ichish looking clowns. Can anyone ID this illness (pic).

[Humblefish]

fantastic! Thanks for all of the great advise. I will see if I can get a vet to fill the prescription for me to have on hand when I stock back up after the fallow period.
So I still haven't pulled the 2 fish out yet. I've been busy and honestly dreading it
I was thinking, however. If I put the dragonette and lawnmower out into the 10g QT, do you think I could keep them alive by putting in some plastic hiding spots, nori (for the blenny), and manually buy and feed pods (for the drag.)?

The blenny will be fine so long as you provide nori regularly. However, IME feeding nori too often in QT presents certain challenges... tiny pieces of it get all in the water, clogs your HOB, requires more cleaning... That's something you can usually live with for 4-6 weeks of QT, but 72 days?

A pod only eating mandy is gonna be next to impossible (and very expensive) to keep alive for 72 days, especially when using a chemical treatment. Your live pods are gonna die the moment they hit the water and are exposed to CP. I normally advocate TTM for mandarins (good idea for a Lawnmower as well), but your challenge is having the 72 day fallow period. It would be easier if your mandy was eating frozen or pellets.

Sorry to be such a "Debbie Downer", but I want you to fully understand the challenges ahead. I'm gonna be honest with you... If I were in your shoes, I would see if I could get store credit for both the blenny & mandy at a LFS and just make a fresh start. You can buy a (less demanding) replacement fish or two, QT them while you go fallow, and they'll be ready to go into the DT in 72 days. Just be sure to house your QT at least 10 feet away from the DT, and be mindful of any cross contamination.

 

[dangros]

That makes sense and I appreciate the honesty. I would rather hear the harsh news than keep this bad streak going. Now, to catch those guys!

 

[dangros]

Less than 2 weeks left! I was thinking of starting out with a yellow tang - canary in the coal mine as I joked with Bob from iBluewater!
Get the smallest one I can so that it doesnt get too cocky when the other fish arrive. If he dies, I know going fallow didnt do the trick. If he lives for 2 weeks, I fill up How's that sound?

 

[Marty.h]

I tried that and stocked to have another recent outbreak I am fallow once again and it will be for 4 months this time I wish you all the best and hope it goes well for you but I know for a fact that after 4 months the system will be totally rid of it.

My LFS are also going to copper treat all new fish for me when I re-stock for several weeks before I even let them anywhere near my DT.

 

[dangros]

this 2nd round, did you get it from another fish or was it still in the tank?
And how long was the first fallow period?

 

[Edsel Santoni]

Ich is the most common illness but can be very hard to distinguish between ich, marine velvet, and cotton wool disease

 

[dangros]

Fallow period over!!! Naso tang in the tank. Very timid fish. Decided to get a tang b/c if anything is still there, it will let me me know!
SO far so good. Cross your fingers!

 

[Humblefish]

Good luck!

 

[dangros]

after 2 weeks the tang is now laying on it's side and seemingly unable to swim.
It stopped swimming 2 days ago but I thought it was just hiding for some reason b/c it was vertical and next to a rock on the bottom. It never really seemed to eat but I would catch it grazing on the rocks once in a while. I tried lots of foods: Rod's frozen, mysis, nori, cheato, a frozen herbivore food, and LRS fish frenzy. It looks terribly thin. It doesnt have the same symptoms as the ich fish did pre-fallow period so I'm hoping it's not ich. Very disappointing.
Shocked to see it still alive this am, I xfered it to a QT tank and put in Ich Shield and Metronidzole.

 

[Humblefish]

Sorry to hear of the continued troubles. Did the tang go thru the same treatments with all the other fish? What meds did you use?

 

[dangros]

Since the tank was done w/the fallow period, I put it directly in w/o QT. The fish is from Live Aq. which claims they QT and acclimate b/f selling. I'm sure they do but I guess I should have still qt'd it anyhow. I figured it would be more risky/stressful putting him in the 10g QT for 2 weeks. And, since there were no fish in the DT to worry about...
I did not treat it or put it in any dip or meds after shipping if that's what you are asking?

 

[Humblefish]

Since the tank was done w/the fallow period, I put it directly in w/o QT. The fish is from Live Aq. which claims they QT and acclimate b/f selling. I'm sure they do but I guess I should have still qt'd it anyhow. I figured it would be more risky/stressful putting him in the 10g QT for 2 weeks. And, since there were no fish in the DT to worry about...
I did not treat it or put it in any dip or meds after shipping if that's what you are asking?

Forgoing QT was a serious mistake, regardless of the source. LA Diver's Den specimens get some QT/treatment, but how much varies from fish to fish. If you just bought a "regular" LA specimen, it shipped directly from the wholesaler and got no QT at all.

 

[dangros]

Why do you say it was a big mistake? Is it b/c I couldn't preventatively treat it b/f going into the DT?
It was a regular LA purchase. On the phone, they claimed to QT and make sure they eat b/f sending out (I asked). I'm very disappointed in them in that regard. The fish never looked great and was never a good eater. All my other orders from there were great, however. I'm not sure if blonde naso's are shy by nature but I'm now 0 for 2 on nasos from 2 diff places. Think I'm feeling a bit beat down given the amount of effort I've put in this tank. My last tank was never QT'd and had 1/10th the hardware and attn. yet never had these issues.

 

[Humblefish]

Why do you say it was a big mistake? Is it b/c I couldn't preventatively treat it b/f going into the DT?

I'm just saying it's a mistake not QT'ing any & all new fish, especially after what you went thru having to go fallow & everything. If you don't QT, it's only a matter of time before it happens to you again. Not trying to be disrespectful towards you... just being brutally honest with you about it.

 

[dangros]

no disrespect at ALL. You're opinion is highly regarded by me and the community.
I will QT from this point forward even if there is nothing in the tank. At the very least, I have to get the routine down b/f adding fish once fish exist.
On a side note, how would you recommend I clean the QT tank?

 

[Humblefish]

no disrespect at ALL. You're opinion is highly regarded by me and the community.
I will QT from this point forward even if there is nothing in the tank. At the very least, I have to get the routine down b/f adding fish once fish exist.
On a side note, how would you recommend I clean the QT tank?

Do you want to break it down and then set it back up? If so, wipe it down thoroughly using vinegar, including the seams and then rinse it out. Or if you want to leave it setup, you can just do a large WC and run carbon to remove any residuals from the meds you used.

Don't know if you've seen it, but I wrote a "How To QT" guide, including protocols you can use to prophylactically treat fish: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-quarantine.189815/

Or even just passively observing for 1 month in QT works too, if you are an observant person and have time to spend watching fish in QT for behavioral symptoms of disease.

 

[dangros]

I did read it a couple months back but I guess I need a refresher
I just got some Prazipro in today and need to get my hands on a batch of chloroquine phosphate and I'll be ready to QT.
Will try a small but heartier yellow tang next. If those one dies off, I dont know what to do other than get my air quality checked in my house!

 

[dangros]

So in my earlier post I had mentioned that I had gotten the CP. At the time I was confused and thought that ick shield was CP. Has it been confirmed that ick shield has cp?

 

[Humblefish]

So in my earlier post I had mentioned that I had gotten the CP. At the time I was confused and thought that ick shield was CP. Has it been confirmed that ick shield has cp?

NLS Ick Shield contains CP sourced from China. There is both a powder form (for QT use only) and "medicated" pellets (for DT use). The latter is useless for parasite eradication but may be useful for disease management purposes. As useful as garlic or any of those herbal remedies anyway. The former would be unreliable IMO because CP sourced from China is not always consistent. Maybe it's 90% pure, 95% pure or 99% pure. IME; CP is only reliable for external parasite eradication when it is 99% pure. The best way to ensure you are getting 99% pure is to only buy from an American or Canadian pharmacy which adheres to strict govt. regulations when it comes to medications meant for human consumption. CP is used to treat malaria - many tourists begin taking Chloroquine prophylactically before visiting Africa. That guy who shot the lion probably has a stash.

 

[dangros]

this is the type of info I was after!! How do you find out this stuff?! The dentist can prob write his own script and pick it up on the way to jail Now to find a pharmacy and prescription. Unless I can get it from fellow reefers in the area.
One question concerning the CP: if you get a prescription from a vet/doctor, I would imagine that the pharma would likely fill it with pills instead of the powder. How can you be sure to get the powder form?