Desperate & Frustrated

[Fish.Bum00]

75g DT
20g sump
Mixed reef with sand.

Fallow for 6 weeks for Brooklynella.
Several fish survived outbreak and have had a huge bounce back in health. I felt I had learned my lesson early, and began to implement a QT practice. Copper, GC, food soaked GC. Observation.

Old fish back in DT.

2 Clownfish
1 YWG
1 Firefish
5 Astraea
5 Trochus
2 Nassarius
1 Fighting Conch
2 Peppermint Shrimp
4 Dwarf Hermits
1 Porcelain crab
1 RFA

Purchased 1 Melanarus Wrasse and 1 One-Spot Foxface about a month after original fish went back in the DT. Put them through QT, and they seemed strong. Added them about 4 weeks ago. Seemed to be doing really well, picking at rocks, swimming the length of tank, adjusted nicely with other tankmates.

This morning, the Foxface looked sad, and the wrasse didnt come out to eat. Usually, these two are the first to the food. The Wrasse eventually came out. Neither fish ate anything. Both were breathing very fast, and not swimming everywhere like the days before.

Fish looked noticeably worse in a short period of time. I somehow managed to catch them and give a FW dip followed by formalin bath, then into GC treated QT tank. Going to start copper tonight.

My best guess is Flukes or Velvet.

Below are some pictures, but my topic isnt specifically around the diagnosis of these fish. Still, I do appreciate any input or suggestions regarding the disease.

It is not looking good, at all, for the wrasse. He is still breathing, but not really moving. Just laying on his side. Foxface looks a little better than the wrasse, but not great.

The fish looked super healthy coming out of QTand everyday in DT except for today. The only thing that has changed over the past month has been the addition of 10 Astraea and 5 Trochus from LFS 72 hours ago.

Everything seemed to be going so well, post fallow. The fish looked brighter and healthier than when I purchased them. I even started to get some decent sps encrusting on rocks and plugs. Added some T5 supplements and increased flow. Feeling good, then . . . BAM!

Early on, when I was collecting all the equipment, I frequently read about risk level of each person. I can't get GD fish to stay alive even after fallow and QT. How the hell are all these people throwing fish, invertebrates and coral straight into the tank and having success.

My wife's friend has a FOWLR tank but has two large adult clowns and an adult blue tang for years. They don't do any QT and they've had same fish for years.

I've done so much right in my first setup, but the sick fish thing is killing me. It's hard to get fish, name it, get attached, then have the two year old ask me where so&so went. I have to tell him they are in the hospital. Sometimes they are and sometimes they arent.

At this point I think its flukes or velvet. Starting copper tonight, and hopefully the fish will survive.

My tank has been running for 10 months now and I'll have had two fallow periods, the cycle, adding fish slowly. It's like the tank is fish less more often than not.

I'm frustrated, almost to the point of questioning if I should continue.

But now what? I have to go fallow again?Have a Fish QT and a Coral/invertebrates QT? Really be strict with the QT practice. Wait 3 months between additions?

Its gonna be a challenge to tell the wife we need to spend more $ and use more space when I feel like I'm failing.

Seriously, somebody give me some confidence. Reef2reef has been my go to place for info and support.

Is it always this fricking hard?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Sorry this is happening. Fresh water dip would have shown flukes.

Velvet typically causes fish to swim into flow for relief.

Is your tank bare bottom? The melanurus needs sand to sleep in.

@Big G

 

[tehmadreefer]

I’ll say this til the day I die. QT is the absolute worst thing ever invented in this hobby.

float temp and dump in the dt and don’t look back!

 

[Big G]

The supply chains are awful with parasites and disease. Having a QT for inverts, corals is a good thing to do. Actually works out pretty well as a grow out tank for small coral frags too.

I did the temp and dump and a whole tank of fish came down with velvet and then the bacterial infections set in. They all died.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I second. Would never add any fish without quarantine. Never.

 

[Raege]

I feel your pain. I had completed my fish stock list got t5’s to start on the corals. Bought coral from a place I shouldn’t have dipped and placed not to long later 3/4 of stock dead.
I fed quality frozen , probiotic pellets, vitamins , used probiotic salt water, ran uv and still a coral not qt’d brought it down.
Can people be successful with management yeah but depending on sources you can be burned. Hard choices to make observation , treatment with meds fish may not survive tank transfer method etc.
for me corals and inverts getting the qt going forward fish will buy from trusted sources pre qt’d and observed.
Hang tough I hope you find the right mix going forward to enjoy the hobby and get past the rough spot again

 

[Fishbird]

In this case, since the fish already survived QT just fine and were doing well until shortly after the addition of snails, I would take @Big G ’s suggestion that the velvet (if that’s what you have) came in on the snails. Velvet spends part of its life cycle as a cyst and the cysts can be on any hard things. To play it super safe you’d need to quarantine your inverts in a fishless system. There is a sticky thread in this forum talking about the fallow periods which would also apply for invert QT.

I’m so sorry you’re dealing with these challenges!

(To be clear, I also think quarantining (not necessarily with medication) is the best way to protect all your animals. I also hope this thread doesn’t turn into a quarantine debate because your fish didn’t get sick or die during quarantine.)

 

[Fish.Bum00]

Thanks everyone. The tanks are two separate bare bottom QTs. The melanarus was in BB at the LFS I bought from, and when I ran him through QT I kept it BB.

I read something that said clowns can hold off some disease longer due to slime coat, but firefish and YWG seem fine too.

So all other fish are unaffected right now.

 

[Fish.Bum00]

Thanks Fishbird. I agree with keeping the thread away from the debate on QT or not. I tried QT and snails may have brought in the disease. It just sucks.

Now the only safe way is to just go fallow, and QT all inverts and coral.

I feel like I should just say screw it, have a coral invert only tank, and go get that bass boat lol.

 

[Dolelo96]

I’ve had two Melanarus and they need a sand bed, especially if your introducing them into a stocked tank. That’s their “safe” place if nervous or other fish are being aggressive. Quite a few people will even put a little dish of sand in quarantine so they will feel safe. They may be able to do bb short term, but not long term. Mine had the same spot in the tank it would bury itself in at night or when startled.

Sorry your going through this again. Good luck