• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

Important info on a TANG need NJ advice!

nightmarepl

NJRC Member
hey guys i know i could always count on your advice, so today petco has a huge sale and i really really wanted a yellow tang in my tank and yes i know tang police hate small tangs in small tanks

But i got a small about a 1-2 inch yellow “ wild “ tang i inspected the major things.... gills fins mouth eating and ich ofcourse.. it ate perfectly
No damage to the body. Zero site of white dots “ ich “ but in the tank they had 8 tangs 3 had ich this one did not have one spec of ich

I was scared cause i never really dealed with ich before i took the tang home did a drip acclimation for about 30 minutes tangs perfectly fine swimming eating mysis no signs of ich


My major question is will it get ich from the others in the tank if it does how can i stop it save it or what ever tank mates are 2 clowns 1 watchman goby 1 damsel

Require your advice guys
 

Attachments

  • F6442147-F187-423B-B5C9-C9BA01865DC1.jpeg
    F6442147-F187-423B-B5C9-C9BA01865DC1.jpeg
    926.4 KB · Views: 9

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
If it is in the same system(sump) then yes it has been exposed to the ich. If you put it in a small tank, you will stress it. Ich loves stressed fishies.
 

horseplay

NJRC Member
It will get ich and it will give ich to other fish in the tank.

When a tang go into a small tank it gets stressed out and stress out others and they all get sick.

When this happens if you want to save the fish, remove all the fish and do tank to tank transfer. You will need 2 tank large enough to perform this procedure. Then you will need to fallow your current tank 72+ days.

Some here are familiar with the copper method to treat ich but then you still need to fallow your existing tank for 72+ days. And using copper is quite complicated to assure the right dosage.

Sorry bud. You can pray that sometimes does work.
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
If there are no corals or inverts you can go hyposalinity. Just because you can’t see it does not mean he does not have it. It just only shows that way during certain phases of its life. I would almost guarantee you have ick now.
 
If the other fish in the tank had ich. It depends on how long he was in there with them. But if he shows signs of ich in a couple days. Just keep the tank stress free and feed some nori you can beat it. I had a kole tang that had ich none of my other fish got it and he beat it. Never had a problem with it and that was over a year ago but it's a 225 gallon tank. How big is the tank
 
Last edited:

nightmarepl

NJRC Member
If the other fish in the tank had ich. It depends on how long he was in there with them. But if he shows signs of ich in a couple days. Just keep the tank stress free and feed some nori you can beat it. I had a kole tang that had ich none of my other fish got it and he beat it. Never had a problem with it and that was over a year ago.
What’s the best food you recommend me getting for this guy
 

nightmarepl

NJRC Member
It will get ich and it will give ich to other fish in the tank.

When a tang go into a small tank it gets stressed out and stress out others and they all get sick.

When this happens if you want to save the fish, remove all the fish and do tank to tank transfer. You will need 2 tank large enough to perform this procedure. Then you will need to fallow your current tank 72+ days.

Some here are familiar with the copper method to treat ich but then you still need to fallow your existing tank for 72+ days. And using copper is quite complicated to assure the right dosage.

Sorry bud. You can pray that sometimes does work.
The tank is a 40g cube the tang is tiny 2 quarter sized
It’s been eating has a lot of hiding places I’ll be feeding nori heard that helps think it’s possibld to beat?
 

nightmarepl

NJRC Member
If i do setup a quarantine tank would a 10 gallon one be enough to quarantine the 4 fish including the tang at once for let’s say 60 days? And if so how would you treat this tank what’s, also if i do setup a QT tank doesn’t it have to cycle for a week or so
 

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
If you throw the tang into a 10g it'll stress it (and the other fish) more.
More stress = decreased immunity = more ich.
Saying that, don't panic or stress, it is what it is. Going crazy will stress the fish more.
If you don't have large tanks for transfer and treatment, and don't have a QT big enough, run things normally and go the antibiotic route.
Treat the whole tank with teetracycline, or maybe this or similar may help...
API® Liquid Super Ick Cure | fish Disease Treatment | PetSmart
 

njtiger24 aquariums

Officer Emeritus
Article Contributor
Ok, as you might already have gotten the understanding but here my 2 cents for what its worth.

First - as @Mark_C said don't freak out and go crazy. Going crazy and doing multiple things at once will cause more issues and headach.

Second - It doesn't matter the size of the tang. Tangs need their space, even small tangs. With that said I been in your shoes. I had two tangs in a 54g corner for 2 years; yellow and powered brown. Beside your tank being small (40g), it doesn't provide enough swimming space for the tang (as it a cube). At least my tank provided room for them to swim side to side as there are not always up and down swimmers . Now my tank was too small as well but again I rolled the dice and they were fine for 2 years and then I broke my tank down and sold them off. During the 2 years I had no ich now saw any signs of stress.

Third - Even if he not showing ich if he was in a tank with ich then he has it. If he has it and you put him in your tank now your tank has ich.

Personally I never battled ich and I wish you the best of luck with your tang. Hopefully he pulls though
 
If all else fails and you can’t treat the fish, you can try a cleaner shrimp. 6 years ago I came home to my blue hippo tang covered with white spots. Everything I read was to blow tank up and I didn’t have the means to do it. Then read somewhere to try a cleaner shrimp and keep feeding. 2 days later, not 1 spot on the tang and 6 years later he is as big as a horse and the boss of my tank. Sometimes nature can fix things itself. Good luck and don’t panic!!
 
How is your tang doin?

It is constantly said in this thread, if you don’t see ich, it doesn’t mean it’s there. Perhaps, it’s in the early life cycle. Do you maintain a proper quarantine system? I would treat the tang in a separate quarantine system with api super ich cure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

nightmarepl

NJRC Member
How is your tang doin?

It is constantly said in this thread, if you don’t see ich, it doesn’t mean it’s there. Perhaps, it’s in the early life cycle. Do you maintain a proper quarantine system? I would treat the tang in a separate quarantine system with api super ich cure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
i dont have a quarantine system could set one up but only about 10-20 gallons tops which isnt much help, the tang is currently doing really well no signs of ich on any fish hes been eating mysis and seaweed non stop which is a good sign im trying to get him to eat pellets
 
Top