Help with sick Vlaminji

[Lizalots]

Hello!
My vlaminji has been in my tank for 1.5 years. All of my fish I prophylactic treated 30 days therapeutic copper before adding to tank. Started with a dry tank. He has come down with these fine white particles and I’m praying it’s anything but velvet. No one else in the tank has any symptoms.
Tank is 210g reef. I am currently warming up several QT tanks for worse case scenario but I don’t know if I should dump
Him into therapeutic copper or a better treatment is warranted. I first noticed a few frayed fins and I thought maybe it’s a bacterial thing.

My only oops is got comfortable and added two anemones and some snails from a LFS without having it QTd until fallow. It’s a LFS I trust but they turn over fish so that was my mistake. So anything is possible.

What do you guys think?

 

[Squidz]

Bump

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Sorry about your troubles. It does look like it could be velvet with the light dusting all over the body. Definitely to many spots to be Ich. His fins as mentioned are frayed, you don't want a bacterial infection to set in. I would fresh water dip before placing in QT. Is he exhibiting any other strange behavior such swimming into power head, heavy breathing, darting, scratching? Is he still eating?

 

[Lizalots]

Sorry about your troubles. It does look like it could be velvet with the light dusting all over the body. Definitely to many spots to be Ich. His fins as mentioned are frayed, you don't want a bacterial infection to set in. I would fresh water dip before placing in QT. Is he exhibiting any other strange behavior such swimming into power head, heavy breathing, darting, scratching? Is he still eating?

No other strange symptoms other than hiding at bottom. He was eating yesterday. Got the freshwater warming now. Going to pull him and throw him in 1.0ppm copper and raise from there. No heavy breathing, not scraping that I can see either.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Do you have ruby reef rally? It might be beneficial to give him a 90 minute rally bath after his dip. If not, the FW dip with provide some temporary relief. Then put him in QT 1.0ppm copper. Are you using copper safe?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Following his progress / your journey.

 

[jmichaelh7]

I’m curious to know what this is. Poor guy let me know how he does in copper power? Is that what your using chelated copper? Let’s get some professional advice
#jayhemdal

 

[Lizalots]

Do you have ruby reef rally? It might be beneficial to give him a 90 minute rally bath after his dip. If not, the bath with provide some temporary relief. Then put him in QT 1.0ppm copper. Are you using copper safe?

I use copper power. My QT is coming to temp right now. I do not have ruby reef. Pretty much everything else though

 

[Lizalots]

An update - did a 5 min FW dip followed by placing into copper power at 2.0ppm
In cast it is velvet. Will leave him in there a few days and monitor. I think I do have some fin rot but am aiming to treating the spots prior to the fins. Attached is his image in the QT after the dip.

 

[ProxyAquarist]

A few things:

a. I would add is maximizing the dissolved oxygen in the QT tank. Whether by air stone, wave maker, ... etc., move as much water as needed and tolerated.

b. Consider low or no light in the QT tank since your patient is likely stressed.

c. Consider if the other inhabitants may have been infected and may require QT.

Best wishes,
jim

 

[Lizalots]

A few things:

a. I would add is maximizing the dissolved oxygen in the QT tank. Whether by air stone, wave maker, ... etc., move as much water as needed and tolerated.

b. Consider low or no light in the QT tank since your patient is likely stressed.

c. Consider if the other inhabitants may have been infected and may require QT.

Best wishes,
jim

Thank you Jim! I currently have a sponge filter going and I can add a powerhead or an HOB tomorrow for extra, which I will do 100% if I double dose with antibiotics. I need to add some tank media but have prime on hand for short term. Lights are off in QT room other than when I am downstairs and I have two other QT tanks set up and ready in case this spreads. Making new salt now for water changes. Still nervous as heck because it’s a lot going on at once (especially since I’m about to pull an anemone and treat antibiotics which will be a first time for treating a nem in QTso that’s a fourth tank lol ugh). Any thoughts as to what I’m dealing with here?

 

[ProxyAquarist]

... if I double dose with antibiotics. I need to add some tank media but have prime on hand for short term. ... Making new salt now for water changes. .... Any thoughts as to what I’m dealing with here?

Your inhabitants have a great guardian. You've acted quickly, have QT tanks, have emergency medication, and appear to be well versed on pertinent topics.

Unfortunately, I have no experience with that species. My saltwater experience is more at the novice level, luckily the community here has a wealth of knowledge.

That said, I just finished a quarantine for some fish and plants.

A few more things I might do or consider:

1. During my quarantine and medication of the fish with a erythromycin antibiotic, the nitrogen cycle crashed starting at Day 8. The antibiotic likely killed the nitrogen processing bacteria on the sponge. Frequent chemistry checks helped me catch this. A quick fix was to switch out a sponge from a freshwater sponge filter. I keep extra sponges. If I do quarantine, I get a few going in another tank for just this problem. Prime can help with ammonia spikes.

2. Water changes, unless the medication states when to do water changes, I do frequent small water changes with water at the tank temperature. This limits stress to the inhabitant.

3. Since Ich is often an opportunistic infection of weak and/or stressed fish, I often do prophylactic Ich treatment during my other medication courses.

4. Read about this fish species and each medicine. I found out the hard way that some fish species require half doses or extra oxygen with certain medications.

Keep fighting the good fight.

Best wishes,
JIm