Is my fish having Marine Velvet

[Szehhong]

All, first time poster.

I am worried my fish is having Velvet, but wanted to confirm.

My LFS expert said it does not look like it and think it is stressed because pH reading was low at 8.0 8.1. they asked me to put some buffer to raise pH level.

The Koran angel keep swimming towards the power head. Please see photo.

Any comment or suggestion is greatly appreciated

 

[TriggerFinger]

Swimming in the powerhead is a typical velvet symptom. Also, your pH is not low. Do you have a hospital tank to treat? What meds do you have on hand? A freshwater dip will provide temporary relief.
@Jay Hemdal

 

[cshouston]

Your LFS “expert” was just trying to sell you unnecessary buffer. 8.0-8.1 is a perfectly fine pH as long as it’s stable. Swimming into the powerhead sounds like velvet, but the photo is inconclusive for me. You’d need to get a close-up photo, but does it look like more tiny white specks than you can count?

 

[Szehhong]

Your LFS “expert” was just trying to sell you unnecessary buffer. 8.0-8.1 is a perfectly fine pH as long as it’s stable. Swimming into the powerhead sounds like velvet, but the photo is inconclusive for me. You’d need to get a close-up photo, but does it look like more tiny white specks than you can count?

I attached as close a photo I can take as possible. I do not see tiny white dots, but definitely some white/decolonization in the middle of the body

I think the LFS mean good. I was trying to get medicine and they do not want to sell it, because they do not think it is Velvet. They actually assumed i already had the buffer

 

[Szehhong]

I attached as close a photo I can take as possible. I do not see tiny white dots, but definitely some white/decolonization in the middle of the body

I think the LFS mean good. I was trying to get medicine and they do not want to sell it, because they do not think it is Velvet. They actually assumed i already had the buffer

 

[Szehhong]

One more video. The fish is still eating well and had good appetite

 

[Szehhong]

Swimming in the powerhead is a typical velvet symptom. Also, your pH is not low. Do you have a hospital tank to treat? What meds do you have on hand? A freshwater dip will provide temporary relief.
@Jay Hemdal

I am planning to set up one if it is velvet. I have an empty tank on hand. What medicine would you recommend?

 

[cshouston]

I am planning to set up one if it is velvet. I have an empty tank on hand. What medicine would you recommend?

That looks like velvet. I would set up your quarantine tank immediately, and treat with a copper-based medication like Copper Power or Cupramine. Copper is toxic so you need to dose accurately. Too little won’t help, too much can kill. The Hanna digital copper checker is highly recommended as the most accurate and easy to read. Good luck. Please let us know how it does.

for reference, here is an example of an emperor angelfish with an advanced case of velvet:

 

[TriggerFinger]

I am planning to set up one if it is velvet. I have an empty tank on hand. What medicine would I recommend?

It’s my understanding that copper or chloroquine phosphate are the only effective treatments.

What other fish are in the tank?
I can’t see your video. how is this fish breathing?

 

[Szehhong]

It’s my understanding that copper or chloroquine phosphate are the only effective treatments.

What other fish are in the tank?
I can’t see your video. how is this fish breathing?

Breathing quite normal. Other fish is a goby and he looks very healthy.

Both fish swim and eat and breath fine.

The only problem is a little white/decolorization on the body of the angel and the fact that he stay in front of a power head a lot


--David (OP)

 

[Szehhong]

That looks like velvet. I would set up your quarantine tank immediately, and treat with a copper-based medication like Copper Power or Cupramine. Copper is toxic so you need to dose accurately. Too little won’t help, too much can kill. The Hanna digital copper checker is highly recommended as the most accurate and easy to read. Good luck. Please let us know how it does.

for reference, here is an example of an emperor angelfish with an advanced case of velvet:

Thanks. Setting up one and will be getting some copper based medicine

 

[cshouston]

Breathing quite normal. Other fish is a goby and he looks very healthy.

Both fish swim and eat and breath fine.

The only problem is a little white/decolorization on the body of the angel and the fact that he stay in front of a power head a lot


--David (OP)

Well, there is a chance that what we’re seeing here is the maturation of the fish into adult coloration. The change seems to begin on the sides like this with Koran Angels. Swimming into the power head still concerns me.

 

[cshouston]

Hopefully, @Jay Hemdal will be able to provide you with an expert opinion, but I think setting up the quarantine and being ready with copper treatment is a good idea.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi folks,

Sorry for the delay, I was out running errands. To me, this looked like velvet at first, but then I read that the fish was still eating and feeding ok. I immediately got to thinking this might be Neobenedenia flukes - they are very common on Pomacanthus angels and cause mottled coloration, but the fish do not breath rapidly or lose their appetite until the very end stage.

In my opinion, you should give the angel a five minute freshwater dip. Do so in a black plastic container and afterwards, look at the bottom for tiny gray/white scales or seed-like things (a magnifying glass helps). If you see them, the fish has Neo. If you don't see anything to speak of, but the fish improves tomorrow, it may have another type of fluke.

To give it a dip, get a gallon or so of freshwater that is the same temperature as your tank. Carefully net the fish up and put it in the container with a small airstone. When you catch it, don't get any algae or other stuff in the net, it would make it difficult to see the flukes afterwards. Cover it so it can't jump out and hold it in the freshwater for up to 5 minutes. Only cut it short of the fish stops breathing. If you can't catch the fish easily, don't chase it to death trying, instead, try to outsmart it - try catching it at night, or chasing it into a glass jar, etc.

If you see Neo, try to get a picture and let us know and I'll work out a treatment for you.

Welcome to Reef2Reef by the way!


Jay

 

[cshouston]

Hi folks,

Sorry for the delay, I was out running errands. To me, this looked like velvet at first, but then I read that the fish was still eating and feeding ok. I immediately got to thinking this might be Neobenedenia flukes - they are very common on Pomacanthus angels and cause mottled coloration, but the fish do not breath rapidly or lose their appetite until the very end stage.

In my opinion, you should give the angel a five minute freshwater dip. Do so in a black plastic container and afterwards, look at the bottom for tiny gray/white scales or seed-like things (a magnifying glass helps). If you see them, the fish has Neo. If you don't see anything to speak of, but the fish improves tomorrow, it may have another type of fluke.

To give it a dip, get a gallon or so of freshwater that is the same temperature as your tank. Carefully net the fish up and put it in the container with a small airstone. When you catch it, don't get any algae or other stuff in the net, it would make it difficult to see the flukes afterwards. Cover it so it can't jump out and hold it in the freshwater for up to 5 minutes. Only cut it short of the fish stops breathing. If you can't catch the fish easily, don't chase it to death trying, instead, try to outsmart it - try catching it at night, or chasing it into a glass jar, etc.

If you see Neo, try to get a picture and let us know and I'll work out a treatment for you.

Welcome to Reef2Reef by the way!


Jay

This is why your opinion is so valued around here! Still, it’s the weekend and you have a life so no need to apologize for running errands. If I can intrude on OP’s thread for a moment, when doing a freshwater dip I assume tap water with dechlorinator, brought to temperature, is what’s indicated, correct? We wouldn’t want to use RO/DI since it’s effectively a solvent.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

This is why your opinion is so valued around here! Still, it’s the weekend and you have a life so no need to apologize for running errands. If I can intrude on OP’s thread for a moment, when doing a freshwater dip I assume tap water with dechlorinator, brought to temperature, is what’s indicated, correct? We wouldn’t want to use RO/DI since it’s effectively a solvent.

I'm not a big fan of using RO/DI for FW dips, the pH is often too low. I will often use plain dechlorinated tap water, at the same temperature to do dips - no bacteria in that. However, our tap water here has a pH the same as our marine systems, and I know that in some areas, tap water has a lower pH, and that could be a problem. Remember, these dips are designed to kill the parasites, making things too similar to the water the fish are already in reduces that affect (grin). I've heard of people adding 10% saltwater to the FW dips in order to reduce the stress on the fish - but that also reduces the stress to the parasites.

There is another issue that I neglected to mention: if you do a FW dip on a fish that is VERY heavily infected with flukes, all of the flukes drop off at once, and each one, leaves a tiny hole in the fish's skin. In that case, it is possible that all of those open holes will cause the fish to "bleed out" and actually die in the next day or so. I've toyed with the idea of doing "short dips" to try and remove just some of the flukes, then let the fish recover a bit, and re-dip it the next day, etc. The idea is to allow the skin to partially heal between partial removal of the flukes. In reality, that is almost impossible to gauge accurately, so in the end, I usually "go all in" and do a full dip and hope the fish can survive....

Jay

 

[Szehhong]

Thank you all for your reply.

I move the fish to a small quarantine, did a 30 sec fresh water dip first. And applied ParaGuard recommended by the store. Since they still not convinced it is velvet, they want me to try cover more ground.

--David (OP)

 

[Szehhong]

After two days of treatment is it getting better or worst?

--David

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thank you all for your reply.

I move the fish to a small quarantine, did a 30 sec fresh water dip first. And applied ParaGuard recommended by the store. Since they still not convinced it is velvet, they want me to try cover more ground.

--David (OP)

A 30 second freshwater dip is too short of a time for any flukes to drop off. Five minutes is the best time for most fish. The fish undergoes the same amount of capture stress from a 30 second dip as for a five minute one.

Jay

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

A 30 second freshwater dip is too short of a time for any flukes to drop off. Five minutes is the best time for most fish. The fish undergoes the same amount of capture stress from a 30 second dip as for a five minute one.

Jay

You beat me to it lol.