Flukes or velvet?

RaeRae · Oct 3, 2020

Seems they have the same symptoms. With the exception of white spots. And buy the time the spots show up it might be too late. I see no spots but my Midas Blenny is swimming at the top of the tank and darting down and hitting the rocks every now and again. I RO dipped him yesterday and I found what I think a couple worm looking things dead. He isn't doing it as much today then yesterday.
My yellow tang is scratching the rocks every once in a while as well. With a slight head jerk every so often. Purchased a cleaner shrimp today and he is begging to be cleaned.
Clowns show no affect as well as my diamond golby. Although I did notice a side fin completely missing today. That he did have two days ago. But no other deformities or spots.
Ordered prazipro and should be hear by the weekend. Do I do this first since it can be done in the display tank? How long do I have before death and total distraction?

Reefer5640 · Oct 3, 2020

If you found little sesame seed looking things after the FW dip it’s flukes. Prazi is awesome. If it’s something else I would pull them out and treat in a separate tank for sure (I would always recommend treating in a separate tank even for flukes) but if that’s not doable at the moment I’ve found that Kordon ich attack gives some pretty good relief while you sort things out (works for multiple ailments). It’s just an herbal blend and is reef safe. I used to use it all the time before I started doing things different with QT. Might buy you a little time. As long as they are still eating you’re doing okay. But if it’s velvet as you know it’ll sneak up on you quick.

RaeRae · Oct 3, 2020

I think in the morning I'm going to get a QT tank up and running just to be on the safe side. Probably 7 or 8 years of reefing and never had to deal with this crap! What copper treatment should I buy? And what else is needed when treating with copper? What am I going to use for a bio filter? Or do I have to do a water change every day?

Reefer5640 · Oct 3, 2020

If it were me I’d take them out, FW dip all of them and start tank transfer method. You can treat with prazi at the same time as outrunning ich and velvet. I’d also consider doing a methylene blue dip in the guy that lost a fin if not all of them. If you haven’t got an established bacteria then you’ll have to water changes daily. Which is why I recommend tank transfer. Just buy two 10 gal tanks, two heaters, and an air pump with a bunch of tubing and air stones. I can explain tank transfer in more detail if you’re not familiar with it. If copper is the rout you want to go then all you need is the copper and associated test kit. But the problem with copper in a tank that doesn’t have established bacteria is the daily water changes. You’re going to be fighting to maintain therapeutic copper levels

Reefer5640 · Oct 3, 2020

If you have any type of mechanical filter that can be removed from your established system you use that if you’re set on copper. A true QT should have a clean source of bio filtration but desperate times call for desperate measures. The copper will kill anything in the filter media that was removed from the DT. The problem is most people just have live rock or sand in their DT and don’t generally keep a large sponge or something like that for this reason. You don’t want to use live rock with copper

vetteguy53081 · Oct 3, 2020

Pics would help to determine. One way to start out with your question is to do a freshwater dip preferably in a dark bucket. Allow the fish to swim in FW for 5 minutes or until irritated if sooner. Return fish to the tank and look on bottom of bucket for what looks like sesame seeds. If you see that- Flukes. If not, its parasitical.

RaeRae · Oct 3, 2020

I'll try and catch the yellow tang in the morning. I'll post pics tomorrow as well as a video if I can

RaeRae · Oct 3, 2020

Right now with the lights off he is just lightly swimming in the flow of the power head. Turn the lights on and he runs. But no phonically signs of white spots

RaeRae · Oct 4, 2020

Hear is a video of him/her all night in front of the power head. I'll try and get pictures and video of him with the lights on. This fish is very camera shy

RaeRae · Oct 4, 2020

Another video of the diamond goby missing a fan.

RaeRae · Oct 4, 2020

Hear is the best video of the tang twitching.

RaeRae · Oct 4, 2020

This is as close as I can get to him before he darts. 10 minutes after the lights are on.

RaeRae · Oct 4, 2020

Hear is a picture of my Midas Blenny scratching on the rocks.

RaeRae · Oct 4, 2020

I just ordered a uv sterilizer and prazipro. I feed twice a day. Usually in the morning I soak the food in Garlic guard. I mix mices frozen with flake and cut up nori. Small enough they all can eat.