Greenex

[Hammer]

A note: The important part of garlic is released when the garlic itself is crushed and releases the chemical. This chemical also looses it's potency with time, and freshly crushed garlic works the best.
That being said, I used Lowry's garlic extract from HEB. A little goes a LONG ways, and works well for cheap.

Biggest thing with tangs is removing the stress rather then the ich. Rock solid parameters. Especially temperature and lighting schedules. If the outbreak isn't bad, I usually do nothing more then soak the frozen food in garlic, and then look for the culprit causing it in the first place.

Of course in your case it would seem that it was initial stress of adding the fish. But I would still keep a very close eye on parameters.

[Sherri]

Thanks for all the great info you guys...I DON'T have an outbreak...He is the 1st fish I've put into my tank along with a green mandrin. I noticed the tang was pretty stressed...His water in the bag was .020 and my tank was .024...so I slowly acclimated him. This was last Wed. He is doing just fine. I don't see any white spots on him, he has calmed down, but still shy. He does every once and a while scratch himself on the rocks.

I did manage to find 1 cleaner shrimp, but wouldn't mind getting another one Ray. You can PM me and let me know. And yes...would love to talk to you about the clowns!

Also, I am in the process of breaking down my 30 gal cichlid tank to turn it into a holding tank...And I'm already eyeing my 55 gal cichlid tank. Arrgh!

Sherri :rotf:

[z28pwr]

Sherri, when I first started in this hobby I used Greenex to dose my 180 gallon tank since it said it was Invertebrate safe (I know dumb idea). The next morning all my fish and my invertebrates were dead.

That's my 2 cents on this product.

[Richard]

Sherri,
I'm glad to hear you are setting up a quarantine system, it is a requirement IMO. I would recommend you keep your quarantine tank simple (bare bottom, only plastic decorations such as pvc pipes, plastic plants etc.). This will allow for much easier treatment of new fish should they develop problems. If you need to treat new fish in the future I would recommend Organicure for treatment of parasites. It contains copper and formalin and is effective against crypto, oodinium, and brooklynella. Just disregard the statement on the package about being safe for shrimps and crabs. To my knowledge there are no effective parasite medications on the market that are safe for inverts although many advertise as being "Reef Safe".

Also natural methods such as garlic, cleaner shrimp & gobies, etc. are methods of living with the parasite present in your system not ridding your tank of the parasite. Stressful conditions such as poor water quality, fluctuating temperatures, etc. can result in another outbreak. Due to the life cycles of these parasites it is very common to have another outbreak 2 - 4 weeks after treatment, so keep a close eye on your tang for the next few weeks.

[Sherri]

Wow Jose....guess I lucked out. I did 2 days of doses. My scallop didn't look too good, but now he is fine. Glad I got paranoid and put my poly filter in to filter out the medication. That's what I love about having this group to ask opinions. It really helps "starting out." :-D

Sherri

[Sherri]

Thanks Richard...I'll keep an eye on it. Getting in the aragonite sand from the group order and I'll start up the quarantine tank as soon as I can.

Sherri :rotf:

[MikeP]

Sherri, I have a quarantine tank but have to admit I don't quarantine everything like I shoudl still. I also have a blue tang (assume we are talking about regal or hippo tang? not atlantic blue?) and he broke out in a few spots after a week in the tank. My cleaner hasn't been helping but don't forget about neon gobies. I have 3 in my tank and they are parasite eating machines - they are inexpensive, fun to watch and a vastly underrated cleaner IMO. Note that you can get Aquacultured ones from ORA and some people claim these are not as apt to clean other fish. All 3 of mine are ORA and they clean like champs and the bioload from them is negligible since they are so tiny and don't produce much waste.

[Richard]

Sherri,
I second technoshaman's recommendation. Neon gobies are great in helping to control parasites probably better than the cleaner shrimp. I keep one in my quarantine tank and 2 in my main tank. I've only used the blue's ...don't know if the yellow/gold neons are as effective of a cleaner.

Think I have a few left at the store - $12

Richard
CB Pets