Possibly ich? Shark tank

[Tliguors]

Hey everyone,

So maybe someone can help me out. In my setup with the cat sharks in it I also have a stars and strips puffer and a lion fish. The puffer has been acting very strange lately and I recently lost a purple tang that had ich (posssibly). I was wondering what would be the best corse of action. He is still eating but spends most of the day in the cave or laying down in the sand (with his tail curled in). I know puffers can't really be treated with copper and I'm not sure how I should treat him or if I should even treat him. The lion also spends a lot of top sitting on the sand. When he does swim his tail is not spread out like he normally is. And they are both breathing heavier than normal. They are the only ones. I did see the puffer scratch on the sand twice today.

Would I be better off moving the puffer and lion to a separate tank and leaving the sharks ( I don't currently have a Qt big enough for the big guys). The sharks are completely unaffected and are acting normal and eating like beasts. I know the sharks can't really get "ich" but can be carriers. My real question is if I move all but the sharks out and leave them alone for a few weeks will the ich die down.

The other concern I have is I have a smaller tank plumbed into the same filtration and none of the fish in there have been affected in the slightest bit (there's a mocha clown, a hippo tang, engineer goby, brown-banded and white spotted pups) the clown and tang were a rescue from a friend that couldn't keep his tank anymore and will be moving with the goby into a different setup. But wouldn't these fish also be somewhat affected if there was ich ?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

I'm at work for the night so I will test the water tomorrow when I get home. I did just do a very large water change yesterday (about 40-45%) which didn't change anything in their behavior.

If any other information would be helpful please let me know.

 

[Humblefish]

CP treatment was "rediscovered" for people in your same predicament. Read this: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/chloroquine-phosphate.192309/

The guy (alprazo) who did most of the initial research on CP, wanted it to treat his sharks & rays.

Do you have corals/inverts in your DT? Unfortunately, using CP with rocks & sand has been hit or miss.

 

[Tliguors]

There's been no change in the sharks behavior so if I don't have to disturb them It would be better. They are not respirating rapidly or acting out of sorts at all. It's just the puffer and the lion. Mostly the puffer. He's been acting strange for the past month and I have been trying the metroplex and those medications for about that long. It seems like maybe a bacterial infection maybe. I have some more closer up pictures I was able to get before I left for work

 

[Tliguors]

I have been mixing the dr gs anti parasitic that has the Chloroquine in it. Along with kanaplex, metroplex, sulfaplex and focus with vitamin c and multi vitamins soaked all in garlic. He eats fine and still comes out when I go to the tank. I feed then 3-4 times a week.

I have read a lot of alprazo's articles and that is an option but I don't want to have to medicate with something I would need to obtain a prescription for in order to get.

 

[Humblefish]

Unfortunately, I believe that is velvet: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/

Without treatment, prognosis for your lion & puffer is not good. I'm not 100% sure how badly velvet affects sharks.

 

[Tliguors]

Yea you think its velvet ? Is there something I can do to confirm that ? I've been in saltwater for 10 years and have never had a fish get sick I guess I'm just lucky. I'm so inexperienced in diagnosis and treatment. Should I try a formalin bath first ? But it's just weird that the remote tank I have on the side that shares water with this DT shows no symptoms of any diseases None of my fish have shown any decline in appetite. I guess I should probably set the QT up and pull the puffer and lion for now. I have the ich-x would that be sufficient ?

 

[ahiggins]

Aww poor guys. It looks like he's covered in micro bubbles

 

[Humblefish]

Yea you think its velvet ? Is there something I can do to confirm that ? I've been in saltwater for 10 years and have never had a fish get sick I guess I'm just lucky. I'm so inexperienced in diagnosis and treatment. Should I try a formalin bath first ? But it's just weird that the remote tank I have on the side that shares water with this DT shows no symptoms of any diseases None of my fish have shown any decline in appetite. I guess I should probably set the QT up and pull the puffer and lion for now. I have the ich-x would that be sufficient ?

There's no way to be 100% sure without a scope ID. You would need CP or copper to completely eradicate velvet. Your sharks won't handle the latter, but the lion/puffer may. Use chelated copper (Coppersafe or Copper Power).

 

[Tliguors]

There's no way to be 100% sure without a scope ID. You would need CP or copper to completely eradicate velvet. Your sharks won't handle the latter, but the lion/puffer may. Use chelated copper (Coppersafe or Copper Power).

I have cupramine. Is that okay ? I'm not going to pull the sharks. Copper is a big no no for them.

Aww poor guys. It looks like he's covered in micro bubbles

It's just sand because when he swims around it goes away he likes to sit on the sand bed. He always did. He's still active and social

 

[Humblefish]

I have cupramine. Is that okay ? I'm not going to pull the sharks. Copper is a big no no for them.

I would go with Coppersafe for the lion & puffer. They seem to handle chelated copper easier than ionic (Cupramine).

 

[melypr1985]

Agreed ^^ That looks like velvet. Coppersafe has been pretty good for me with puffers... i've only tried a couple lions in the copper system though and lost those, but it could have been because they wouldn't eat. Hard to say with them.

 

[Tliguors]

Okay thanks I'll give that a shot. I appreciate the suggestions.

 

[Tliguors]

I would go with Coppersafe for the lion & puffer. They seem to handle chelated copper easier than ionic (Cupramine).

Is there someplace I can get CP without a vet? And am I able to dose directly to the DT without any negative long term effects.?

 

[Humblefish]

Is there someplace I can get CP without a vet? And am I able to dose directly to the DT without any negative long term effects.?

They sell it on ebay and other online places, but purity from those sources can be questionable so it often fails. When you buy from a pharmacy, they test their CP to ensure it is at least 99% pure.

CP is NOT REEF SAFE. It will kill most corals/inverts. Even in a FOWLR, biofilm often biodegrades most medications (including CP): https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/qt-and-biofilm.292878/

 

[Tliguors]

Ok I guess it's time to build a new qt system. Lucky for me petco has their $1 gallon in effect now.

 

[Tliguors]

How big of a Qt would I need for my coral cats. They are a little smaller than 2 feet

 

[Humblefish]

How big of a Qt would I need for my coral cats. They are a little smaller than 2 feet

I would say at least a 6-foot 125 gal. 180 would be better.

A small "above the ground" polyethylene pond would probably be more practical, but I'm not sure how much of the CP would be absorbed by the plastic. :confused:

 

[Tliguors]

I would say at least a 6-foot 125 gal. 180 would be better.

A small "above the ground" polyethylene pond would probably be more practical, but I'm not sure how much of the CP would be absorbed by the plastic. :confused:

Yea I was gonna get something like that but I wasn't sure if it would work out. The sharks have never gotten sick when others have if I pull the other fish are they "carriers" of velvet like they are ich ? Like if I pull everything but them for the QT period would the fish I QT just get it again once I reintroduce them ?

 

[Tliguors]

I guess this is what I get for trying a new store. The store I usually get fish from has a very vigorous qt system that I got a tour of. In the future I'm just going to stick to my one store Sorry for asking so many questions. I've been doing this for 10 years and never had any fish get sick in the slightest.

 

[Humblefish]

Yea I was gonna get something like that but I wasn't sure if it would work out. The sharks have never gotten sick when others have if I pull the other fish are they "carriers" of velvet like they are ich ? Like if I pull everything but them for the QT period would the fish I QT just get it again once I reintroduce them ?

To be honest with you, your sharks will probably be fine without treatment. However, they can still be "carriers" of ich, velvet, etc. and provide a reservoir for future outbreaks from other fish.