GC in a reef?

ReefCAKE · Sep 25, 2019

Hi everyone. I have a 36 bowfront softie reef with two Dwarf Fuzzies. I've had my orange fuzzy for 8 months now and my yellow about a month. After reading posts here I'm a tad worried about internal parasites with these guys as it seems like a common problem. They are being fed a diet of Jumbo Mysis soaked in selcon a few times a week and they also get live ghosties (loaded with ON pellets) a few times a week. My question is should I try to treat them for parasites to be safe? If so is anything reef safe as the tank is full of zoas, shrooms, leathers and so on. Thanks!

CheckeredPants · Sep 25, 2019

I’ve been using GC for 7 days now following the instructions given in this thread by @Humblefish. My Purple Tang has/had signs of worms/parasites. I have zoas, shrooms, and leathers and they don’t seem to be affected by the treatment.

Internal Issues

Internal Issues For simplicity’s sake, there are 6 basic problems a marine fish may experience on the inside: 1. Intestinal worms Symptoms: White stringy feces, pinched stomach, loss of color, fish eats voraciously but still seems to be losing weight. Treatment of choice: Praziquantel...

www.reef2reef.com

lion king · Sep 25, 2019

General cure is not really considered reef safe. The fuzzy you have had for 8 months is likely parasite free, they would have succumbed to any infestation by now. The yellow still needs close observation, they can appear to be fine for as long as a couple of months, I've seen them live for as long as 3 months. Some things to look for, stingy poo is one, you can even see stingy bits in the tank if not hanging from his butt. When it's bad it will be white but any stringy hanging on is bad. While fuzzies will beg alot for food, an exaggerated insatiable appetite can be the beginning indicators, as well as losing color. Prazi pro is reef safe but you would combine seachem metro and focus in the food you are feeding. Because the metro needs to get into their system continually for about 2 weeks, this is generally not the best method. General cure has both these ingredients, it's the metro part that is not considered reef safe. You may get some better answers about treating with general cure in reef in the reef discussion or disease discussion. Using in a reef with tons of rock and coral can be tricky, displacement can make dosage difficult, be careful. General cure is meant to be dosed once, then repeat 48 hours later, then a water change and carbon 48 after 2nd dose,

What size tank are they in and what size are they. You will not be able to definitively sex them until they about 4.5", at least until 4". If the tank is under 120 to 150g you may have trouble with 2 males in the same tank, even then it's 50/50. A male will have over 6 bands on the pectoral fins while the female will have under 6. With 6 bands it may take longer to determine.

If these guys were like under 2" you may have gotten lucky, the smaller ones escape parasites from time to time. It's about what they were being fed along the way.

CheckeredPants · Sep 25, 2019

lion king said:
General cure is not really considered reef safe. The fuzzy you have had for 8 months is likely parasite free, they would have succumbed to any infestation by now. The yellow still needs close observation, they can appear to fine for as long as a couple of months, I've seen them live for as long as 3 months. Some things to look for, stingy poo is one, you can even see stingy bits in the tank if not hanging from his butt. When it's bad it will be white but any stringy hanging on is bad. While fuzzies will beg alot for food, an exaggerated insatiable appetite can be the beginning indicators, as well as losing color. Prazi pro is reef safe but you would combine seachem metro and focus in the food you are feeding. Because the metro needs to get into their system continually for about 2 weeks, this is generally not the best method. General cure has both these ingredients, it's the metro part that is not considered reef safe. You may get some better answers about treating with general cure in reef in the reef discussion or disease discussion. Using in a reef with tons of rock and coral can be tricky, displacement can make dosage difficult, be careful. General cure is meant to be dosed once, then repeat 48 hours later, then a water change and carbon 48 after 2nd dose,

What size tank are they in and what size are they. You will not be able to definitively sex them until they about 4.5", at least until 4". If the tank is under 120 to 150g you may trouble with 2 males in the same tank, even then it's 50/50. A male will have over 6 bands on the pectoral fins while the female will have under 6. With 6 bands it may take longer to determine.

It’s my understanding that Focus binds the GC to the food and makes it as reef safe as it can be if removing fish from the DT is out of the question. I’m on day 7 of 10 for treatment and haven’t had any ill effects.

I’m also running a bag of Chemi-Pure Elite to assist in pulling out any excess GC that may find its way into the water column.

CheckeredPants · Sep 25, 2019

Not to highjack, but @lion king, is there anything you’d recommend I do different, or carry on until the 10 day regime is over? I found that thread I posted above and figured it was solid advise. TIA

lion king · Sep 25, 2019

CheckeredPants said:
It’s my understanding that Focus binds the GC to the food and makes it as reef safe as it can be if removing fish from the DT is out of the question. I’m on day 7 of 10 for treatment and haven’t had any ill effects.

I’m also running a bag of Chemi-Pure Elite to assist in pulling out any excess GC that may find its way into the water column.

Yes doing it that way is fine, binding it with focus in food is very effective and relatively reef safe. In regards to treating lions its a bit more complicated to treat in food. One thing even if eating dead food food, lions generally are not to be fed every day, while this method it is best to get the meds in their gut daily. In the case of most dwarf and medium bodied lions thay many times will not be eating dead at all, or very limited in most cases. So treating in the water column with GC I have found to be most effective for most dwarf and medium bodied lions.

ReefCAKE · Sep 26, 2019

lion king said:
General cure is not really considered reef safe. The fuzzy you have had for 8 months is likely parasite free, they would have succumbed to any infestation by now. The yellow still needs close observation, they can appear to be fine for as long as a couple of months, I've seen them live for as long as 3 months. Some things to look for, stingy poo is one, you can even see stingy bits in the tank if not hanging from his butt. When it's bad it will be white but any stringy hanging on is bad. While fuzzies will beg alot for food, an exaggerated insatiable appetite can be the beginning indicators, as well as losing color. Prazi pro is reef safe but you would combine seachem metro and focus in the food you are feeding. Because the metro needs to get into their system continually for about 2 weeks, this is generally not the best method. General cure has both these ingredients, it's the metro part that is not considered reef safe. You may get some better answers about treating with general cure in reef in the reef discussion or disease discussion. Using in a reef with tons of rock and coral can be tricky, displacement can make dosage difficult, be careful. General cure is meant to be dosed once, then repeat 48 hours later, then a water change and carbon 48 after 2nd dose,

What size tank are they in and what size are they. You will not be able to definitively sex them until they about 4.5", at least until 4". If the tank is under 120 to 150g you may have trouble with 2 males in the same tank, even then it's 50/50. A male will have over 6 bands on the pectoral fins while the female will have under 6. With 6 bands it may take longer to determine.

If these guys were like under 2" you may have gotten lucky, the smaller ones escape parasites from time to time. It's about what they were being fed along the way.

I have some extra filter media in the tank so I can set up a dedicated hospital tank to treat pretty easily. I didn't want to, but that will be the best option. The fuzzies are maybe 3" right now and being housed in a 36 bowfront, will be moving into a 48x24 80g within the next few months. There has been 0 aggression so far between the two. I haven't seen any signs of parasites from them. The source of the Yellow said they were quarantined and he was already eating frozen when I got him. Both of their appetites seem pretty normal and not overly hungry.

lion king · Sep 26, 2019

ReefCAKE said:
I have some extra filter media in the tank so I can set up a dedicated hospital tank to treat pretty easily. I didn't want to, but that will be the best option. The fuzzies are maybe 3" right now and being housed in a 36 bowfront, will be moving into a 48x24 80g within the next few months. There has been 0 aggression so far between the two. I haven't seen any signs of parasites from them. The source of the Yellow said they were quarantined and he was already eating frozen when I got him. Both of their appetites seem pretty normal and not overly hungry.

Where did you get the yellow from? If you trust the source it is best to limit exposure to meds. Lions seem to be especially sensitive for the long haul when treated with too many meds. I would keep a close eye and not move him if I didn't have to. If he stops eating or you see signs then be prepared to act. You likely wouldn't see much aggression between them until they are more mature. When they get to about 4-4.5" keep an eye out for aggression, especially if you see both of them are male. It can get out of hand.

ReefCAKE · Sep 26, 2019

lion king said:
Where did you get the yellow from? If you trust the source it is best to limit exposure to meds. Lions seem to be especially sensitive for the long haul when treated with too many meds. I would keep a close eye and not move him if I didn't have to. If he stops eating or you see signs then be prepared to act. You likely wouldn't see much aggression between them until they are more mature. When they get to about 4-4.5" keep an eye out for aggression, especially if you see both of them are male. It can get out of hand.

I got the yellow from a LFS that orders lions from a very specific wholesaler that I believe specializes in lions. I will ask next time I'm in as I forgot the name of the wholesaler. I lucked out as it he came in as a regular Dwarf Fuzzy, I saw some slight yellow on his pectorals and jumped on him! I've been looking or a yellow for a long long time. I will keep a close eye for any warning signs and will let things be how they are for the time being. I had no idea that about aggression between lions, i guess its an excuse to have multiple lion tanks.....

lion king · Sep 26, 2019

Thats why I have lions in 4 tanks, make thaf 5 but one is temporary. You can house different species of lions together and even pair male and females, but just as in nature there can ony be one male. Sometimes there can be some slight aggression cross species, but it usually works itself out, I imagine that is likely make vs male as well. I have 3 in my 90 now and have kept as many as 4 for years, all hanging out like bats in the same cave. I keep 2 in a 40, a fu and a blackfoot, the blackfoot will likely move to the 90 when he gets larger.

ReefCAKE · Sep 26, 2019

lion king said:
Thats why I have lions in 4 tanks, make thaf 5 but one is temporary. You can house different species of lions together and even pair male and females, but just as in nature there can ony be one male. Sometimes there can be some slight aggression cross species, but it usually works itself out, I imagine that is likely make vs male as well. I have 3 in my 90 now and have kept as many as 4 for years, all hanging out like bats in the same cave. I keep 2 in a 40, a fu and a blackfoot, the blackfoot will likely move to the 90 when he gets larger.

Cool Thanks for the Info! Where do you get the harder to find species like the Fu? I haven't seen a Fu around in years and would love to find one again. I had a Fu for 4-5 years before I gave him to a friend when i took a break from the hobby.