Number of Attempts at keeping PBT

[ranchuboy]

I am curious to find out from the reefers here how many attempts at keeping the elusive Powder Blue Tang before you get success. Definition of success is keeping the fish alive for over 3 months.

[Morpheous]

This fish is relative easy to succeed provided u have a quarantine tank for it. Its quite easy to make it feed, but 99.999% of the time it will succumb to ick and you will have to hypo or copper it, which we do not do to the display tank

[orsony]

This fish is relative easy to succeed provided u have a quarantine tank for it. Its quite easy to make it feed, but 99.999% of the time it will succumb to ick and you will have to hypo or copper it, which we do not do to the display tank

I had experienced that despite keeping in a QT and the fishes were feeding plus less ich. They still died for unknown reason which I suspect is cyanide at work. However after more than 15 attempts, my current one has been with me for more than 10 months. This fish was introduced without QT and was feeding right from the beginning. Sadly, I am selling it off to attempt AT.

[Terryz_]

They are easy to get feeding.. But they will fall prey to ich everytime..

[Morpheous]

They are easy to get feeding.. But they will fall prey to ich everytime..

Yea, they never fail to entice to nori on clip

[ranchuboy]

So far only 6 votes. Come on reefers I know there are many PBT lovers out there. You only need one click to vote, no need to comment if you do not wish to.

This fish is brought in by the LFS almost every fortnight. Because of their affordability and stunning good looks they are snap up by buyers (both novice and experienced). Unfortunately I suspect many of them do not truely knows how to properly climatise a PBT. The result is high mortality rate. For some it also wipe out the whole tank because the ICH has spread to the rest of the inhabitants (with the exception of invertebrates and corals).

In my opinion the PBT requires a very mature tank (ideally over 1 year) with plenty of LR and algae to start with. The minimum tank size is 4 ft and above. This fish forages constantly therefore LR with plenty of algae growth is a must.

The Powder series of Tang (Powder Blue, Powder Black and Achilles) are all ICH magnet. A quarantine tank of at least 2ft in size is a must. Failure to do so is akin to playing Russian Roulette with your existing fish with you losing most of the time.

The following is my procedure when I acquire a new fish:

Prepare a quarantine tank complete with LR at 1.009 salinity (yes, I am using hypo-salinity)

Place the fish in the quarantine tank

For Tang and Angel, provide a constant supply of red bamboo

Feed with nori (most Tangs and Angels cannot resist this aglae) daily

From 2nd day onwards introduce mysis and pellet

Remove unfinished mysis and pellet after 20 mins

If the fish refuses all food, introduce life Brine Shrimp. It is very crucial that the fish begins feeding ASAP

Change 10% of the water daily (yes daily)

Do all the above for 4 weeks

At the end of the 4 weeks

Change 10% of the quarantine tank water using water from your display tank daily

When the salinity and PH of your quarantine tank is the same as your display tank you are ready to introduce the new comer to your display tank

Put the new comer into a small container and drip water from the display tank into the container.

Do the next step at night when the lights are out

When the temperature is the same as the display tank, add the new comer into the display tank

My track record using this method:

1 Fowleri Tang

1 Yellow Tang

1 Shoulder Tang

1 Blue Tang

1 Red Sea Sailfin Tang

1 Sohal Tang

1 Purple Tang

1 Powder Blue Tang

1 Hybrid Powder Blue Tang

1 Emperor Angel

1 Blue Face Angel

1 Queen Angel

1 Asfur Angel

1 French Angel

1 Six-bar Angel

1 Flame-back clown

The one that did not make it:

1 Regal Angel - Refuse to eat

1 Majestic Angel - Refuse to eat

The one that is currently under quarantine

1 Achilles Tang (into second week and feeding well)

I need to emphasise what works for me may not work for you. This is just another method among many you will find on the Internet. Quarantining reduces the chance of introducing any deadly bacteria or disease into your display tank. Most diseases will surface within 4 weeks. If your new comer should died during quarantine, at least it does not bring down the whole tank. The 4 weeks in quarantine will allow you fatten the new comer in preparation for the display tank. So far it has work well for me.

One last thing, yes I am grossly over-stock. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Do not follow my example. Fortunately I have a UPS.

[yikai]

Hi bros,

I'm trying my 'luck' with flame wrasse.. generally how to you find the 'difficult' in keeping this breed?

most wrasses, regrdless of family, are easy to get feeding. you should not have any difficulty feeding wise. as for disease, fairy hardy and resistant when compared to tangs, but still fall prey to the scrouge of diseases i.e ich, velvet etc. the only thing u have to worry about, is aggression. wrasses being jumpers, are very prone to jumping out when harassed. timid ones might not come out of hiding and eventually starve to death.

flame wrasses imo are very shy. so make sure u have no aggressive fishes or u can kiss this baby good bye

[orsony]

So far only 6 votes. Come on reefers I know there are many PBT lovers out there. You only need one click to vote, no need to comment if you do not wish to.

This fish is brought in by the LFS almost every fortnight. Because of their affordability and stunning good looks they are snap up by buyers (both novice and experienced). Unfortunately I suspect many of them do not truely knows how to properly climatise a PBT. The result is high mortality rate. For some it also wipe out the whole tank because the ICH has spread to the rest of the inhabitants (with the exception of invertebrates and corals).

In my opinion the PBT requires a very mature tank (ideally over 1 year) with plenty of LR and algae to start with. The minimum tank size is 4 ft and above. This fish forages constantly therefore LR with plenty of algae growth is a must.

The Powder series of Tang (Powder Blue, Powder Black and Achilles) are all ICH magnet. A quarantine tank of at least 2ft in size is a must. Failure to do so is akin to playing Russian Roulette with your existing fish with you losing most of the time.

The following is my procedure when I acquire a new fish:

Prepare a quarantine tank complete with LR at 1.009 salinity (yes, I am using hypo-salinity)

Place the fish in the quarantine tank

For Tang and Angel, provide a constant supply of red bamboo

Feed with nori (most Tangs and Angels cannot resist this aglae) daily

From 2nd day onwards introduce mysis and pellet

Remove unfinished mysis and pellet after 20 mins

If the fish refuses all food, introduce life Brine Shrimp. It is very crucial that the fish begins feeding ASAP

Change 10% of the water daily (yes daily)

Do all the above for 4 weeks

At the end of the 4 weeks

Change 10% of the quarantine tank water using water from your display tank daily

When the salinity and PH of your quarantine tank is the same as your display tank you are ready to introduce the new comer to your display tank

Put the new comer into a small container and drip water from the display tank into the container.

Do the next step at night when the lights are out

When the temperature is the same as the display tank, add the new comer into the display tank

My track record using this method:

1 Fowleri Tang

1 Yellow Tang

1 Shoulder Tang

1 Blue Tang

1 Red Sea Sailfin Tang

1 Sohal Tang

1 Purple Tang

1 Powder Blue Tang

1 Hybrid Powder Blue Tang

1 Emperor Angel

1 Blue Face Angel

1 Queen Angel

1 Asfur Angel

1 French Angel

1 Six-bar Angel

1 Flame-back clown

The one that did not make it:

1 Regal Angel - Refuse to eat

1 Majestic Angel - Refuse to eat

The one that is currently under quarantine

1 Achilles Tang (into second week and feeding well)

I need to emphasise what works for me may not work for you. This is just another method among many you will find on the Internet. Quarantining reduces the chance of introducing any deadly bacteria or disease into your display tank. Most diseases will surface within 4 weeks. If your new comer should died during quarantine, at least it does not bring down the whole tank. The 4 weeks in quarantine will allow you fatten the new comer in preparation for the display tank. So far it has work well for me.

One last thing, yes I am grossly over-stock. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Do not follow my example. Fortunately I have a UPS.

Bro, you seen to have a very beautiful track record. Is this record for the last 2 years since you started keeping marine? Where did you buy the fishes from? I think most of us will have a long list for a 2 years record. It would be very helpful if you can enlighten us or even the beginner to avoid heavy casualty.

[ranchuboy]

This is a recent list (about 6 months). I had a power failure that wipe out all the fishes (24 fishes averaging 4 to 7 inches). When I re-stocked, I decided to adopt this procedure. I reduced my 5 ft tank's salinity to 1.009 (aka hypo-salinity) and started adding fish. Some of the new addition contracted Ich. After a few days, the Ich disappeared. The important thing is, it did not spread to the existing fish. After 3 months, I gradually increased the salinity to 1.021. From this point onwards, all new comer must go through quarantine at 1.009 salinity. Chances of surviving is much higher.

I recently bought a 3" AT and applied the same quarantining procedure. It started eating nori from the second day onwards. By the third day, it was eating NLS pellets, mysis, brine shrimp, nori, red bamboo. Its colour was also vibrant. On the 6th day, it contracted Velvet and boarded the lorry on day 9. My quarantine tank is 2ft by 1ft by 1ft. I can only deduced the AT's stress has weaken its immunity and my 10% water change was not enough. Velvet is usually associated with poor water condition.

In my opinion, the 2 ft tank is too small to serve as a quarantine tank. A 3ft tank or bigger will be better. You should also consider the size and type of fish you are going to quarantine. Some fish may not be able to handle 1.009 salinity. Therefore you must do your research. As far as I know, Tangs and Angels have no problem with reduced salinity. Tangs do stress out easily if placed in cramed spaces. Those who wants to attempt hypo-salinity, please do your work home. The Internet has tons of article on this subject.

Lastly, I am sad my AT did not make it. However, I take consolation in the fact the Velvet disease did not take down my whole tank which it would have had I not quarantine it.

PS: I almost forgot, I got my fish from other reefers, IWARNA, Ah Beng, Aunti shop opposite Ah Beng, Pinnacle and LCK.

Bro, you seen to have a very beautiful track record. Is this record for the last 2 years since you started keeping marine? Where did you buy the fishes from? I think most of us will have a long list for a 2 years record. It would be very helpful if you can enlighten us or even the beginner to avoid heavy casualty.

[orsony]

This is a recent list (about 6 months). I had a power failure that wipe out all the fishes (24 fishes averaging 4 to 7 inches). When I re-stocked, I decided to adopt this procedure. I reduced my 5 ft tank's salinity to 1.009 (aka hypo-salinity) and started adding fish. Some of the new addition contracted Ich. After a few days, the Ich disappeared. The important thing is, it did not spread to the existing fish. After 3 months, I gradually increased the salinity to 1.021. From this point onwards, all new comer must go through quarantine at 1.009 salinity. Chances of surviving is much higher.

I recently bought a 3" AT and applied the same quarantining procedure. It started eating nori from the second day onwards. By the third day, it was eating NLS pellets, mysis, brine shrimp, nori, red bamboo. Its colour was also vibrant. On the 6th day, it contracted Velvet and boarded the lorry on day 9. My quarantine tank is 2ft by 1ft by 1ft. I can only deduced the AT's stress has weaken its immunity and my 10% water change was not enough. Velvet is usually associated with poor water condition.

In my opinion, the 2 ft tank is too small to serve as a quarantine tank. A 3ft tank or bigger will be better. You should also consider the size and type of fish you are going to quarantine. Some fish may not be able to handle 1.009 salinity. Therefore you must do your research. As far as I know, Tangs and Angels have no problem with reduced salinity. Tangs do stress out easily if placed in cramed spaces. Those who wants to attempt hypo-salinity, please do your work home. The Internet has tons of article on this subject.

Lastly, I am sad my AT did not make it. However, I take consolation in the fact the Velvet disease did not take down my whole tank which it would have had I not quarantine it.

PS: I almost forgot, I got my fish from other reefers, IWARNA, Ah Beng, Aunti shop opposite Ah Beng, Pinnacle and LCK.

Sad to hear your AT RIP. My AT also same same lah. It died because of internal bacteria(I guess) It kept eating but dun gain weight and suddenly became skinny on the RIP day.

Actually you should take out your AT for copper treatment if it is really velvet. So far this is one of the best method.

[RockyBoy]

2 times enough for me. My PBT always got stuck in the rocks and died.

[mopiko]

2 times enough for me. My PBT always got stuck in the rocks and died.

must be too fat. miscalculated his size and got jam in the rock.

[RockyBoy]

must be too fat. miscalculated his size and got jam in the rock.

Yah bro... damn fat till got stuck... very sad when I saw it got stuck and died ...

[mopiko]

Yah bro... damn fat till got stuck... very sad when I saw it got stuck and died ...

pengz. should have send them together with goudian to true yoga den dun get jam inside the rocks.

[RockyBoy]

pengz. should have send them together with goudian to true yoga den dun get jam inside the rocks.

Gouldian cannot learn yoga. Later stomach go backwards... siong ar...

[mopiko]

Gouldian cannot learn yoga. Later stomach go backwards... siong ar...

[mokmok]

I had experienced that despite keeping in a QT and the fishes were feeding plus less ich. They still died for unknown reason which I suspect is cyanide at work. However after more than 15 attempts, my current one has been with me for more than 10 months. This fish was introduced without QT and was feeding right from the beginning. Sadly, I am selling it off to attempt AT.

hi bro , how much are u looking for? iam interested in your PBT thank u 93854019

[deityhack]

3 months of staying alive to determine the success seems rather short. My PBT (2nd pbt i bought) has been staying with me for 5yrs+, surviving thru a few house moving, tank changing and several ich outbreak but still managed to pull thru. A bigger tank with lots of live rock is my secret with decent food esp nori.

[TFMANIAC]

My one and only attempt fell prey to Ich as well.

[Ketchup]

Powder Blue has always been my fav fish since i started reefing abt 3 yrs ago.. however, i feel, for such a fish, given its characteristics and size, you prob need at least a 6 ft tank for it to be comfortable and grow...

I was very tempted to buy and try for my 4 ft but decided against it already. Instead, now we are trying the Powder Brown instead.. as it doesn't grow as big and less prone to ich and less aggressive.

If i upgrade my tank in future to 6 ft or bigger... then i will definitely try Powder Blue and maybe AT..

[ronny]

my 3rd trial..success..more than a year in my tank n eat cabbage,nori n pellets too.once introduce, i put in my qt for 2 weeks..got a little white spot for the first week.from my experience for the first introduce try to keep the temperature consistantly.many white spot attact the pbt coz of un consistan temp.my salinity is 1.017-1.019.kh9-10..it a FOWLR tank.once established it so far are strong against diseases.my DT also once been attacked by disease.a rot tail symptom.seems the PBT r strong enough to prevent it..3 of my lovely angle that been more than a year TTC coz of that n my overlooked to quarantine n treatment.now treat my DT with copper too( i have to since my QT is unready)

[optimus prime]

because of the easily get itch problem, i lay my hands off them even if they are $1

[serravorte]

Had my AT for coming a year...

2nd attempt..

1st--> best method so far for me is to get them to feed asap..

2nd--> make sure the AT is the only TANG in the tank...

3rd--> Had cleaner crew (blood shrimp and neon goby) ready to feast on their itch...

4th--> now its time u pray hard.. haha...

hope this helps and not off topic cos i nv try PBT..

only tried AT the 2nd time and had a small success in keeping it for more then 6 mths..

be patient, time will come for u to keep ur dream fish some day...

[tiffanydunk]

they are ich magnet comparing to other tangs. Any explanation on why is that so?

[CFOh]

they are ich magnet comparing to other tangs. Any explanation on why is that so?

I think most Tangs r susceptible to ichs, probably In the wild, ichs parasite & Tangs rarely meets. Tangs generally swim in pair or schools midwater level. rarely close to sand or the rock except nipping on algae. And most of the time, straight down when nipping on rock. They are scale-less and without slime coat. So, the skin protection level is weak also highly demanding on oxygen level due to scaleless/slime coat.. If really Ichs parasites attacked, were from blood fluids and multiples on blood line which causing oxygen deficiency accelerated. Tang might died due to that. For ichs parasite normally lives on rock or sandbed. So, probability for them to meet up is almost near zero in the wild.

Below is just my tot.... PBT belong to Acanthuridae species.. Compare to Zebrasoma sailfin species.. Both r prone to ichs but most acanthuridae r more susceptible and harder recover from ichs like AT, BT, CT & PBT... I believe something deal with their skin characterize.. Cause I realize most Acanthuridae changing Skin Color with mode but not so obvious on Zebrasoma species.. Also their oxygen requirement higher than others.. fast swimmer and bigger space requirement.. Therefore, in captivity the stress level will be significantly higher if keeping them in smaller space. That is the reason, you always see them hover in front return flow... Above just my tot or sharing.. Cheers...