My Blue Hippo Tang has got bumps and white spots all it.?.?.?

[KDawg0623]

We have had it for almost 5 months and water has been testing great. Just noticed this morning. Can anyone help us? Thank you

 

[Humblefish]

Sounds like ich. Can you post a pic for confirmation of this?

 

[KDawg0623]

Sorry for the late reply. It is ich and I have been spending the last 4 hrs setting up a QT and dosing it. I think we got it in time, Did a lot of reading and figuring on what we needed to do. I was just freaking out a bit. We have learned out lesson and wont put anymore of our fish in the DT without it being in the QT for a week or more. I used Ich - X and PraziPro as far as dosing.

 

[Humblefish]

Despite what it claims, Ich-X will not successfully eradicate marine ich (Cryptocaryon irritans). I looked it up and the ingredients of Ich-X are as follows: water, formaldehyde (<5%), methanol (<2%), malachite green chloride (<0.1%).

I believe formaldehyde can be successfully used to treat freshwater ich (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) but it may only provide temporary relief for saltwater ich (which is a completely different parasite.) Please read this: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-disease-treatment-diagnosis/191226-how-treat-ich.html

 

[KDawg0623]

You sir really know your stuff backwards and forwards. The ich-X did only mask the over all problem. It looked like it was working and then.. BAM! we ended up losing the hippo and a butterfly. But now we are going to set up the QT the right way and make sure all new fish will be treated before being put into the DT. I can't thank you enough for the kindness you showed by looking up the info on it to help us.

 

[KDawg0623]

Now I have a question though, about the QT. Is it something that we will have to break down after each fish? or just keep it running always and just do water changes regularly?

 

[Humblefish]

You sir really know your stuff backwards and forwards. The ich-X did only mask the over all problem. It looked like it was working and then.. BAM! we ended up losing the hippo and a butterfly. But now we are going to set up the QT the right way and make sure all new fish will be treated before being put into the DT. I can't thank you enough for the kindness you showed by looking up the info on it to help us.

Sorry to hear of your losses. Companies who make "fish meds" can pretty much put whatever they want on their labels. There is no FDA-like entity to hold them accountable if they make a dubious claim. Therefore, what you have to do is find the MSDS or the listed ingredients of their product. Compare that to what chemicals are known to successfully target whatever disease you are treating for. For example, if a product claims to cure marine ich but does not contain either Chloroquine phosphate or some form of copper... they are full of you know what. The problem is chemicals such as formalin/formaldehyde or even some herbal remedies may mask symptoms for awhile, but marine ich will sometimes come roaring back until you successfully interrupt its life cycle.

Now I have a question though, about the QT. Is it something that we will have to break down after each fish? or just keep it running always and just do water changes regularly?

There is no right or wrong answer for this. I personally keep my QTs simple, so I can easily break down/setup as needed. There are pics of one of my QTs here: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-disease-treatment-diagnosis/189815-how-quarantine.html

However, I know a lot of people who maintain permanent QTs with great success. The only downside is every now & then you might get hit in QT with a "Typhoid Mary" like disease which wipes out everything, and you will be very apprehensive adding anymore fish to that QT moving forward. :squigglemouth:

 

[srva80xx]

Humble is the man.. or woman, not sure, but very helpful.

 

[Humblefish]

Humble is the man.. or woman, not sure, but very helpful.

Perhaps it's best to keep the mystery going! HA! :wink:

 

[KDawg0623]

For us to quarantine all of our fish, one of them is a diamond back goby. Can we put some sand I the QT for it? It is an awesome same sifter.

 

[Humblefish]

For us to quarantine all of our fish, one of them is a diamond back goby. Can we put some sand I the QT for it? It is an awesome same sifter.

Yes. Take a small glass pyrex bowl and put a little sand in there.

 

[KDawg0623]

Now we are dosing with copper for ich. So if we put it in a small bowl with sides to keep it in the bowl we will be okay?

 

[saltyphish]

I recommend QT all new fish for 5 weeks min. But I don't treat my fish I watch for signs of problems and treat accordingly. In most if not all cases I needed to treat with prazipro for parasites.

Sorry for the late reply. It is ich and I have been spending the last 4 hrs setting up a QT and dosing it. I think we got it in time, Did a lot of reading and figuring on what we needed to do. I was just freaking out a bit. We have learned out lesson and wont put anymore of our fish in the DT without it being in the QT for a week or more. I used Ich - X and PraziPro as far as dosing.

 

[KDawg0623]

Well we have ich in our DT, so we have taken all of our fish out to keep it fallow for 72 days. The down side is that we have 13 fish in a 20 long QT. We have treated them with copper and did a FW dip in transitioning them from DT to QT. they are all small fish though

 

[KDawg0623]

We WILL be QTing all new fish though from here on out. We have learned our lesson

 

[Humblefish]

Now we are dosing with copper for ich. So if we put it in a small bowl with sides to keep it in the bowl we will be okay?

The sand will absorb a very small amount of the copper, but it should be minimal so long as you only add a little bit to the bowl. FWIW; I've QT'd many sand sifting gobies in the past and while it does take a few days, they've always adapted to life without sand for a time.

What brand of copper are you going to use? I would buy a compatible copper test kit (see more info below), so you can add more if needed.

Copper: Treats Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans), Marine Velvet disease (Amyloodinium); possibly Uronema marinum

How To Treat - First, it is important to know what kind of copper you are using. Cupramine is fully charged (ionic) copper, and has a therapeutic range of 0.35-0.5 mg/L or ppm. You would use a Seachem or Salifert copper test kit for Cupramine, as those are capable of reading copper in the low range.Coppersafe, on the other hand, is chelated copper. It has a much higher therapeutic range of 1.5-2.0 mg/L or ppm. As such, you need a “total copper test kit” such as API’s to measure Coppersafe.

Standard copper treatment lasts 30 consecutive days. The reason it takes so long is copper only targets the “free swimming stage” (the same holds true forall chemical treatments & hypo). While 7-14 days is the “norm” to reach this stage, certain strains of ich have prolonged life cycles. Indeed, even 30 days may not be long enough in some rare cases. This is why it is so important to observe after treatment ends, to ensure symptoms do not return.

Therapeutic copper levels must be maintained at all times during the 30 days, so testing often is important. If the level drops even slightly out of range, then the 30 day clock starts all over again. One reason your copper level may drop unexpectedly is if you are treating in a tank with rock and substrate; those should not be used in the presence of copper due to absorption. Conversely, if you exceed the therapeutic range you risk killing the fish.

Copper is a poison, pure and simple. It only works because most fish are able to withstand being in it longer than the parasites. Knowing this, it is wise to raise your copper level very slowly (over 3-5 days) instead of the usual 24-48 hours recommended on the labels. Doing so increases your odds of successfully treating a “copper sensitive” fish. Remove copper after 30 days by running activated carbon.

Pros - Readily available

Cons/Side Effects - Appetite suppression is a common side effect. If a fish stops eating, don’t add more copper until he resumes. If the fish is still not eating after 2-3 days, start doing water changes (lowering the copper concentration) until he eats. If this happens a second time after you resume raising the copper, you’ll know you’ve encountered a “copper sensitive” fish and an alternative treatment should be used instead. Some species of fish, such as angels, puffers, lions and mandarins are notoriously difficult to treat with copper.

 

[KDawg0623]

We have used Coppersafe and right now the testing kit shows we are around 1.5-2

 

[Humblefish]

We have used Coppersafe and right now the testing kit shows we are around 1.5-2

You are within range. Hold it there for 30 consecutive days. If it drops below 1.5, even for just a short time, the 30 day clock must restart.

 

[KDawg0623]

I was told that copper does not evaporate out of your tank, so as long as we treat the water we are adding with the water change, it should keep the same rating, correct?

 

[Humblefish]

I was told that copper does not evaporate out of your tank, so as long as we treat the water we are adding with the water change, it should keep the same rating, correct?

It lasts for several months before it starts to break down. Some people mistakenly add copper to their top off water - this is not needed and will raise it to dangerous levels. Only add copper to replacement water (for water changes), but do be sure to do add it back before the replacement water is added to the QT. This ensures the copper level in the QT never drops below therapeutic, if even for a short time.