under stress from the Ich.

I've caught fish with a tiny trout hook in the past when netting, trapping or other methods failed. It's relatively low stress to the fish, and the mouth heals in days.

oharaell · 05/21/2007, 09:50 AM

UPDATE
used a simple fish trap from the LFS. Had to leave it in water overnight, then caught him the next morning with some Garlic soaked Nori.

He's in QT now. Set water temp to a constant 84 (recommendation from another customer at LFS) and dosing water with Metronidazole.

No visible signs of ICH at all, in fact it seemed to leave in the first day!

I'm gunna leave him in QT for at least another 2 weeks though. He seems quite content in there. I took a little plastic paint tray (unused of course) and cut a whole in it. He thinks it's his little castle! Eating the heck out of Nori when I add it, and I give him a little of the food I give the rest of the aquarium

My UV should arrive today, and I'll plumb that up on the display to get any ich left in the water column.

I think I might actually beat this ich yet!

So, now the question is... Do I keep the PB? Or take him back to the LFS?

I've got a 36x18x25 (70 some gal)...

Michelle L · 05/21/2007, 10:35 AM

I would return him. PBT's are notorious for getting ich when they are stressed, and in a 70 gallon tank he will be stressed because they need a lot of room to swim. You will most likely battle ich on and off the whole time that you have him.

oharaell · 05/21/2007, 10:38 AM

That's the way I'm leaning...

How about getting a small hippo?

techreef · 05/21/2007, 10:45 AM

hippos are called hippos for a reason; they get really big!

they grow up to 12" long. i think the only tangs that would never be stressed in a 70G tank would be the bristletooth Tomini and the Kole tangs. Good luck. It's great that you're considering your fish's health here, not just what you want in your tank.

t5Nitro · 05/21/2007, 06:26 PM

Hippos are ich magnets too. Just treat make sure he keeps eating and the ich should go away. I was also told to raise the temperature in the tank as that will kill the cell membrane of ich, maybe the 84 degrees cured it.

oharaell · 05/21/2007, 08:24 PM

Yeah, once I QTed him, I raised the QT tank to 84 it seemed to leave the next day.

oct2274 · 05/21/2007, 11:59 PM

just because you don't see ich doesn't mean it isn't there, it can lay dormant for upto 4 weeks and go wild. Seen fish that look great for two weeks in QT and then be totally infested all of a sudden. If you really love your fish leave it in qt for 4 weeks after the last sign of ich. If in that time all is good, than think about getting the water matched up with the display very slowly. Personally i find that hypo treatment works best with tangs and you do not need to run the temperature that high. I find hypo and temperature of 80 to work great. Make sure to check ph in qt cause it is very important!

anjhof · 05/22/2007, 08:41 AM

I would do more research on ich not surviving in water over 84 degrees. From what I recall, the life cycle of ich is sped up in warmer water. This is the reason why ich medicine tells you to increase the water temperature.
The ich is only vulnerable to medicine when it is free floating in the water. The life cycle of ich consists of eggs- then they hatch and are in the water column, then they attach to a fish.
The medicine can only kill them while they are in the water. Like I said, try to do more research on this, but I believe what I said is true. If not, please let me know what you find.

05/14/2007, 11:35 AM	#1
oharaell Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 206	To catch a Powder Blue OK... It just aint happening... My PB has a horrible case of ich. Well, it looks horrible anyway. He's eating fine and doesn't seem to mind it too much. But the ich has killed 2 of my Black Saddle Backs, and I've gotta get him into my quarenteen tank. I just CAN NOT catch the quick little sucker! Any ideas? Short of breaking down my tanks? I'm actually thinking I'm gunna quarenteen him for like 6 weeks, get rid of the ich, and take him back to my LFS. Reading about them makes me feel guilty for having him in my 36x18x24 70 gal. I just didn't do my research before I got him.

05/14/2007, 11:41 AM	#2
J. Montgomery Mouth Pipetting Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Charlottesville, VA Posts: 6,278	If you're going to QT one fish for ich, then you need to QT all of your fish and treat them with copper-based medication. Otherwise, theres no real point. When the normal fish traps don't work, I hear fishing with a hook (with barb cut off) works pretty well, though I've never tried any methods myself. __________________ Josh

05/14/2007, 03:24 PM	#6
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	Normal fish traps will work. You just have to be patient and feed the fish in the trap every day. Eventually they will go in. __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

05/15/2007, 08:32 AM	#11
andrewsmart Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: glasgow, scotland Posts: 369	those are really just cosmetic measures might help to some extent. but will not cure the problem. if you want rid of ich i would get all your fish out and treat them leaving the display empty for 8 weeks. i would use hypo to treat them. see www.marineaquariumadvice.com. in the library under news from the waterfront. __________________ I remember my prom. my girlfriend wore a metallic purple, black lace, beaded number that was straples she was a Purple Beast. I was terrified her D-sized boobies were going to pop out and attack me. Current Tank Info: FOWLR

05/21/2007, 10:35 AM	#16
Michelle L Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Normal, IL Posts: 921	I would return him. PBT's are notorious for getting ich when they are stressed, and in a 70 gallon tank he will be stressed because they need a lot of room to swim. You will most likely battle ich on and off the whole time that you have him. __________________ At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. Current Tank Info: 220 Gal. Reef; 50 Gal. sump/fuge; Aqua-Medic T5000 Shorty Skimmer; 3 Aqua-Medic 400 Watt Ocean Light Mogul MH 18" Pendants; and 2 Tunze 6100's

05/14/2007, 12:00 PM	#3
oharaell Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 206	OUCH! I mean, he'd heal ok? Has anyone else tried this? Seems a bit cruel, but I mean, if it makes just a little "boo-boo", and he heals fine, and I can get rid of his ich and maybe get him in a bigger tank it might be worth it... What does everyone think about this? About QTing the whole tank... I understand why you'd do it. I've read and read about the ich life cycle. However, none of my other fish seem to have any problem. The PB has had ich for over 2 months now. Health seems fine, fat as ever and will just about eat out of my hand (but too quick for me to grab him). Plus, I've got a spotted Rabbit fish in there, and I'd rather not be trying to hand catch fish with him running around. Anyway, the ich issue is mainly cosmetic. None of my other fish seem to come down with it, and the PB has had it for at least 2 ich cycles...

05/14/2007, 02:28 PM	#4
Drifter9 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Detroit MI Posts: 17	I've had to catch my Purple Tang a couple of times when I moved to my new house and then again when I moved the tank to another room. I took most of my live rock out or at least put it on the bottom of the tank, then I used a large zip lock "big bag" and hearded him in there. Those bags are massive and it worked very well. He swims in and kind of wedges himself in the folds of the bag, thinking he's hiding. You may catch a few other fish when doing this but I was trying to catch them all so it didn't bother me too much when my clown came along for the ride.

05/14/2007, 02:39 PM	#5
oharaell Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 206	interesting idea! Thanks.. I'll give that a shot!

05/14/2007, 04:41 PM	#7
carnavor Moved On Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Douglassville, PA Posts: 128	if you have a reef tank, just use kill ick its reef safe takes about a week of treatments. make sure you remove carbon and turn off skimmer. stuff work great. thatpetplace.com and marinedepot.co have the stuff. GOOD LUCK

05/14/2007, 05:07 PM	#8
oharaell Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 206	Marine Depot has some rough reviews about it-- BUT 3 of the 5 are the same guy... I wish MD would fix that!

05/14/2007, 09:05 PM	#9
anjhof Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Huntley, IL Posts: 746	get a nice u/v sterilizer and some cleaner shrimp. but, if you want to get him out anyways, do what it takes - i had to catch one a couple of times - only way was to take out all the rock and most of the water. Use 2 nets!

05/15/2007, 08:16 AM	#10
oharaell Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 206	Just bought the Coralife 18W... Got a cleaner that the PB sometime lets work on him... I'll let everyone know how it goes. I think I'm gunna plumb up the uv and let that run for a couple weeks and see if it helps.

05/15/2007, 03:00 PM	#12
anjhof Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Huntley, IL Posts: 746	From personal experience: I had an ich outbreak in my tank. The steps I performed were: 1. Bought a Coralife turbo twist UV 2. Bought a cleaner shrimp 3. Soaked their food in fresh garlic juice for about a week or two. My ich went away - that was nearly 3 years ago. I did not lose a fish and have never seen it come back. Every few weeks someone on this site posts something about their fish getting ich. Different people propose different solutions. Many people say that UV and shrimp and garlic don't work. I am here to tell you what worked for me. I am 100% convinced this worked - I have 7 happy fish to prove me correct. Ich did not disappear on its own -I am not that lucky : ) - it went away because of the steps I took. There are multiple solutions to most problems - and this is true in this case too. Give it a try and share your results. Just be careful you don't have large temperature swings. A sudden chill seems to trigger PBT's coming down with ich very easily.

05/15/2007, 03:32 PM	#13
oharaell Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 206	Well-- UV is on the way, and I've been garlic soaking for about a month now... I'll see how the UV works...

05/15/2007, 03:53 PM	#14
joeychitwood Schrödinger's Mod Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 3,488	Whatever method you use, try not to stress the fish too much. It's already under stress from the Ich. I've caught fish with a tiny trout hook in the past when netting, trapping or other methods failed. It's relatively low stress to the fish, and the mouth heals in days.

05/21/2007, 09:50 AM	#15
oharaell Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 206	UPDATE used a simple fish trap from the LFS. Had to leave it in water overnight, then caught him the next morning with some Garlic soaked Nori. He's in QT now. Set water temp to a constant 84 (recommendation from another customer at LFS) and dosing water with Metronidazole. No visible signs of ICH at all, in fact it seemed to leave in the first day! I'm gunna leave him in QT for at least another 2 weeks though. He seems quite content in there. I took a little plastic paint tray (unused of course) and cut a whole in it. He thinks it's his little castle! Eating the heck out of Nori when I add it, and I give him a little of the food I give the rest of the aquarium My UV should arrive today, and I'll plumb that up on the display to get any ich left in the water column. I think I might actually beat this ich yet! So, now the question is... Do I keep the PB? Or take him back to the LFS? I've got a 36x18x25 (70 some gal)...

05/21/2007, 10:38 AM	#17
oharaell Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 206	That's the way I'm leaning... How about getting a small hippo?

05/21/2007, 10:45 AM	#18
techreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montclair, NJ Posts: 1,046	hippos are called hippos for a reason; they get really big! they grow up to 12" long. i think the only tangs that would never be stressed in a 70G tank would be the bristletooth Tomini and the Kole tangs. Good luck. It's great that you're considering your fish's health here, not just what you want in your tank.

05/21/2007, 06:26 PM	#19
t5Nitro Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 4,384	Hippos are ich magnets too. Just treat make sure he keeps eating and the ich should go away. I was also told to raise the temperature in the tank as that will kill the cell membrane of ich, maybe the 84 degrees cured it. __________________ ATI T5 club Current Tank Info: Left the hobby, looking to re-enter in the future

05/21/2007, 08:24 PM	#20
oharaell Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 206	Yeah, once I QTed him, I raised the QT tank to 84 it seemed to leave the next day.

05/21/2007, 11:59 PM	#21
oct2274 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 2,347	just because you don't see ich doesn't mean it isn't there, it can lay dormant for upto 4 weeks and go wild. Seen fish that look great for two weeks in QT and then be totally infested all of a sudden. If you really love your fish leave it in qt for 4 weeks after the last sign of ich. If in that time all is good, than think about getting the water matched up with the display very slowly. Personally i find that hypo treatment works best with tangs and you do not need to run the temperature that high. I find hypo and temperature of 80 to work great. Make sure to check ph in qt cause it is very important!

05/22/2007, 08:41 AM	#22
anjhof Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Huntley, IL Posts: 746	I would do more research on ich not surviving in water over 84 degrees. From what I recall, the life cycle of ich is sped up in warmer water. This is the reason why ich medicine tells you to increase the water temperature. The ich is only vulnerable to medicine when it is free floating in the water. The life cycle of ich consists of eggs- then they hatch and are in the water column, then they attach to a fish. The medicine can only kill them while they are in the water. Like I said, try to do more research on this, but I believe what I said is true. If not, please let me know what you find.