Cursed with ich...can a McCosker handle copper???

[Mini Coop]

I swear I’m cursed!

I got a new McCosker about a week and a half ago. All has been good...and he is eating great! Not acting funny at all. Then tonight when I went to feed him - it looks like typical ich. White spots on his fins and body. .
I literally JUST ordered my new blue star leopard wrasses right before I saw this and their tank is right next to the mccoskers. So. I canceled the order. . I don’t have a place far away to move the tank and if this is ich, I don’t want to risk it going airborne.

Soooo....can mccoskers handle copper? I use coppersafe. How quickly can they handle/should I raise the levels?

Also - I have had him for a week and 2 days. If he had it when I got him, would it have taken this long to show?

 

[Mini Coop]

Crap. Upon closer examination it could be brook or velvet. The fins are more splotchy. Maybe not spots?

 

[Mini Coop]

Thinking FW bath tonight
Then copper - 1 tsp tonight. Test. Add more first thing in the morning.
Get him to therapeutic levels within 24 hours.

 

[Mini Coop]

@Big G #reefsquad @Maritimer @4FordFamily @Humblefish @melypr1985 - I swear to you I don't purposely infect things with diseases - - - this one has me baffled. He has been so awesome for over a week.
And he seems covered in quite a bit. Just all of the sudden. It would have happened since last night. And I don't know that the tang had it at ALL. His fins were completely clear and I saw no white spots on him at all. Only the infection.
However, I have had several fish from this particular store with something.

Of course now is the freak out that I could have cross-contaminated my main tank - but that would be crazy as no equipment is shared.

 

[saltyhog]

Any pictures? As quick as that happened it's important to make sure it isn't velvet (which is running rampent right now).

 

[Mini Coop]

Any pictures? As quick as that happened it's important to make sure it isn't velvet (which is running rampent right now).

He’s hiding in his tube and when he’s out I can barely catch him.
Pics that I could get are attached. I’m actually thinking it might be velvet because of how quickly it appeared.
And his fins are looking kind of a mix of dusty/spotty.

 

[Humblefish]

@Mini Coop Can we get some pics, especially of the fins? To help nail down whether this is just ich or something else...

 

[Humblefish]

I'm not 100% sure from the photos, but saying the fins are looking "dusty" makes me highly suspect velvet: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/

Execute the protocol: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/#post-2499437

 

[Mini Coop]

I'm not 100% sure from the photos, but saying the fins are looking "dusty" makes me highly suspect velvet: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/

Execute the protocol: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/#post-2499437

Protocol set up except the reef rally bath to follow FW bath. New QT set up. Working on copper levels. Will the McCosker be able to handle all of this?

Antibiotics - in the water with copper or just mixed with food?

 

[Mini Coop]

I'm not 100% sure from the photos, but saying the fins are looking "dusty" makes me highly suspect velvet: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/

Execute the protocol: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/#post-2499437

Also - could he have had the velvet and it not shown until over a week?

Your new set up is going to be totally worth getting fish from you and not having these late nights of panic.

 

[Kyl]

My dottyback that brought velvet into the system (before I QT'd to include velvet) looked completely clean and within two weeks the DT was in an outbreak. Many LFS are running heavy UV and some with lower levels of copper in those tanks to suppress the nasties and make the fish look healthier than they are.

Hope you can save the little guy, they're beautiful flashers. * as a side note, I'm 5/6 for fairy/flasher wrasses with coppersafe. They seem to handle it fine as long as it's ramped slowly - kind of not an option with velvet though. The only loss was a social wrasse that was heavily infested with flukes, I think the prazi then copper was just too much for it.

 

[Humblefish]

Also - could he have had the velvet and it not shown until over a week?

If he was kept in nontherapeutic copper before you got him, totally possible.

I would do the FW dip + Rally bath, and then into the new QT. Being you setup a sterile QT for him, that buys you 48 hrs to bring the copper up to therapeutic. Do it slowly/gradually. Don't worry about adding any other medications at this time.

 

[Mini Coop]

If he was kept in nontherapeutic copper before you got him, totally possible.

I would do the FW dip + Rally bath, and then into the new QT. Being you setup a sterile QT for him, that buys you 48 hrs to bring the copper up to therapeutic. Do it slowly/gradually. Don't worry about adding any other medications at this time.

Crap - I already put it at therapeutic. Lol. Do I need to do a water change and scale it back?

 

[Mini Coop]

Crap - I already put it at therapeutic. Lol. Do I need to do a water change and scale it back?

I follow directions quickly. Lol.

 

[Humblefish]

Crap - I already put it at therapeutic. Lol. Do I need to do a water change and scale it back?

Are they already in there?

If so, what's done is done. Let's hope they eat before considering lowering it.

If not, do a large WC to scale it back.

 

[Mini Coop]

Are they already in there?

If so, what's done is done. Let's hope they eat before considering lowering it.

If not, do a large WC to scale it back.

No. I’m still waiting on the RO water to heat up for the FW bath. Heated RO isn’t something I keep on hand. Lol.

I’m also trying to get a video to you as to whether it is ich or velvet as well. I also just happened to have this tank set up for the order of blue stars - which I canceled immediately upon finding him tonight. I have SW mixing, so I’ll do a WC. Get it down to 1.0 tonight?

 

[Mini Coop]

Almost 1 am. Baths complete. In his new tank. Copper level at 1.0. Praying he makes it. It’s been a long night to Try to save him.

What sucks is if he doesn’t make it knowing that he was healthy and eating tonight. But he wouldn’t have been for long without this. I know that.
Here is to hoping flash can make it through.

Thank you all for your help. I’ll update tomorrow.

 

[4FordFamily]

The timeline and description sound like velvet, I agree! Sorry, I hope it pulls through!

Adding copper rather quickly when dealing with velvet is necessary, time isn’t our friend!

 

[ngoodermuth]

You’re in good hands already, but I just wanted to say I love his name (I’ve been Netflix binging that show recently [emoji38])

 

[Mini Coop]

thanks for your help last night everyone! I feel like I’m getting to the point where I won’t need to reference any of The guidance! Unfortunately, I’m becoming an expert on this stuff! LOL

Flash was a little pill this morning, but moving around the tank. He was a little freaked out when I turn the lights on to the basement, so I wasn’t able to get him to eat this morning, but I will try again this afternoon.
I added a little bit more copper to the water, and will test it this afternoon and have it to therapeutic levels by tomorrow afternoon.