Blue Tang With Whitespot

[cracker]

[Brianemone]

so anyway.

if it were a bad infestation then i say medicate, but the occasional spot isnt anything to worry about

[Brianemone]

any chance of a pic of the fish??

[suphew]

Why would it if it is at the right temperature, ph etc, etc before adding it.

If the water was the same there would be no point changing it?? Therefore it must be different, one of the keys to low fish stress (therefore low likelyhood of WS problems) and general reefing is water stability, doing 80% changes is not going to give you this.

I accept there are exceptions, like doing flatworm exit, or if you were doing constant 80% changes (which basically means your water will be the same as the changed water), but in general....

[raeh1]

I still think the best white spot cure is natures one.

2* cleaner shrimp. Will eat the white spot

[Reubs]

WOW.......so many different opinions!! I gave the fish a freshwater bath last night, he wasn't too happy about it but he looks much happier today, most of the spots have gone now and he looks heaps more lively. He is eating and swimming happily with all the other fish now so I don't think (HOPE) it doesn't get worse. I'll keep a close eye on him for the next couple of days and might do a small waterchange if I'm in doubt. Unforrtunately there is no way that I could get a shot of him to show you guys as he is REALLY skittish. Someone mentioned something about cleaner shrimps dealing to the parasites.....I have two skunk cleaners but they are always hiding and only ever come out at night to clean the corals but yet they will never touch the fish.....maybe they're retarded or something, but it definately is annoying cause I never get to see them and they certainly do let down there name!!

Thanks heaps too all of those that have given me advice and I sure do appreciate it!!

Reubs.

[cracker]

If the water was the same there would be no point changing it?? Therefore it must be different, one of the keys to low fish stress (therefore low likelyhood of WS problems) and general reefing is water stability, doing 80% changes is not going to give you this.

I accept there are exceptions, like doing flatworm exit, or if you were doing constant 80% changes (which basically means your water will be the same as the changed water), but in general....

Fish and Inverts dont know about some of the organics or TDS within the water column. Large water changes simply remove them, Including HUGE amounts of floating Theronts.

As long as the large water change contains the SAME balance of Salt, Bicarb/PH and temperature, the inhabitants wont notice the difference at all.

When a huge wave dumps a completely new wave over them on a reef they have in effect had a 100% water change.

Changing a large portion can only be an advantage if done correctly, not a disadvantage. (Must be matched though).

Lots Clean water is always going to be better than dirty water.

[Brianemone]

yoink, thats a pretty drastic move.

hope it turns out ok as a fresh water bath can be very stressfull even though it my show initial signs of improvement be very aware that it will more than likely be back in full force again

[Fay]

I read somewhere that fresh water baths do nothing for white spot!!

[Brianemone]

no the salinity change will kill the white spot, but your putting it straight back into a tank full of it. with a fish that is even more stressed

[Ira]

The whitespot really isn't exposed directly to the water though, is it? It's under the fish's skin?

[cracker]

I read somewhere that fresh water baths do nothing for white spot!!

They do assist with lifting freshly attched theronts from the gill area.

It is only a temporary relief.

[cracker]

no the salinity change will kill the white spot, but your putting it straight back into a tank full of it. with a fish that is even more stressed

It wont kill the deeply embedded white spot...it is covered by the skin of the fish and is safe. Only the freshly attached ones.

[wasp]

A FW dip will do little for white spot irritans, for the reasons given.

A 5 minute FW dip will, however, do quite a bit for a fish with marine velvet, sometimes also called white spot. But a FW dip will not be 100% cure for velvet.

So if placing a velvet infected fish in copper, rather than wait 3 days for the copper to start a useful effect during which the fish could easily die, (velvet kills quickly), a FW dip will give some immediate relief, and then place the fish in copper.

[raeh1]

the cleaner shrimp i was mentioning were the common ones.

red backs with a white line down the middle.

But since you have shrimps already then propably not enough room.

the common cleaner shrimp has the advantage of being active during the day, and are so friendly that when i'm working on the tank they crawl all over my arms.

[rona207]

what interesting lot of suggestions and a huge debate!....It was a madarin my firend lost as well as a sea anenome! He doesnt want to lose his corals!

[Brianemone]

white spot will not kill the corals, poor water conditions will

[wasp]

Manderins also, will rarely die of whitespot. Fish will die for one reason or another though, even in the best kept of tanks. But anemones are pretty much immortal ( They don't age like other animals ) so your friend may benefit by making some improvements.

Perhaps encourage hime to give a few more details about his tank.

If you went to a vet and said your cat got sick and died, maybe cos there was a temperature spike, do you think the vet could give an accurate diagnosis?

[suphew]

Fish and Inverts dont know about some of the organics or TDS within the water column. Large water changes simply remove them, Including HUGE amounts of floating Theronts.

First part is a bit of a stange statement and what about corals? Regarding the second, sure you are going to remove some, but not all and this is only 1 stage of the WS live cycle so I'm not really sure how this would help. However I think this could still cause stress in the tank making the problem worse

As long as the large water change contains the SAME balance of Salt, Bicarb/PH and temperature, the inhabitants wont notice the difference at all.

I agree, but I think this would be some what difficult to do in the real world, PH for example is measured on a log scale so just 1 point of difference is a 10x change in PH.

When a huge wave dumps a completely new wave over them on a reef they have in effect had a 100% water change.

Yeah but this is in effect the same as doing constant 80% changes, i.e. it is the same water, if you took a couple of waves from NZ and dumped them in Fiji, even warmed up I don't imagin they would do the reef much good.

Changing a large portion can only be an advantage if done correctly, not a disadvantage. (Must be matched though).

I almost agree with you, however a few months ago Pies and I both did water changes, I did my normal weekly/ two monthly 15% change, Pies did a large one having not done it for a while (maybe 30%), there was something in the water, we still dont no what but because of my smaller change I was affected far less and lost no corals, (althrough they showed signes of stress) Mark lost all his Xenia, clover, and almost lost 5-6 large acros. I admit this was an unusual and extream case, but it proves a point.

[cracker]

I never said NSW was always good!

I use it and hope like hell it is all good.

I leave mine to die for minimum 3 weeks.

I run my NSW through carbon twice before it hits the tank.

But some sort of pathogen that cant be measured or removed, we have no control.

I cannot afford, (Or want to afford), using ASW in a 1400 litre aquarium.

The above methods are the best I can do!

[lduncan]

But some sort of pathogen that cant be measured or removed, we have no control.

Well you have the choice not to use NSW, so you do have significant control.

Layton

[Feelers]

Could you use UV or ozone on the water storage tank?

[cracker]

Well you have the choice not to use NSW, so you do have significant control.

Layton

Beyond the obvious L.

[cracker]

Could you use UV or ozone on the water storage tank?

Yes, but it wont get rid of TDS's other than sodium.

Bacteria yes. But that will die in a matter of weeks anyway.

The only way to do it well is to clean it first by skimming it and run it through carbon.

Still wont remove all though.

[reef]

Life is really funny,

This is my post about a year ago and some people shot me down for saying that NSW can cause problems and accusing me of saying it to sell salt,

Looks like the luck it running out for some. cant wait to get on the coral/fish pricing debate again,

Looks like the Chickens have come home to roost

This is really assuming. Most hobbyists don’t use natural seawater only people that are using it are either on a budget or have very little experience in long term reef aquariums and have not been around long enough to understand the problems many hobbyist have had.

I have seen so many tanks develop problems with natural seawater, Mind you I have also seen tanks that use ASW that are having problems with algae etc.

The people that use natural seawater can get away with using it because they have big skimmers which help removing pollutants before it becomes a problem.

Natural seawater contains high organics which is caused by all the run off from land.

I have checked the reports from the Auckland regional council which show that there is high organics in the water as certain beaches the bacteria count is high,

Sure seawater can be used however it is like playing Russia roulette. Fine most of the time but your luck will run out one day.

If you are going to use NSW. Take a test kit and measure the nitrates and phosphates before using it.