Purple Tang/Possible Ich/ Quarantine??

[bobc]

The LFS has a small Purple Tang (about 1 1/2") and has had it in a small display tank for a couple of weeks. It appears in good condition, but I have noticed a few very small white dots on it. Is this ich? If I were to purchase this fish what would you recommend for quarantine/treating possible ich? If this fish can be saved with relative ease, I'd like to purchase it for my tank. I currently have a 55 gal set up for 9 months with all water parameters optimum. Have only two fish, percula clown which has hosted my green hammer, and a banggai cardinal. Also have 1 cleaner shrip and one fire shirmp. Along with the usual hermits and snails, the rest of the tank are shrooms and LPS. Any suggestions, comments, flames?

Thanks,
BobC

Hi Bob, my basic rule is if I gotta part with cash, its gotta be healthy. IF its showing spots now the stress of movin it will prolly cause a major out break. At least a 20 long for Qtank and keep it in there 4-6 weeks treating and feeding it all the good stuff to pump up its immune system so it can deal with the disease on its own. Then after Q period risking the stress factor again when you introduce it to the main tank. If it survives all that it will out grow the 55 in a year or so or stress constantly and be an ongoing problem. If it sounds like I am trying to discourage you from buying it, YA I guess I am. If its a freebie or deeply discounted then you have to ask yourself is it worth the hassle? Maybe bit IMO not at retail prices

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I thought I was me, but we were wrong
email: geeflipr@internetcds.com

[Peter_]

Forget about it (after all, there are pently of fish in the sea). http://www.thereeftank.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Reef keeping is hard enough; don't complicate matters by adding sick fish to your tank. It's not worth the aggravation.

Around here, there are an abundence of heathly corals and inverts, but it is much harder to find healthy fish.

It pays to find a reputable store in the surrounding area (this means you might have to drive some distance) that has healthy fish.

It's well worth the effort to find them. Sick fish are a pain in the ass and they eventually die after you have tried everything in the world to save them.

Once you land some health fish they are easy to keep and will provide you with many years of enjoyment.

Healthy fish are worth their weight in gold.

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I'm no scrub...I let my ATS do all the work!

Agreed Peter, I thought this might be a good place to injsct my thoughts on another facet of the hobby thats dear to me heart(I will try not to be overly verbose)
Local Fish Stores or LFS as they are refered to online. One of the favorite pastimes on BB's like this is bashing them and some of the people that work there. Everyone has a horror story about bad advice or outright scoundrelry from a LFS when first starting out but not all of them are like that. If you are fortunate enough to live near one of the major players in the reef supply biz great, but not everyone does, however there are stores that are into SW and reefs out there that are worth patronizing. As a consumer in a hobby that isn't cheap it is inyour best interest to educate yourself as much as you can. Before making a rash purchase ask on BB's like this or any of the others and see if that prize fish,coral,etc is gonna fit into the type of tank you have going. Once you find a store with knowledgable staff and decent livestock, support them even if they arent the cheapest. Cheap dead livestock is still dead so no bargain there and the price goes up as your other animals start dying off. The guy I wanna deal with is the one that reaches for a reference book when asked a tough question, hopefully hes involved in local reef or SW club. In my opinion the best thing you can do for a so so LFS is introduce at least one of the serious employees to the abundance of info available on the internet. If you mention the I word and get a negative response I suggest you walk away before you come out with a hand full of undergravel filters and stock in all the chemical companies. If they think the internet is a waste of time they are prolly setting up tanks using same methodology that flourished in the 70,s. one last personal observation, I find as your knowledge level goes up you will generally be treated better than if you walk in wanting a 10 gal SW so you can have one of them pretty mandarin fish thingies

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I thought I was me, but we were wrong
email: geeflipr@internetcds.com

[Peter_]

Doug, thanks for the stroll down memory lane.

Ah, the ol' local fish store. It is a place where I spent most of my adolescent years.

I use to ride my bicycle to the LFS everyday after school just to see if anything new just came in. If I was lucky enough, by the end of the week I would have saved enough money from my paper route and allowance to purchase a new fish for my modest 10 gallon fresh water tank.

However, as the years go by, you begin to notice that certain stores are very knowledgeable and have superior livestock, while others are basically clueless.

Luckily, I have a great store in my area. It's run by some burnt-out aquarium dude who appears to have inhaled way too much synthetic sea-salt over the years (I'm sure you know what I mean). However, he apparently has outstanding livestock connections. He's a bit of a prick, but he has the best and, on occasion, rarest livestock in the area, although he is pricey.

I've been buying from him for about 12 years and he has never given me a break on anything. He simply knows that he has the best stuff around (like I said, he's a bit of a prick).

The key is to sort out the best from what is available in the area. Since, although there are many bad stores out there with idiots behind the counter, those few good ones are simply invaluable.

They still offer personal, face-to-face interaction which cannot be obtained anywhere else.

They just make me feel warm and fuzzy all over. http://www.thereeftank.com/ubb/smile.gif

PS - There happens to be a good article on rating the competence of your LFS in the August issue of FAMA.

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I'm no scrub...I let my ATS do all the work!

[This message has been edited by Peter (edited 12-13-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Peter (edited 12-13-2000).]