Foxface with ick or velvet

[CoolDad]

Backstory: I have just set up a 125 gal DT, upgrading from a 32.5 gal. I really want to keep it disease free and so I adopted a Quarantine protocol that relied on observational QT.

I moved my 6 fish from the 32 into the 125 and they are doing well. I decided to use the 32 for a observational QT of a Magnificent Foxface. The LFS has has several disease outbreaks and has mostly converted to freshwater fish. My 32 gallon was covered in algae and he was super happy, but developed either ich or velvet in the coming days. I thought it was grains of sand on him for a while, but became convinced it was ich last night. This morning the fish looks horrible. His whole coloration has changed and I saw a similar photo of a magnificent foxface who was dead the next morning.

I have a 10 gal I could try to treat with copper, but I wont be able to buy any for several hours.

Here are some pics from a few days ago and this morning. All help greatly appreciated.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

#fishmedics

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Backstory: I have just set up a 125 gal DT, upgrading from a 32.5 gal. I really want to keep it disease free and so I adopted a Quarantine protocol that relied on observational QT.

I moved my 6 fish from the 32 into the 125 and they are doing well. I decided to use the 32 for a observational QT of a Magnificent Foxface. The LFS has has several disease outbreaks and has mostly converted to freshwater fish. My 32 gallon was covered in algae and he was super happy, but developed either ich or velvet in the coming days. I thought it was grains of sand on him for a while, but became convinced it was ich last night. This morning the fish looks horrible. His whole coloration has changed and I saw a similar photo of a magnificent foxface who was dead the next morning.

I have a 10 gal I could try to treat with copper, but I wont be able to buy any for several hours.

Here are some pics from a few days ago and this morning. All help greatly appreciated.

Sorry, but the photographs are too distant to allow me to see any ich trophonts (spots) on the fish, but since you can see them, we'll assume this is ich. Velvet is a lot rarer and the only symptoms you would see would be rapid breathing and not eating, sometimes the fish will hang out in water currents.

If you can see distinct, pinhead white spots that change location and numbers day to day, that's ich.

As you've discovered, observation quarantine often lets diseases get through. Both ich and flukes can fester for weeks as subclinical infections, and then they can break out as an acute infection later on.

There is not a lot you can do short term - copper is the most effective treatment, but even that can take over 48 years to get ahead of the disease and start to control it. I would go ahead and treat with copper though. For the small tank, you'll need to have some sort of biofilter, or the ammonia level will rise too fast. Do you have any seeded biomedia that you can use in that smaller tank? Siporex, sponge filter, bioballs, anything like that?

Have any other fish been exposed to this one? They will need treatment also.

 

[CoolDad]

It definitely seems like ich and the foxface has shed most of the ich trophonts. Sorry about the bad photo quality. Thanks for the reply. The fish is doing well and has not come into contact with any other fish. I was tearing my hair out yesterday trying to remember which buckets i used for a water change and which pipets to test the water.
I have seeded rock, but not any sponge filters, so that won't be any help at the moment. I will get some in my DT sump asap.

Here is the main question that I have. Could i use my existing 32 gallon with seeded media for a QT tank. I would remove all the rock and sand, then dose with copper for 30 days then move to an new observation tank which would have fresh seeded media by then.

My concern would be that tomonts are already encysted on the tank and the fish could be reinfected even during copper treatment. Or should it be okay if i maintain theraputic levels for 30 days?

Thank you!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

It definitely seems like ich and the foxface has shed most of the ich trophonts. Sorry about the bad photo quality. Thanks for the reply. The fish is doing well and has not come into contact with any other fish. I was tearing my hair out yesterday trying to remember which buckets i used for a water change and which pipets to test the water.
I have seeded rock, but not any sponge filters, so that won't be any help at the moment. I will get some in my DT sump asap.

Here is the main question that I have. Could i use my existing 32 gallon with seeded media for a QT tank. I would remove all the rock and sand, then dose with copper for 30 days then move to an new observation tank which would have fresh seeded media by then.

My concern would be that tomonts are already encysted on the tank and the fish could be reinfected even during copper treatment. Or should it be okay if i maintain theraputic levels for 30 days?

Thank you!

That's the reason for treating with copper for 30 days, it ensures that any encysted tomonts die out and then cannot reinfect the fish.

What type of media does your 32 gallon have? If it is non-calcium based, that will work.

 

[CoolDad]

That makes sense thanks!

I just have filter mesh, bio max pellets and a protein skimmer. I have used carbon and ammonia removal pouches before but none currently in the tank.

I will turn the skimmer off and remove it. I know it interferes with some medications.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That makes sense thanks!

I just have filter mesh, bio max pellets and a protein skimmer. I have used carbon and ammonia removal pouches before but none currently in the tank.

I will turn the skimmer off and remove it. I know it interferes with some medications.

I would continue to run the skimmer, just do not collect the skimmate. Skimmers offer superior aeration and I've had people run into trouble when just turning them off.