new inverts brought something in

[deedubz]

I was thinking about today's events and this is what I came up with...

Prior to topping off the tanks, there really wasn't a whole lot of action. I didn't really see anything in qt1 but did see some twitching by the wrasses in qt2. I figured this was because they've been in therapeutic copper a little less than 24 hours.

-This evening I topped off both tanks with some saltwater I made up last night. That's when the fish started to flip out. At that point I cut the lamps in both rooms. The reason for saltwater top off was because I did hypo/ttm on the residents in qt1. I had gotten salinity to 1.015 when it was discovered I'm likely dealing with velvet. As of tonight it is 1.019. The wrasses in qt2 were shipped to me in 1.020. I have raised that tank to 1.022 in the same week.

-Qt1 went through 10 days of kanaplex.. the last 4 days of which were when I was ramping up copper.
-Qt2 has not had antibiotics as this was the qt for my 2 new wrasses and a pair of clowns from my nano. This tank was thrown together and the fish treated because of my fear of cross contamination and the fact that the new wrasses started to twitch within a couple days of arrival. Both wrasses and the clowns were given a freshwater dip prior to being moved to new qt. I saw no flukes. None of these fish had direct contact with qt1 or inhabitants.
- I noticed when I added kanaplex to qt1 that water would get cloudy despite 3 hob filters, an ice cap 1k gyre, and 2 air stones. The tank would clear up in time for next dose. Qt1 has 2 hob filters, a small powerhead, and two air stones.

 

[deedubz]

The twitching and scratching will vary from fish to fish. Usually it just subsides. Lots of variables: degree of parasite attachment/wounds, thickness of mucus coat, and then there is the occasional sensitivity to the copper itself. So you need to keep an eye on that to watch for sensitive fish that may need to be treated differently or may need to be protected from or treated for secondary bacterial infections that can often result from the parasite and the copper. Copper is after all a poison.

You may want to read this thread by Humblefish on dealing with bacterial infections while treating other things like Ich, Velvet, Flukes, etc. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-bacterial-infection-predicament.310311/#post-3816129

Today was day 8 for two of the wrasses so I decided to move them to a fresh qt. Did a fw dip en route with heated and aerated water. Lunate fairy dead and exquisite still looks like crap an hour later.

 

[deedubz]

Exquisite dead.

 

[Big G]

Sorry for your loss

 

[deedubz]

I think I'm dealing with prazi resistant flukes again... Clear/opaque oval flecks on one of the clowns and the flame wrasse, which I didn't notice in their previous qt(therapeutic copper for 10 days). Doesn't look like velvet or ich. I noticed after transferring to sterile qt this afternoon and can only see them with lights off and using my phone's flashlight...The fish also have to be angled just right/stars aligned/etc. That being the case, I cannot for the life of me get a pic. @Deinonych do you by chance have a pic of those flukes you were treating with hypo?

I'm going to begin lowering salinity this evening.

 

[deedubz]

I think I may be an idiot. Let me explain..

I noticed when the flame wrasse would swim to the corner, near an airstone, in the previous qt that she'd get these bubbles on her chin. It dawned on me after freaking out yesterday that, upon transfer, all 4 fish swam to a corner.. with an airstone. I turned airstones off because I have a powerhead and two hob filters. I then checked 3 additional times last night with flashlight and again this morning with over head lights on with/without flashlight. Nothing. Maybe it really was just bubbles.. Man I hope so. It'd be nice if my fish were finally, you know, parasite free...

 

[HotRocks]

I think I may be an idiot. Let me explain..

I noticed when the flame wrasse would swim to the corner, near an airstone, in the previous qt that she'd get these bubbles on her chin. It dawned on me after freaking out yesterday that, upon transfer, all 4 fish swam to a corner.. with an airstone. I turned airstones off because I have a powerhead and two hob filters. I then checked 3 additional times last night with flashlight and again this morning with over head lights on with/without flashlight. Nothing. Maybe it really was just bubbles.. Man I hope so. It'd be nice if my fish were finally, you know, parasite free...

Very possible. Especially with their thick slime coat, and the fact that they sleep in a mucus cacoon. Glad to hear

 

[Deinonych]

I think I'm dealing with prazi resistant flukes again... Clear/opaque oval flecks on one of the clowns and the flame wrasse, which I didn't notice in their previous qt(therapeutic copper for 10 days). Doesn't look like velvet or ich. I noticed after transferring to sterile qt this afternoon and can only see them with lights off and using my phone's flashlight...The fish also have to be angled just right/stars aligned/etc. That being the case, I cannot for the life of me get a pic. @Deinonych do you by chance have a pic of those flukes you were treating with hypo?

I'm going to begin lowering salinity this evening.

Yes, here is a micrograph of the parasite in question (definitely Neobenedenia sp. flatworms). The only way I was able to clear the fish was through hypo.

 

[deedubz]

Yes, here is a micrograph of the parasite in question (definitely Neobenedenia sp. flatworms). The only way I was able to clear the fish was through hypo.

Thank you

 

[deedubz]

Yea, still don't see anything on anyone. Must have been bubbles from the airstones(thank God).

However, since moving the fish to the unmedicated tank Friday, the wrasses have taken to hiding in the corners and not really eating much. I'm hoping it's because the clowns are loose, whereas they were in that giant acclimation box in the previous qt. Soooo... I setup a 10g that's currently heating, because I clearly needed another qt. My percula has always been mellow and docile, only really getting feisty with fish near her nem. These two ocellaris clowns are obnoxious little jerks...

 

[deedubz]

Ok. Tuesday was third and final round of prazi for the two wrasses and the ocellaris clowns. I did a waterchange yesterday after 24 hours and threw in a bag of carbon and purigen in both of those qts. Yesterday was third and final dose of prazi for the other qt and day 20 of therapeutic copper. Water is getting a little cloudy so I'm filling up buckets for another waterchange and I'll start setting up the clean qt for them to transfer to at day 30. I have not noticed any twitching, scratching, yawning, or anything in days now. I think what I did see was the perc simply reacting to the prazi about a week ago(she never cared much for it). I'll do a fw dip on her prior to the transfer to make sure they are in fact fluke free. If not, I'll just do hypo for 7-10 days.


Side note, the girls are MUCH happier now that the clowns are gone

 

[deedubz]

Dare I say... I may finally be parasite free?

 

[deedubz]

-Update

I'm now convinced this was Brooklynella the entire time. After a month of symptom free fish I did some moving around. My perc, flame wrasse and rhomboid wrasse went into a 29g qt awaiting arrival of the 180...whenever that'll be. I'm not even sure what the hold up is at this point but, given everything going on, I'm not even worried about it at the moment. The two b/w ocellaris clowns, 2 chromis, and blenny went into the new Coralife 32 Biocube.

Within a couple days I woke up to a dead flame wrasse and clear spots on 2/3 clowns and possibly the 3rd. It's hard to tell in that tank due to room lighting. Doesn't look like ich or velvet. Plus all fish went through hypo/ttm, a few rounds of prazi, and then copper verified by my Hanna checker. I wanted to rule out flukes, and give the ocellaris female relief, so I did a fw dip. There was tiny particles in the water that may(?) have come from her gills, but nothing that screamed flukes. Upon reintroduction to her tank, I noticed a couple string like things hanging off her dorsal fin and immediately thought brook.

I'd read where fish can develop temporary immunity to brook and this actually makes sense. The two ocellaris clowns came from my fluval nano. I tried two sets of clowns when I started the hobby and both died within a few days. There was also a watchman goby in there. I waited two months before adding these two last June but didn't remove the goby. I'm wondering if they somehow built resistance to it for ~ 8 months and the ttm/hypo/copper treatments merely masked symptoms the last 3? Then the stress of being moved to the 32 with fish they'd never encountered, who were also with a clown that lost a mate to "mysterious" circumstances early on, set it all off (again). Essentially all of my fish have now had direct and or indirect contact with each other.

Maybe it's a stretch, but this is all I can come up with. I started hypo the other day in the event it was flukes or ich since prazi and copper did nothing and I started metro this morning when I had the "aha" moment. There's no inverts in the 32 yet. They arrive tomorrow and have their own qt waiting

 

[deedubz]

100% brook. The "cluster" behind her pectoral fin is that classic "sun burn"/peeling skin look.

I wish it was this apparent 3 months ago... I'd have saved a lot of fish.