ISSUES!!!!!!!

First I would try to do a 20% water change to try to get the phosphates lower. Then address why the phosphates are so high, are you over feeding? What is the TDS of the water you are using. Actually you may want to know that before you do your water change.

As for the Tang I personally would get a hospital or QT set up and treat him out of the tank. If he truly has Ich you will not be able to rid it from your tank unless you removed all of your fish and treated them with Hyposalinity or a Copper treatment. In either case your tank would need to remain free of fish for at least 72 days to let the Ich die out in the tank. I understand this is a drastic step but if you don't do this you will have reoccuring problems with this. Not to say that many live with this and just deal with the consequences. It is a personal preference.

Using a QT tank after you have done the above process will minimize adding Ich or other diseases to your display tank if done properly.

 

Hippo Tangs are like Ich magnets! I have crushed up fresh garlic and dipped the food & see weed or nori you put on the clips as pure as possible . Definately push the water changes, I have cured them in the Tank before. Having Ich goes hand and hand with having Tangs.. It doesn't necessarily mean it can't be cured, they get stressed out its the result. I had a Purple Tang that had more white spots on him than not, after about 5-6 days he turned around... I hope this is helpful...

 

Get a rodi to get phos taken care of from the start. then I would use GFO or LC to get the tank levels down. I would do a water change with RODI water from another reefer or from an LFS is you have one that bothers to keep an eye on their membranes. To deal with the ICH, the only real solution since you have coral and i'm assuming inverts is to set up a QT and leave the tank fallow.

 

Bulk Reef Supply is where you should order your stuff from. They have great products and they generally show up within 2 days since they come from Minnesota. Also, you definitely should QT all your fish for the 72 days, that way the ich will die out in your tank. Don't fall for "Reef Safe" ich treatments. Hyposalinity and Copper-Based treatments are the tried and true methods that work the best. Copper will kill any coral you have in your tank, so you'll be left at square 1.

 

If the ich has nothing to host on, then they die and any little "unborn" vermin die off too eventually. Dropping salinity will help to kill them, but will hurt other inverts too. Copper will kill just about everything but the fish.

So you have two problems, normally unrelated, but the high phosphates could have been that added stressor for the tang that allowed it to not fight off the ich that is in your tank.

Hang in there. It is going to be a HUGE pain in the butt for a while, but should be worth it in the end when things are done right (RODI water and a good fish QT setup and process).

 

Virtually NOTHING that says it is "reef safe" is actually reef safe. What they mean is it won't kill your crabs and snails. The systemic problems that treatments like these cause down the line are discrete and maddening!

 

The ich will die on it's own in your tank IF you remove ALL fish. Ich is a parasite and it will not have a host to keep it alive. It will die in a fishless tank in 10 weeks. You don't need to put anything in the tank to treat it.


The fish, however, need to be placed in a hospital tank. (A tank with no rock or substrate or plants. Just water and maybe a piece of pvc to hide in.) All the fish. Not just the ones showing symptoms.


Then you can treat them for ich using one of three methods.


You can use a copper based medicine like Cuprimine, or use Formalin, following the directions. This method is very effective, but is hard on the fish. If fish is in bad shape, better to try to get him a little healthier by feeding garlic, first.


Or you can do hyposalinity. Also effective, but tricky to manage and get exactly right, but easy on the fish. You can find directions for hyposalinity and copper treatment here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...directions


Or you can use the tank transfer method, which is also very effective. It is perhaps the simplest as in hard to get wrong, but it is labor intensive, you need two setups, and you go through a lot of salt. Directions can be found here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...fer+method


UV lights do not eradicate ich from your tank. They do kill some of the parasites, but are not effective in eliminating them. Also, the stuff that claims to be reef safe and will cure ich in tank is bogus. Don't waste your money. People think it works because it helps clear up the *appearance* of ich, but the parasite is still present.


First of all, though, you need to get better water. RODI filters pay for themselves, pronto. Get those phosphates DOWN. Even though you are removing fish, you will still need to monitor and control water quality in your tank for the sake of your corals and inverts.


Good luck!

 

It sucks I've been there. I personally can't keep a hippo. I've had 2 and after a year each got ich and died. I don't like the stuff that they say is reef safe as it never worked in my tank.

 

Copper test kit and patience, patience, patience.

 

I was never able to leave it empty when I had ich. It makes it alot of work. Remember the qt tank needs to be watched carefully and more water changes are required.

 

Do your best to bring the phosphates down.

If the tang is eating, feed it food infused with garlic. Don't try to fish it out. Just stay calm and take it easy. If none of your other fish are sick you'll be fine.

Breathe.