Best way to deal with white spot in my situation?

[1Clown]

I have a total of 10 fish with the worst affected being my prize juvenile emperor angel. I don't have and cannot get due to space constraints a tank or a tub to put all the fish in and treat with copper, the other annoying thing being keeping the display empty for 12 weeks.

I was thinking is there a fast acting medication where I can pull the worst affected fish out and give them a dose or something for a few hours or 1-2 days and put them back in the display whilst also adding a UV to the display, is this a viable option or is there something better?

Thanks.

 

[kartrsu]

Unfortunately, the best course of action is to treat and run fallow. I’m not aware of any meds that dislodge the ich parasite, but even if you were to do so, it still exists in your tank in some capacity. UV may help limit parasites at lower flow rates, but always will have some latent infection. Check out the ich mgmt vs eradication thread.

 

[davidcalgary29]

You could pull out all your LR (and inverts and coral if you have any), put it in a bin with a powerhead, and treat your DT with copper as a last resort. I wouldn't recommend this without carefully considering the many downsides of this approach, but it's still better than a FW dip and return to the DT (which does not address the issue on a longterm basis).

 

[HuduVudu]

My experience is that this is caused by some stressor in your tank. Unless or until you remove that stressor the fish will suffer.

This post talks about some of the possible solutions to the problem you are having.

How to run your new tank without fallow and quarantine, post here for guidance live time, we track your tank out to eight months

So as a part of another post it was suggested that I set up a post for the 'alternate' methods. Gonna tag in @Paul B because he follows this path also and his experience is different from mine. How I 'manage' ... read ignore fish disease. My experience. I will put this out there because I...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[1Clown]

My experience is that this is caused by some stressor in your tank. Unless or until you remove that stressor the fish will suffer.

This post talks about some of the possible solutions to the problem you are having.

How to run your new tank without fallow and quarantine, post here for guidance live time, we track your tank out to eight months

So as a part of another post it was suggested that I set up a post for the 'alternate' methods. Gonna tag in @Paul B because he follows this path also and his experience is different from mine. How I 'manage' ... read ignore fish disease. My experience. I will put this out there because I...

www.reef2reef.com

Not sure what caused it as nothing bothered it, it was pretty much the boss of the tank. Not even finicky fish like my fire fish has a single sign of any parasite.

 

[kartrsu]

The spots actually look like velvet. I would definitely FW dip and treat in copper if you can. Velvet untreated usually ends badly.

 

[1Clown]

The spots actually look like velvet. I would definitely FW dip and treat in copper if you can. Velvet untreated usually ends badly.

Is this only worth it if I take ALL the fish out and leave display empty for 2 months?

 

[kartrsu]

Is this only worth it if I take ALL the fish out and leave display empty for 2 months?

Yes. The amount of spots on the emperor suggests the disease is more advanced than initial infection, which means parasite concentration is pretty high. Any treatment is worth it at this point to be honest, but if you don’t go fallow, it will just repeat itself unfortunately. Velvet management is very very hard to achieve if at all.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Definitely looks like velvet, if you cant setup another tank then youll have to treat the display with copper. All inverts and corals would have to go and you will have a hard time ever keeping them again in the system. A quarantine system is highly recommended though and i would try to find some way to setup one. If you dont find a solution asap you will likely lose all your fish as its already a pretty advanced infection. Good luck, velvet is quick and deadly

 

[1Clown]

Definitely looks like velvet, if you cant setup another tank then youll have to treat the display with copper. All inverts and corals would have to go and you will have a hard time ever keeping them again in the system. A quarantine system is highly recommended though and i would try to find some way to setup one. If you dont find a solution asap you will likely lose all your fish as its already a pretty advanced infection. Good luck, velvet is quick and deadly

Say I managed to set up a quarantine tank and treated the fish, in that time can I add a UV to the display and put the fish back quicker than the usual 2 months due to adding the UV?

I think the angel will be gone by tomorrow, it's in real bad shape, didn't eat at all today and often rests in a crevice which isn't normal behaviour.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Typically its 6 weeks not a full two months. I believe I read that a hydrogen peroxide dip can be more beneficial and offer some relief in the mean time.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Say I managed to set up a quarantine tank and treated the fish, in that time can I add a UV to the display and put the fish back quicker than the usual 2 months due to adding the UV?

I think the angel will be gone by tomorrow, it's in real bad shape, didn't eat at all today and often rests in a crevice which isn't normal behaviour.

I would add the uv light as a good measure anyway but i would still wait the 76 days. If you reintroduce in 45, and they get it again, now your out for over 100 days.

HOWEVER there is one other solution, you can restart the tank. Put everything in a qt system and drain your tank, take the rocks out, and bleach everything. Bleach the rocks seperately and scrub the tank/filters. Rinse with r/o water. After everythings been dry for a few days fill with freshwater only, run a declorinator and after thats been going for a week drain and add saltwater. Add beneficial bacteria to get it going and you can re add the fish after 3 week copper treatment. Thats the only way to beat the 76 day fallow period.

 

[1Clown]

I would add the uv light as a good measure anyway but i would still wait the 76 days. If you reintroduce in 45, and they get it again, now your out for over 100 days.

HOWEVER there is one other solution, you can restart the tank. Put everything in a qt system and drain your tank, take the rocks out, and bleach everything. Bleach the rocks seperately and scrub the tank/filters. Rinse with r/o water. After everythings been dry for a few days fill with freshwater only, run a declorinator and after thats been going for a week drain and add saltwater. Add beneficial bacteria to get it going and you can re add the fish after 3 week copper treatment. Thats the only way to beat the 76 day fallow period.

Well to be honest I will be upgrading my tank soon, it'll take anywhere between 8-12 weeks due to how busy they are with orders. I won't be using any of my current rock, filtration or heaters on my new build so do you think I should just treat the fish in the current tank?

My only concern is would it mean the skimmer, heater and pumps cannot be used again in a reef system even after being cleaned thoroughly with vinegar and left to dry?

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Well to be honest I will be upgrading my tank soon, it'll take anywhere between 8-12 weeks due to how busy they are with orders. I won't be using any of my current rock, filtration or heaters on my new build so do you think I should just treat the fish in the current tank?

My only concern is would it mean the skimmer, heater and pumps cannot be used again in a reef system even after being cleaned thoroughly with vinegar and left to dry?

If thats the case id personally treat the tank then. After words run cuprisorb. You should be fine reusing the skimmer and pumps. If you want to be extra safe you can run them in a bucket with cuprisorb by themselves for a few days.

Just pull any inverts or coral

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Rocks and coral can absorb copper to some degree so you will have to watch levels carefully.

 

[1Clown]

Rocks and coral can absorb copper to some degree so you will have to watch levels carefully.

Are you saying I may have to dose more cupramine if the rock absorbs it?

 

[kartrsu]

Are you saying I may have to dose more cupramine if the rock absorbs it

Personally, I would remove as much rock as possible but enough to maintain bio filter to minimize absorption. You will need to dose above therapeutic range and test frequently to make sure at no point does it fall out of range. Otherwise, you gotta start all over with copper. After 14 days at full therapeutic, keep your fish in a heated mixing bucket with new saltwater for 3 days while you strip and sterilize your tank, allowing time to dry. Then you can move fish back provided you have reused nothing wet from your old setup. Can use biospira to quick start the cycle too.

 

[1Clown]

Personally, I would remove as much rock as possible but enough to maintain bio filter to minimize absorption. You will need to dose above therapeutic range and test frequently to make sure at no point does it fall out of range. Otherwise, you gotta start all over with copper. After 14 days at full therapeutic, keep your fish in a heated mixing bucket with new saltwater for 3 days while you strip and sterilize your tank, allowing time to dry. Then you can move fish back provided you have reused nothing wet from your old setup. Can use biospira to quick start the cycle too.

Can I not just treat them in the current tank and then when the new tank comes use all new rock, equipment etc.. and simply transfer fish over slowly?

 

[kartrsu]

Can I not just treat them in the current tank and then when the new tank comes use all new rock, equipment etc.. and simply transfer fish over slowly?

You can treat them in the current tank, but you will need to run full therapeutic copper for a minimum of 30 days. It’s also more stressful for the fish.

 

[1Clown]

You can treat them in the current tank, but you will need to run full therapeutic copper for a minimum of 30 days. It’s also more stressful for the fish.

That's surprising I thought it'd be more stressful for the fish to take rock out, lower water level and try and catch poorly fish over just medicating them in their current tank.