Fungus/Tail Rot/Nothing? - Blue Tang in QT

[tutmatt3]

Hey Guys!

So I've had my new blue tang in QT for a few days now. Lil guys been doing good, but has been hiding in the corner under my powerhead/pcv at times acting shy (read about it, seems normal)

He/She comes out to eat, and after the first day and a half, seems to enjoy the qt tank more. Swimming around, eats, and has a good time. Hides often when I'm around, but gets curious as well - so behavior has been good.

It was difficult to notice issues on the tang while in the store, or even while in the bag (water wasn't the clearest) - and when I finally got em in QT, it went into hiding.

So now that it's finally swimming around, I noticed this white piece on the tail:
What do you guys think / suggest I treat it with if it needs treatment?
Fungus? Bacteria? Tail Rot? Possible Scar?

I also want to pre-treat for ich. I know there's a lot of opinions on this, but I think a pre-treatment even though I havn't seen any signs for this fish in specific.

Any recommendations for Cupramine Vs Coppersafe for the ich treatment? (Should I pick up a copper test kit as well?)
I assume I shouldn't mix 2x medicines at once (still more reading to do), so I should treat the tail first if needing treatment.

Thanks everyone!!!!! Cheers

I can try & get better pix

 

[melypr1985]

Unfortunately that doesn't look like lymph since it's not a nodule sticking out off the tail. It does look like an infection setting in. You can treat that with kanaplex or furan2 to clear that up before starting copper treatment (minimum 10 days of treatment and longer may be needed). You could also add vitamins like vitachem or selcon to the food and see if he can heal it up on his own.


I prefer coppersafe and you'll need the API kit for that. (2ppm for 30 days) Hippo tangs are pretty tollerant of copper but make sure you take several days to slowly bring the levels up to 2ppm. The bottle directs you to do it too quickly so calculate how much total copper you will need to add per how many gallons you are using then divide that by 4. That's how much you will dose each day. Test daily and add more if needed.

 

[tutmatt3]

Unfortunately that doesn't look like lymph since it's not a nodule sticking out off the tail. It does look like an infection setting in. You can treat that with kanaplex or furan2 to clear that up before starting copper treatment (minimum 10 days of treatment and longer may be needed). You could also add vitamins like vitachem or selcon to the food and see if he can heal it up on his own.


I prefer coppersafe and you'll need the API kit for that. (2ppm for 30 days) Hippo tangs are pretty tollerant of copper but make sure you take several days to slowly bring the levels up to 2ppm. The bottle directs you to do it too quickly so calculate how much total copper you will need to add per how many gallons you are using then divide that by 4. That's how much you will dose each day. Test daily and add more if needed.

Thank you very much for the info Mel!

Ant preference on which one of the two medicines you would recommend for the infection? vitamin sound like a wonderful idea to see if nonmedicated treatment is possible but I would prefer for things not to get worse in the meantime

is it okay to start the treatment in a few days or would you recommend starting as soon as physically possible a.k.a. tomorrow, and rush out to an open fish store?

Interesting, didn't know copper safe took so long as a treatment compared to the (correct me if I'm wrong) 2x weeks for cupramine, correct?

and I also assuming additional two-week observation. Is beneficial after all treatments are done correct?

I'm not asking these questions because I'm a rush to get them into the display tank, I would just like to know. Trying to accomplish safe practice =)

 

[melypr1985]

Ant preference on which one of the two medicines you would recommend for the infection?

Probably kanaplex first.... if that doesn't do it on it's own, then you can add furan2 to the kanaplex for a wider spectrum.

is it okay to start the treatment in a few days or would you recommend starting as soon as physically possible a.k.a. tomorrow, and rush out to an open fish store?

Vitamins should start now. I wouldn't wait too long to start on the infection since these things can be tricky and move faster than you might expect.

Interesting, didn't know copper safe took so long as a treatment compared to the (correct me if I'm wrong) 2x weeks for cupramine, correct?

They are both 30 days, just two different types of copper. Chelated for Coppersafe and Ionic for Cupramine. The chelated copper tends to be a little more mild than the ionic IME.

and I also assuming additional two-week observation. Is beneficial after all treatments are done correct?

An observation period is always a good idea no matter what you are treating for.

 

[tutmatt3]

Thank you again oh so very much!

 

[tutmatt3]

Typically when I put a fish in Quarantine should I toss carbon back in after one medication prior to starting the next different type?

 

[Humblefish]

Typically when I put a fish in Quarantine should I toss carbon back in after one medication prior to starting the next different type?

Yes; a large WC is advisable as well.

 

[tutmatt3]

Yes; a large WC is advisable as well.

Thank you. Very good to know

And general qt question
After fish A is competed then qt & ready for the dt, is a 100% wc of the qt recommended before next fish hops in a qt?

 

[melypr1985]

Thank you. Very good to know

And general qt question
After fish A is competed then qt & ready for the dt, is a 100% wc of the qt recommended before next fish hops in a qt?

It would be best if you could empty, sterilize with bleach or vinegar, let dry completely all components used in the QT, then set it back up. Of course if you can't feasibly do that, then a large water change and carbon is a good method to be sure there are no remaining meds in the tank before adding a new fish.

 

[tutmatt3]

It would be best if you could empty, sterilize with bleach or vinegar, let dry completely all components used in the QT, then set it back up. Of course if you can't feasibly do that, then a large water change and carbon is a good method to be sure there are no remaining meds in the tank before adding a new fish.

Thank you very much!

It appears my 'ammonia alert badge' was inaccurate, and there is slight ammonia in the QT tank (.25-.5 in a 10 gal tank)

I am performing a 50% WC @ same salinity/temp at the moment. I am starting the infection treatment tomorrow once the medication comes in.
Any advice for dealing with ammonia once I begin medicating? My filter does have a plastic 'bio plate' thing to allow nitrifying bacteria to host there - but since I didn't any any bacteria and did not use water from the DT, I doubt there is much in there

I also read a # of medication messes w/ the bacteria, which is why I didn't dose 'bio-spira' to begin with.

It's a small tang, maybe 1-1.5" in length without tail. I feed 1/4 a cube of frozen herbivore food (cube before being cut is slightly smaller than 1cm)


To deal with ammonia while medicating - should I just dose medicine properly in the water I am preparing for the WC?

Thanks Mel & Humble! You 2 are the best!!!!!! Wish I could do something to pay y'all back for all the knowledge on call

 

[tutmatt3]

So I did a comparison test of my QT water (yes I did 50% WC, but the test kept reading JUST like it did before!) vs fresh mixed salt water (right tube).... andddd they look the same.
This is the color my DT reads as well. It actually looks slightly lighter in the picture - but it looks like 1 of 3x things
1) The color chart is inaccurate
2) There is ammonia in my fresh mixed RODI Salt Water (highly unlikely)
3) This color resembles as close to 0 as possible on the chart then.

Note - my AA badge reads .02 on my QT. I ordered another since I thought it to be defective due to my API test readings
Also found out that AA badge reads only toxic ammonia and not the non-toxic which API reads.

Love to hear input! Allows me to freak out less since my mixed salt-water is reading the same levels at my QT, so both should be minimal.

Thanks again!

 

[melypr1985]

Any advice for dealing with ammonia once I begin medicating? My filter does have a plastic 'bio plate' thing to allow nitrifying bacteria to host there - but since I didn't any any bacteria and did not use water from the DT, I doubt there is much in there

You can do that. Simply put, do water changes as often as needed. If you are doing them every other day (and this works with the meds) then you can certainly add the meds into the new water before adding to the tank.

Love to hear input! Allows me to freak out less since my mixed salt-water is reading the same levels at my QT, so both should be minimal.

What container are you mixing in? I have a friend who's container was leaching nitrates into his fresh mixed water like crazy.

 

[tutmatt3]

Woah that's crazy, didn't know that was possible.

Using Lowe's 5 gallon blue buckets. I always rinse n wipe down with paper towels between uses

Buckets are also dedicated to one purpose

Also, nitrite and nitrate read 0 in qt

 

[melypr1985]

Also, nitrite and nitrate read 0 in qt

But you read ammonia in the newly made saltwater, so that spells a problem. Whether that problem is with the test kit (probable) or with the buck/salt/water source is yet to be determined. I would start with using another ammonia test kit to check your results.

 

[tutmatt3]

But you read ammonia in the newly made saltwater, so that spells a problem. Whether that problem is with the test kit (probable) or with the buck/salt/water source is yet to be determined. I would start with using another ammonia test kit to check your results.

Thank you very much Mel! I'll see what other kits my lfs have.

Cheers!

 

[4FordFamily]

Great advice here, good luck keep us posted on how the fish does!

 

[tutmatt3]

SHAKE
MY
FREAKING
HEAD!!!

Api REALLY needs to make it more clear that the copper test should be read from ABOVE & not from the side. Silly me kept wondering why the hell my copper isn't increasing.. dosing a tad at a time.
By the time I finally get a decent reading from the side, do some additional research & re-read the directions, oh look & behold who notates in the tiniest standard font that it should be read from the top. Especially when most of their users read all their other tests from the side, you think there would be a grander disclaimer...

Lo and behold, I'm doing a 50% WC, which SHOULD bring this down to the 2ppm I was aiming for, rather than the 4ish it is now (the top down pic is slightly darker than with eye)

In better news, it appears the Tangs tail is beginning to heal. A whiteish tail seems to be forming (I assuming the tail heals then the color comes in?). Here are some additional pics.
I can't applaud the results to the pima/melafix, a good diet, or just time - but as long as it keeps going in the right direction, that's all I care for.

Just wanted to leave some updates in-case another side reader on these copper kits stumbles upon this post.

Thanks guys

 

[melypr1985]

Man. Sorry about the copper kit confusion. Glad the tang is getting better though

 

[tutmatt3]

Man. Sorry about the copper kit confusion. Glad the tang is getting better though

No worries and of course not anyone else's fault besides my own. Luckily the fish are still alive and not showing too much signs of distress. I'm sure they'll love life so much more once the toxicity is knocked down.

Thanks again for all your help, will have more updates on the tang once the tail is in a better spot!

 

[tutmatt3]

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to give you an update on the tail! Here are some recent images (in HD for once, yay!) of the tail.
Just wanted to make sure that this appears to be regrowth, and not a fungus. Note the small white tip on the section prior to the tail as well.
Do fins/tails grow transparent then gain color?

It appears a bit crusty, as I'm sure you can see in the pics - but the growth has been going outwards, and not towards the body.
Thanks again, and always love your input!!