Need help dealing with my first illness!

hoffmeyerz · Apr 8, 2022

Hi everyone,
I'm pretty new in the saltwater tank world. Had a 29gal in 2020 that didn't go well because of bad advice/direction from lfs. I've since learned a TON and am now 5 months into a new 75gal setup. It's been running perfectly and I've only been keeping four fish moved over from the 29gal, 2 clowns, royal Gramma, and a pajama cardinal along with a choc chip star and a couple hermit crabs.
I decided things were ok to add a fish and put in a bristle tooth tang. Things were great, I don't have any algae in the tank so I was putting in nori for the tang which it was eating.
About a week later I noticed it was hiding and not eating and died shortly after that. I was really bummed. I now noticed similar behavior in the royal Gramma and a clown. Their skin looked really rough and muted in color though. I think I'm dealing with brook but this morning they look worse and almost, but not quite, like marine ich.
I have never had to handle outbreaks before and there is so much conflicting info! I'm gathering gear for a qt tank. I'm thinking of doing a fw dip and moving them to the qt but very conflicted on treatment from there and how long to keep the dt fallow. I would really appreciate any advice!!

MnFish1 · Apr 8, 2022

To me this looks more like cryptocaryon than brook. But it could also be both. The fact that its lying on the bottom is also not a good sign. You could try Ruby Rally Pro - according to doseage OR copper if that is not available. I would get treatment started sooner than later. I would not use both medications together

hoffmeyerz · Apr 8, 2022

Thanks for the input. The clown doesn't stay on the bottom all the time, still swims the tank and eats. The royal gramma doesn't want to eat and pretty much stays hidden. It's skin looks the same as the clown. The other clown and cardinal aren't showing anything yet.

vetteguy53081 · Apr 8, 2022

Treatment in a quarantine setting will need to fine using coppersafe at therapeutic level 2.25-2.5 at 80 degrees for a Full 30 days
Increase aeration during treatment and monitor both ammonia and copper with reliable test kits- no API brand either

hoffmeyerz · Apr 8, 2022

Ok. Will the coper work if I'm dealing with brook? I use Hanna checkers, I just don't have ammonia or copper ones so I'll have to pick those up. How long do I need to keep the dt fallow?

Jay Hemdal · Apr 8, 2022

hoffmeyerz said:
Thanks for the input. The clown doesn't stay on the bottom all the time, still swims the tank and eats. The royal gramma doesn't want to eat and pretty much stays hidden. It's skin looks the same as the clown. The other clown and cardinal aren't showing anything yet.

If I had to pick, given the RG also has spots, I'd say it is Cryptocaryon/ich. You won't be able to treat it well with invertebrates present, but in a fish-only system you can go with hyposalinity. If you have a treatment tank available, you can move all the fish there and treat with coppersafe. However, you need to move on this pretty quickly (today) as ich will reach an exponential growth phase, and then the treatments won't likely work fast enough.

Jay

hoffmeyerz · Apr 8, 2022

Other than the fish there is a chic chip star, a couple hermit crabs, and a snail. I'm traveling today but plan on starting treatment tonight. I've read about hypo salinity, can I do that in the dt?