My Tank Is Getting Wiped Out! Anyone Know What This Could Be?

[Stoatee]

Also how long can I keep these two clowns in the small quaratine box I put them in inside the QT I have a air rock hopefully arriving tomorrow but could be late

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Interesting, I have never seen that med on here. @Jay Hemdal have you used this?

Flubendazole is used to control nematodes in discus. I have not used it in marine tanks, but others have. Fenbendazole can be toxic to some species.
Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Okay so a few days ago I noticed my scooter blenny go crazy like it had been massivly spooked and then started to go back to normal. Then on Saturday just before we were going out I noticed the roal grammer was looking week and then it got sucked into the power head, we had to go so just hoped it would be okay when we got back. When we did get back there was no sign of the grammer and the blenny was very flow and heavy breathing. I quickly caught it and added it to a quartine box inside the tank to get a QT ready however by the time I was ready to transfer (5 or so hours) the scooter had died. All other fish were looking fine at this point. The next day noticed the clowns rubbing against the algue scraper and so started to suspect flukes and thought would into it more and get some medication for it. Got some medication today and when I got back from work the clowns had gone from fine to go being at the bottom of the tank and then going crazy and also buring the head into the sand. I caught them up and moved them into the QT along with putting some prime in and flukes medication. A few hours later the wrasse was swimming upsidedown and also going all over the tank without any control. I have now caught him up and also put him into the QT. I literally only have a cleaner shrimp and engineers left looking okay at the moment but I don't know what it is because flukes I thought shouldnt be wiping fish out in a day or two of showing symptoms. Anyone got any idea of what this could be? All the fish were eating fine and not looking weak before looking like they are on deaths door or dying! We have also noticed that one of the clowns has some slight silver scales and the scooter did have it

Flukes typically do not kill all fish quickly; more often it affects some fish worse than others, they die over days/weeks and then additional fish develop symptoms.
This case is likely a water quality issue or Amyloodinium/velvet.
Jay

 

[Stoatee]

So one of the clownfish died and I have put it in some heated RO and nothing has come out of the fish in an hour…do I continue to treat as flukes?1

 

[Stoatee]

Flukes typically do not kill all fish quickly; more often it affects some fish worse than others, they die over days/weeks and then additional fish develop symptoms.
This case is likely a water quality issue or Amyloodinium/velvet.
Jay

I would agree however there is no mucus layer to show signs of velvet. All the water parameters are what you would expect so the only thing is trace elements but are these symptoms going to be related to that? I would of expected coral death for fish death for heavy metals

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I would agree however there is no mucus layer to show signs of velvet. All the water parameters are what you would expect so the only thing is trace elements but are these symptoms going to be related to that? I would of expected coral death for fish death for heavy metals

Velvet usually has no visual symptoms other than rapid breathing and lethargy - you won’t see the fine dust until the very end of the infection, and often not even then.
Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So one of the clownfish died and I have put it in some heated RO and nothing has come out of the fish in an hour…do I continue to treat as flukes?1

Only one species of fluke, Neobenedenia can be seen in dip water with a naked eye, all the rest require a microscope…so not seeing flukes in a dip isn’t always diagnostic.
Jay

 

[Stoatee]

Only one species of fluke, Neobenedenia can be seen in dip water with a naked eye, all the rest require a microscope…so not seeing flukes in a dip isn’t always diagnostic.
Jay

Thanks Jay so should I be treating for velvet instead of flukes do you think?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks Jay so should I be treating for velvet instead of flukes do you think?

Can you post a video of the fish that remain?

I can't say what the issue actually is, I think it is either some odd toxin in the water, or velvet. I was just pointing out that not seeing flukes in dip water does NOT always mean the fish don't have flukes. However, if you give a fish a FW dip and it has the small species of flukes, you will have killed off like 90% of the flukes and the fish should improve the next day. I use that as an indirect way to diagnose flukes for people sometimes.....

Jay

 

[Bucs20fan]

Can you post a video of the fish that remain?

I can't say what the issue actually is, I think it is either some odd toxin in the water, or velvet. I was just pointing out that not seeing flukes in dip water does NOT always mean the fish don't have flukes. However, if you give a fish a FW dip and it has the small species of flukes, you will have killed off like 90% of the flukes and the fish should improve the next day. I use that as an indirect way to diagnose flukes for people sometimes.....

Jay

I agree completely, FW dip IS the diagnosis for flukes, Jay's recommendation helped me beat neobendenia flukes, which are very very nasty if youve never had to deal with them. FW dip is my go to for many parasites, as even at a minimum it will provide relief which buys us time.

 

[Stoatee]

Can you post a video of the fish that remain?

I can't say what the issue actually is, I think it is either some odd toxin in the water, or velvet. I was just pointing out that not seeing flukes in dip water does NOT always mean the fish don't have flukes. However, if you give a fish a FW dip and it has the small species of flukes, you will have killed off like 90% of the flukes and the fish should improve the next day. I use that as an indirect way to diagnose flukes for people sometimes.....

Jay

I have attached some pictures a long with a couple of videos. I have 1 clown still alive in QT the wrasse and other clown have now died and 2 engineers in the MT.

The videos don’t seem to want to upload is there another way to get them to you?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have attached some pictures a long with a couple of videos. I have 1 clown still alive in QT the wrasse and other clown have now died and 2 engineers in the MT.

All I can see in the videos is the fish are breathing rapidly and the one clownfish is moribund (close to death). I think you should remove the powerhead and replace it with an good air stone that aerates, not just circulates the water. If you think you have ruled out all water quality issues and the air stone doesn't help, you need to consider it is a gill disease. The most common of those is velvet, and that requires a full copper treatment. I use Coppersafe at full dose (2.5 ppm) for 30 days.

Jay

 

[Stoatee]

All I can see in the videos is the fish are breathing rapidly and the one clownfish is moribund (close to death). I think you should remove the powerhead and replace it with an good air stone that aerates, not just circulates the water. If you think you have ruled out all water quality issues and the air stone doesn't help, you need to consider it is a gill disease. The most common of those is velvet, and that requires a full copper treatment. I use Coppersafe at full dose (2.5 ppm) for 30 days.

Jay

I can’t be 100% about our water until we get our results back but I not sure what in the water would cause this. I know that ammonia is next to 0 salinity is 1.024 Phosphate 0.67, Nitrite 0.013 and nitrate below 2.41 and I can’t think of anything else that would be killing the tank. So you would say velvet still? Are we ruling out flukes at this point?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I can’t be 100% about our water until we get our results back but I not sure what in the water would cause this. I know that ammonia is next to 0 salinity is 1.024 Phosphate 0.67, Nitrite 0.013 and nitrate below 2.41 and I can’t think of anything else that would be killing the tank. So you would say velvet still? Are we ruling out flukes at this point?

I went back and reread the whole thread and looked at the timeline. My conclusion is that it is velvet. However, velvet kills so fast, it is often not possible to treat for it once fish loss has occurred - but copper would be the way to go.

Jay

 

[Stoatee]

I went back and reread the whole thread and looked at the timeline. My conclusion is that it is velvet. However, velvet kills so fast, it is often not possible to treat for it once fish loss has occurred - but copper would be the way to go.

Jay

Thanks for all the help Jay I will try save the 3 I have left by treating to velvet. As far as going forward what should I do with my tank does velvet live in the tank still? My corals, snails and shrimp all seem okay at the moment so assuming they are immune to it and also can’t be hosts?

 

[I never finish anythi]

Thanks for all the help Jay I will try save the 3 I have left by treating to velvet. As far as going forward what should I do with my tank does velvet live in the tank still? My corals, snails and shrimp all seem okay at the moment so assuming they are immune to it and also can’t be hosts?

Good luck brother

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for all the help Jay I will try save the 3 I have left by treating to velvet. As far as going forward what should I do with my tank does velvet live in the tank still? My corals, snails and shrimp all seem okay at the moment so assuming they are immune to it and also can’t be hosts?

You will need to leave your tank with no fish in it for 45 to 60 days (60 is safer). This causes any fish parasites to die out from lack of a host.

Jay

 

[Stoatee]

You will need to leave your tank with no fish in it for 45 to 60 days (60 is safer). This causes any fish parasites to die out from lack of a host.

Jay

Yeah no problem. And inverts arnt carries and should be okay to leave in the tank?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Yeah no problem. And inverts arnt carries and should be okay to leave in the tank?

Correct, all invertebrates can remain.

Jay