Purple Tang with ich

My purple tang(~3.5") has a pretty good case of ich and is in my 150 DT. It's eating everything, including nori, is fat, isn't scratching and is acting as normal as ever.

Question is, should I go through the trouble of moving all the coral and rock to catch him in order to give a FW bath? Is it worth the stress on the fish(and me!)?

Thanks.

 

Id say no...If he is eating....feed him lots of nori with garlic! Maybe turn the lights off to help keep stress down...but deff get some selcon or garlic and feed him lots....LOTS good luck

 

I just went through this on one of my threads, and the main consensus was to leave the fish in the main tank because catching, new scenery, etc. would cause the fish even more stress, and stress is usually what brings the ich out. Just leave him be and make sure he's eating a lot and keep the water quality high. Good luck, hopefully he makes it through!

 

I agree with just leaving him in for now, if he starts acting differently or not eating, then I would consider taking him out or spot treatment.

 

Thanks guys. That's what I was hoping to hear. Will keep you updated on its progress and, hopefully, recovery.

 

There is a reef safe product out there that worked quickly for me. It wasn't cheap at about $30 but it worked. It's called Kick-Ich and it comes in a liquid container. The owner of my local fish store who also does water changes for my tank recommended it and I was surprised at how quickly it worked.
I'd be curious to know what caused the ich. Is it the water parameters? Water temperature changes? Is he being bullied by a bigger fish? Is he not getting any veggies? These are some of the usual suspects. I'd try and fix whatever it was that brought it on so it doesn't reoccur.

 

My Purple Tang came down with ick back in August, I decided to not catch him and QT him cause he was one of the only fish in my aquarium at the time and he was still eating like the piggy he is today. Used Kordon Ick-Attack. because I had a cleaner shrimp... and followed the directions with dosage and water changes. Fed him Garlic soaked food and he got them off him in a few days. And has had not had them since and both are here till this day! *knocks on wood*

 

be careful how much you feed as overfeeding is bad for the chemistry of the tank.

agree just leave him be

ich is normal on tangs, i dont think i have added one that hasnt come down with a case of it at least once. i would avoid extra chemicals in the tank personally just ride it out and dont stress over it all should be fine.

 

There are only three known ways of getting rid of ich - running fallow, hyposalinity, and copper. Fw dips will almost certainly not work because low salt only kills them during one phase of the lifecycle.ich is only visible during one stage of the lifecycle. If you haven't done one of the three treatment methods I listed the ich is still there whether you see it or not.

You can live with ich for a while but unless you have done one of the three treatments it will always be there lurking and waiting for an opportunity to flame up.

 

Ich is so prevalent because so many don't get rid of it and simply accept it as part of the hobby. It can be minor but it can also wipe out everything. Ich seems minor and that you can simply ignore it and try to avoid it by keeping their fish healthy. Then one day something will happen and then it's serious and you have a big issue on your hands.

I would recommend leaving your tank as is for now but plan to deal with it at some point. Please keep in mind that any other fish you add will get ich until you've dealt with it.