Fish are sick

[bdesign]

Hello.
Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

I have a 56g tank - up 5 months.

It's my first time with a saltwater aquarium.

I lost my PBT two weeks ago and I, nor the LFS, have ANY IDEA what his illness was.

None of the others show any signs, whatsoever, of sickness - they're all great eaters and very active.

Yesterday, the Niger Trigger (plan to move him to a larger tank) suddenly looked as though he was dipped in a very fine powdered sugar and one of his pectoral fins has a tear.
He's still eating fairly well, but frequently rubs the substrate and rocks.

TODAY, my first fish in the tank (clownfish) is now doing what LOOKS to be hosting the bottom corner of the tank, but I don't think that's what he's doing. He always stays in the upper 2/3 of the tank.
He refused food today which is a first.

It looks slightly powdery and has a large red "bruise" under one of the pectoral fins and a pink raw spot on the temple.

I check my water parameters almost obsessively and everything seems to be in range;

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 20
PH - 8.0
Phosphate - .25
KH - 11
Calcium - 360
SG - 1.026

Hopefully this link to a video works?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mu0zgbmj36s4b9y/SW Tank.MOV?dl=0

 

[Crabs McJones]

It looks like Velvet or Brook with a secondary bacterial infection.
Are there any fish left in the tank?

 

[bdesign]

I'll need to look up Brook as I haven't heard of it... Velvet, I have heard of... so, set the aquarium on fire and walk away? sheesh

They're all still alive;

Niger Trigger
Yellow Eye Kole Tang
Clownfish x2
Yellow Watchman Goby
Chromis x3

 

[Crabs McJones]

I'll need to look up Brook as I haven't heard of it... Velvet, I have heard of... so, set the aquarium on fire and walk away? sheesh

They're all still alive;

Niger Trigger
Yellow Eye Kole Tang
Clownfish x2
Yellow Watchman Goby
Chromis x3

Lol, not quite. I'm going to see if the experts will take a look for us to verify before you do anything. @HotRocks @4FordFamily Can you guys see what you think?

 

[HotRocks]

Definitely velvet. Possible Brook and maybe a bacterial infection as well. @Crabs Mcjones is on it.

Here is best thing to do. Move fish to hospital or QT.

Start with a 5min FW dip for each fish.
This will provide temporary relief.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/

1. 90 minute bath in acriflavine between DT and QT.

2 therapeutic copper in the next 48 hours. I prefer chelated copper. Pre dose QT to 1.0ppm if using copper power and then ramp up to 1.75ppm over next 48hrs.

3. Get antibiotics on hand if you don't have them on hand you will likely need them from what I see. Metroplex Furan-2 and Kanaplex are all good to have on hand in your situation.

DT will need to be fallow for 6 weeks.

 

[Big G]

Sorry this has to be your first posting. That's velvet. You need to act fast to attempt to save them.

 

[bdesign]

<sighs deeply>

Thanks for the instructions!

I don't understand this part:

"1. 90 minute bath in acriflavine between DT and QT"


So that I don't misunderstand and kill everything:

1. 5 min FW Dip

2. THEN the 90 min bath?

3. Then to the QT

4. Start Copper and Antibiotics tomorrow (I'll have to get meds tonight)

Questions since I don't have a Hospital/QT tank:

- Can I use 15 gallons of water from my DT to fill the extra 20 gallon tank I have on hand?
- Can I remove one of the HOB Filters from the DT and use on the QT?
- NO substrate, correct? only a couple of PVC elbows?
-ALL fish even though the others show no signs? That YWG is gonna be a joke getting out as I'll have to remove all the rock

 

[bdesign]

Hospital Tank (20g with Penguin 200 HOB filter, heater, and 4 PVC elbows only) up and running as of 9pm last night and dosed with 1ppm Copper Power.

All fish played dead through the 5 min FW dip before being transferred into Hospital Tank.

QUESTION: I have about 15 gallons of water in the 20g Hospital Tank... the HOB filter is pouring into the tank creating a splashy waterfall of sorts... can that OVER aerate the water? May be a silly question, but I'll risk looking silly(er) than I already do.

 

[bdesign]

UPDATE
Total Casualties:

- Clownfish pair

WHY have I gotten so attached to all these stinkin' fish

 

[HotRocks]

The waterfall of water is a good thing.

Sorry for the loss. You're doing it right!

 

[bdesign]

Sorry this has to be your first posting. That's velvet. You need to act fast to attempt to save them.

"Metroplex Furan-2 and Kanaplex are all good to have on hand in your situation."

any suggestions/guidelines on dosing the 3 medicines? Should I rotate the doses of each on alternate days? (i.e. not all three meds on the same day)

I administered the the Metroplex this morning; I dissolved it in a little water removed from the QT and then swirled it back into the QT

 

[bdesign]

UPDATE
Total Casualties:

- Clownfish pair

WHY have I gotten so attached to all these stinkin' fish

-

Yellow Eye Kole Tang

I’m fittin’ to cry

 

[Reefahholic]

Dang man. Sorry to hear/see this.

I just wanna answer one of your questions. When setting up a QT, it’s always best to use freshly mixed saltwater. If you can, let it age 12-24 hrs. Always match salinity and temp and it’s good to have an airstone in the tank while you’re dosing medication. The reason why you wouldn’t use DT water in the QT is because you don’t want to introduce any more parasites than what’s already on the fish. Best of luck with them!

 

[bdesign]

thanks to everyone for all the help!

All remaining fish made it through and are now back in the main tank.

 

[Big G]

Great news!

 

[elisa h]

Just a heads up, unless you cleaned out the whole tank and started anew, the tank most likely still has velvet and will reinfect the fish. A tank has to sit without fish for 6 weeks in order to starve out the parasites.

 

[elisa h]

Never mind, I thought the date you started was later. Disregard that

 

[SeaJay]

Never mind, I thought the date you started was later. Disregard that

He said QT was up and running as of December 18th. I’m with you, I hope he didn’t just go through all of that only to reinfect the fish by putting them back in DT too soon as 76 days is the recommended time frame, not 6 weeks.

 

[HotRocks]

He said QT was up and running as of December 18th. I’m with you, I hope he didn’t just go through all of that only to reinfect the fish by putting them back in DT too soon as 76 days is the recommended time frame, not 6 weeks.

6 weeks will definitely erradicate velvet and Brook. It will also "likely" erradicate ich. If it was ich then I would highly recommend the full 76 to be safe. There are some strains that are slower to cycle. If we are strictly talking about velvet though 6 weeks is long enough.

 

[4FordFamily]

6 weeks will definitely erradicate velvet and Brook. It will also "likely" erradicate ich. If it was ich then I would highly recommend the full 76 to be safe. There are some strains that are slower to cycle. If we are strictly talking about velvet though 6 weeks is long enough.

Agree. Glad your fish made it, op!