Ick prevention for Blue Tang... (1 Viewer)

[rxonco]

I just bought a blue tang today and was wondering if I should do anything to treat for ick as a preventative measure.

I've read about garlic being a good method but have not been able to find any specifics on what the procedure is.

Should I even worry about it? Or should I wait and see if it even shows up first? I just figured I would try to prevent any outbreak before it happened.

By the way, I don't have a Q-tank.

 

[Guest]

Well learn from my mistake and get a QT tank. I didnt think it was really necessary either but trust me it is. The garlic method is from Sherri, and she had posted it in here on page 5 i believe, but basically it is to take 6-8 cloves of garlic and do as much cellular damge as possible to the cloves. Place them in a glass of your tank water for about 30 minutes, and then to pour that through a strainer directly inot your tank. What i did was got my baster and shot it directly at my fish with signs of ich. (yes, they are piss-- at me!) But this formula was for a 75 gallon tank.
Look on page 5 underneath a heading of purple tang with ich or something like that and she has it all right there.
By the way was this the hippo tang on the board earlier?

 

[Cakepro]

I treat the tank prophylactically with garlic when adding new fish.

You did an excellent job of paraphrasing the instructions, Eddie. No need to go hunting through old threads. Aiming at 'em with a turkey baster is a great idea!

~ Sherri

 

[rxonco]

Thanks for the help.

No, I got this one from one of the LFS.

 

[rxonco]

One more thing...maybe a stupid question.

When I put the garlic into the tank, should I leave everything on like the filter and the skimmer?

 

[Cakepro]

Yep. I never turn anything off.

~ Sherri

 

[rxonco]

OK, thanks Sherri. Now that I've dosed the tank once for prophylaxis, do I need to repeat this process anymore or do I wait and see what happens?

One other thing...How do I get this god-forsaken smell off of my hands?

 

[AggieBrandon]

at least you won't have to worry about vampires....


rub your hands in some liver...that will take care of it

Brandon

 

[Guest]

Lemon, is a good way.

What did the people at the meeting said to remove the coral fragging smell?

 

[Cakepro]

I usually dose once or twice just for good measure and then wait and see. To get garlic (or xenia or any other tenacious stench) off of your hands, wash with soap and then rub stainless steel over your hands under cold running water. I use a s.s. measuring cup.

~ Sherri

 

[rxonco]

Well, hopefully it will ward off the ick for my new addition.

My living room now smells of garlic and I thank you guys for that.

Suddenly, I'm in the mood for Italian. :chef:

 

[Guest]

Does anyone have a picture to post of hwat the ich larvae capsules look like? I have white circular dots showing up on my glass and shells of the snails here and there as well as the rock. I am thinking it might be pods but would like some confirmation from yall.

 

[KarenB]

Your white dots are most likely teeeeeny weeeeenie little feather duster worms. I've got them in spades. I leave them on the back glass, but when they got on the sides and front, I scrape 'em. The snails have to fend for themselves

 

[Guest]

The use of garlic is mix it in fish food not to use it in the water. I add couple of drops of garlic extract into the fish food and let it soak for couple of minutes before feeding to the fish. Garlic works only for prevention or minor icks. Good Luck.

 

[BiggusDiccus]

As long as the fish is eating and the water quality is good I'd wait. I have had a blue tang for almost a year and every now and then it gets ich. I use it as my barometer for the condition of my water. If the PH drops at night below 8.0 she'll wake up with ich. Not bad just a little. But she eats so by the end of the day it's gone.

 

[rxonco]

Just an update...
So far, so good. The tang is doing great. It's eating well, and believe it or not, I think it has become "friends" with my clownfish. They seem to hang out with each other all day long. They even line up behind one another at my cleaner shrimp's "cleaning station." My 2 1/2 year-old really gets a kick out of it because he just knows that that is the "real" Nemo and Dori.

I know I'm by no means out of the woods, but thanks for the help. I know that if any of my fish do ever get ich, there's plenty of help just a keyboard away.