Fish dying

[chimbo84]

Well I just went to check on the guy and he was lifeless at the bottom of the tank. I have never seen anything wipe out a healthy fish so quickly and now I am really concerned for all my fish. This may just be the thing that destroys this hobby for me.

 

[chimbo84]

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I quarantined for observation only. I treat only if the fish displays something concerning but all my fish spent two weeks in observation before I added them to the DT.
I am not sure it’s brook or velvet since there are no external indicators that something is wrong.

Often, the only symptom you will see with velvet is rapid breathing and then death. The "tiny white spots" or 'dust" that you hear about is freshwater velvet, a different organism. Or, people confuse end stage ich with velvet. Rapid breathing and possibly glassy eyes are the only primary symptom with velvet.

Sorry about the clown, you're right, it won't make it.

Going forward, I would avoid "observational quarantine" unless you hold the fish for 45+ days, and even then, it is simply not as effective as a proactive quarantine.

Jay

 

[chimbo84]

Often, the only symptom you will see with velvet is rapid breathing and then death. The "tiny white spots" or 'dust" that you hear about is freshwater velvet, a different organism. Or, people confuse end stage ich with velvet. Rapid breathing and possibly glassy eyes are the only primary symptom with velvet.

Sorry about the clown, you're right, it won't make it.

Going forward, I would avoid "observational quarantine" unless you hold the fish for 45+ days, and even then, it is simply not as effective as a proactive quarantine.

Jay

Thanks. And yes, this is a hard lesson to learn regarding therapeutic quarantine. I have been lucky up to now but moving forward I will treat with a proper quarantine protocol before adding to my display.
As for the fish left in my display, what would you recommend I do? They all actually look healthy and happy now. Should I treat them proactively? I will need a much larger QT to do that for all my fish (sailfin, bristletooth, four chromis, melanarus, six line, ocellaris clown, and algae blenny).

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks. And yes, this is a hard lesson to learn regarding therapeutic quarantine. I have been lucky up to now but moving forward I will treat with a proper quarantine protocol before adding to my display.
As for the fish left in my display, what would you recommend I do? They all actually look healthy and happy now. Should I treat them proactively? I will need a much larger QT to do that for all my fish (sailfin, bristletooth, four chromis, melanarus, six line, ocellaris clown, and algae blenny).

The wrasse was acting different though? I guess if you see any rapid breathing in the other fish, you could give them a 5 minute freshwater dip and move them into a QT with Coppersafe.
Jay

 

[chimbo84]

The wrasse was acting different though? I guess if you see any rapid breathing in the other fish, you could give them a 5 minute freshwater dip and move them into a QT with Coppersafe.
Jay

It might just be in my head because I’m so worried about it affecting other fish but everyone else seems fine so far. I got my hospital tank sitting at 2ppm of copper power so if any other fish start showing concerning signs I can get them right into a therapeutic environment.

the freshwater dip, should that just be heated RODI or should I make a hyposaline solution?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

It might just be in my head because I’m so worried about it affecting other fish but everyone else seems fine so far. I got my hospital tank sitting at 2ppm of copper power so if any other fish start showing concerning signs I can get them right into a therapeutic environment.

the freshwater dip, should that just be heated RODI or should I make a hyposaline solution?

I just use tap water at the same temperature as the tank, better pH control than RO and the chlorine won’t hurt them for 5 minutes. I aerate the water and cover the container so the fish doesn’t jump out…dip one fish at a time to keep things simple.
Then, check the bottom of the dip container for signs of flukes (like little seeds).
Jay

 

[KyleC]

I just use tap water at the same temperature as the tank, better pH control than RO and the chlorine won’t hurt them for 5 minutes. I aerate the water and cover the container so the fish doesn’t jump out…dip one fish at a time to keep things simple.
Then, check the bottom of the dip container for signs of flukes (like little seeds).
Jay

Hey, sorry I know this is an old post. Want to do a fw dip for my puffer too, can add airstone and heater, but the pH is only about 7.6 (both tap and RO), my DT is also a bit low (around 7.8/8). Would it be OK to try the fw dip? Not sure how I can raise the pH of the RO water?

I think we've discussed this before, but I can't remember where and I've only learnt how to bookmark threads lately.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hey, sorry I know this is an old post. Want to do a fw dip for my puffer too, can add airstone and heater, but the pH is only about 7.6 (both tap and RO), my DT is also a bit low (around 7.8/8). Would it be OK to try the fw dip? Not sure how I can raise the pH of the RO water?

I think we've discussed this before, but I can't remember where and I've only learnt how to bookmark threads lately.

If you have a pH kit, you can add a pinch of baking soda to the dip water to get the pH up to 8. However 7,8 is fine.
Jay

 

[KyleC]

Thanks Jay!