Fishdisease
Community Member
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2018
- Messages
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- Reaction score
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Hi, so look back in my posting history and you'll see the last year has been hard on my tanks (Aptasia, turf algae, hair algae, coral death), and it only continues. Just when I've finally beaten everything and I think I'm in the clear I have found myself in the midst of a heavy Brook outbreak (diagnosed by myself and a few experienced reefers on a local Canadian forum) and I think I'm at the point where I want to pull every fish out and fallow my display tanks. I've been reefing for 17 years, have had several tanks and this is the first time I've had to consider this approach, but it's bad.
Total system 400 gallons - 125 & 180 DT + 30 gal frag tank, all plumbed to same 90 gal sump.
Been running for 3 years
Salinity: 33.5 ppt
Temp: 78-80F
Nitrate: 0-2
Ammonia: 0
Phosphate: 0
Alk: 9.15
Cal: 435
Mag: 1275
Carbon: Run 2 hours every 2 days, changed every 2 weeks
Everything is Apex controlled, Trident, DOS
So I've battled ich a few times over the past 3 years and lost a few fish over that time, I've had a few fish disappear but for the most part things have been fine. I've never been able to keep any ich magnets (powder tangs and the like) and I had come to terms with it.
However, two days ago I came home from work and found my Kole Tang and a bullet goby looking horrible, out of nowhere, and my Sailfin tang wasn't looking great either. I panicked, got them into my 30 gal QT, added some paraguard but lost the Kole and Bullet Goby that night (sailfin is still here as of this morning). In the past 48 hours I've also lost a splendid Dottyback, Royal Gramma, Indigo Dottyback, yellow clown goby and blue leopard wrasse. Like I said, it's bad. That Kole tang was fat and happy 4 days ago, now he's fat and gone.
Yesterday I noticed that all of my Ocellaris clowns were white and fuzzy, def. not ich, not velvet, so Brook it is. Yesterday I lost my smallest male clown and the rest are still looking rough. Everyone that is left ate today at the feeding but I'm stressed and scared. I have a little 30 gallon that I use for a QT but for a long term QT I don't want to subject my large tangs to such a small space.
How did it get into my tank? I do not know. Here are some other facts:
- No new fish additions in over 4 months
- Peppermint shrimp added 2 weeks ago (maybe a source?)
- Params are all within normal ranges, I test daily for most params
- I have been slowly increasing my salinity this month. Got a salinty meter and realized I was running a bit hypo (30 ppt) and perhaps that's why the corals were suffering soI've been increasing it very slowly (added stress?)
- Fish get fed daily with a variety of vege/mysis/brine/pellets
SO. I have an empty 90 gal on my main floor that was designated to be a planted tank later this year. But I think I want to turn it into a QT/HT, pull all fish out of the DTs, do a broad treatment protocol (copper, prazi, paraguard - at different times as I understand the interactions) and fallow my tank for the next 2 months. I do understand some fish aren't good with copper as well, so they will be taken out before the copper treatment.
I don't want this to happen again, I know I have ich in there, and Brook is new and definitely there, but I want a clean DT and to not worry about new inhabitants. Is this a good approach or is it overkill? I've never actually been able to successfully cure a sick fish so I want to eliminate that possbility as best I can. I could really use some advice here.
Thanks
Total system 400 gallons - 125 & 180 DT + 30 gal frag tank, all plumbed to same 90 gal sump.
Been running for 3 years
Salinity: 33.5 ppt
Temp: 78-80F
Nitrate: 0-2
Ammonia: 0
Phosphate: 0
Alk: 9.15
Cal: 435
Mag: 1275
Carbon: Run 2 hours every 2 days, changed every 2 weeks
Everything is Apex controlled, Trident, DOS
So I've battled ich a few times over the past 3 years and lost a few fish over that time, I've had a few fish disappear but for the most part things have been fine. I've never been able to keep any ich magnets (powder tangs and the like) and I had come to terms with it.
However, two days ago I came home from work and found my Kole Tang and a bullet goby looking horrible, out of nowhere, and my Sailfin tang wasn't looking great either. I panicked, got them into my 30 gal QT, added some paraguard but lost the Kole and Bullet Goby that night (sailfin is still here as of this morning). In the past 48 hours I've also lost a splendid Dottyback, Royal Gramma, Indigo Dottyback, yellow clown goby and blue leopard wrasse. Like I said, it's bad. That Kole tang was fat and happy 4 days ago, now he's fat and gone.
Yesterday I noticed that all of my Ocellaris clowns were white and fuzzy, def. not ich, not velvet, so Brook it is. Yesterday I lost my smallest male clown and the rest are still looking rough. Everyone that is left ate today at the feeding but I'm stressed and scared. I have a little 30 gallon that I use for a QT but for a long term QT I don't want to subject my large tangs to such a small space.
How did it get into my tank? I do not know. Here are some other facts:
- No new fish additions in over 4 months
- Peppermint shrimp added 2 weeks ago (maybe a source?)
- Params are all within normal ranges, I test daily for most params
- I have been slowly increasing my salinity this month. Got a salinty meter and realized I was running a bit hypo (30 ppt) and perhaps that's why the corals were suffering soI've been increasing it very slowly (added stress?)
- Fish get fed daily with a variety of vege/mysis/brine/pellets
SO. I have an empty 90 gal on my main floor that was designated to be a planted tank later this year. But I think I want to turn it into a QT/HT, pull all fish out of the DTs, do a broad treatment protocol (copper, prazi, paraguard - at different times as I understand the interactions) and fallow my tank for the next 2 months. I do understand some fish aren't good with copper as well, so they will be taken out before the copper treatment.
I don't want this to happen again, I know I have ich in there, and Brook is new and definitely there, but I want a clean DT and to not worry about new inhabitants. Is this a good approach or is it overkill? I've never actually been able to successfully cure a sick fish so I want to eliminate that possbility as best I can. I could really use some advice here.
Thanks
