hippo tang has whie fuzz

[DiandLou]

I have 220 gal saltwater tank about 5 years old. I had ich in the tank about 4 years ago, no problems since. I just added live rock and lobsters and a shrimp and hermit crabs 2 weeks ago. all my other fish seem OK , I have a yellow tang, sailfin tang, hippo tang,emperor angel, foxface, 4 stripe damsel, and 2 other angels. only the hippo tang has what looks like white fuzz. not quite the same as the ich we had before.
I am doing a water change, and raising the temp. should I use the copper power?? will that hurt the lobsters and crabs and shrimp?
how do I add garlic? is it the household garlic all of us Italians live on? one problem I do have is that I am going on vacation to Europe for 2 weeks next week, so I only have 1 week to cure my hippo before I go away .
any suggestions??

[jenglish]

Originally Posted by DiandLou

I have 220 gal saltwater tank about 5 years old. I had ich in the tank about 4 years ago, no problems since. I just added live rock and lobsters and a shrimp and hermit crabs 2 weeks ago. all my other fish seem OK , I have a yellow tang, sailfin tang, hippo tang,emperor angel, foxface, 4 stripe damsel, and 2 other angels. only the hippo tang has what looks like white fuzz. not quite the same as the ich we had before.
I am doing a water change, and raising the temp. should I use the copper power?? will that hurt the lobsters and crabs and shrimp?
how do I add garlic? is it the household garlic all of us Italians live on? one problem I do have is that I am going on vacation to Europe for 2 weeks next week, so I only have 1 week to cure my hippo before I go away .
any suggestions??

WHite fuzz is more likely a fungal or bacterial infection. You need to get a positive ID before throwing random treatments at it. ANy copper will kill inverts like lobsters and crabs. You can add garlic but it's ability to help is questionable. Freshly pressed garlic juice on their food has the best chance of helping.

[jenglish]

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/disease.html

maybe look through the pics here to see if anything looks like what your fish have

[DiandLou]

Thanks for the input.
I knew not to put the copper in without knowing for sure what it was, but I wasnt sure about the effect on the shellfish.
The spots look a bit like powder got sprinkled on the hippo. not really fuzzy but not sharp like salt.
I put some garlic on the food...OMG.. they all ate like they never ate before.
The hippo is eating very well, swims regular and acts like nothing is bothering him. not scratching on the rock or anything odd. Will the shrimp actually clean this off him?
could this have come from the rock or shellfish? or is he just stress because of the newcomers?

[cutietwo]

Could be all of the above. The fact that he's not scratching is a good sign. I am not sure of what it could be though...

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by DiandLou

...or is he just stress because of the newcomers?

Very common with this very shy fish when introducing new specimens. I hate to make suggestions without seeing the condition of the fish, but this type of response to new tankmates is so common in Hippo tangs (especially systems where the Hippo is one of a few fish or the only tang) that I feel comfortable saying that it may only require the garlic feeding and allowing the fish to acclimitize to its new tankmates, Shortening the photoperiod may help, or placing a hiding place for he tang may help (like a temporary piece of 4"-6" diameter PVC pipe for a week or more).

Good luck, travel safely.