Quarantine and velvet (or ich?)

[07825saltwaterguy]

How are you all, I’ve been a saltwater hobbyist for about 7 months now.. recently my tank nuked
I know it cycled and I was stupidly religious on the water changes, I got advised from a hobbyist that I didn’t need to change the water as much so I took 2/3 weeks off ( I probably overfed slightly)
55 gallon tank
Mainly use distilled water in jugs.. in times of need use tap water w API conditioner(RODI system not an option for me)
Many snails and crabs
Down to one fish now anyway.. lion fish died clown died and a trigger..
I believe how fast it happened (2-4 days) I have velvet present in tank I have one porcupine puffer left threw him in QT believe tank is too small so if I NEED to upgrade I will to save him
I use coppersafe I did the dosage for 10 gallons and a Hanna checker will be here tomorrow..
If I need a bigger tank I will literally get one tomorrow haven’t had time but to order things on Amazon and work with what I got
He was yellowish it seems to be going away slightly not eating yet I have a filter and a bubbler in the water for aeration
Diet for him has been krill, clams on a half shell and some frozen silversides he never got stuck on krill hed always Eat the clams

Since quarantine (4) days now, he’s probably ate 2 krill I put food in once a day and take it out if not eaten

Do I top off water normally?
I can check tomorrow once Hanna checker arrives and keep water at therapeutic level temp is at 76 degrees
Is it normal for him in copper to eat very lightly like he is? No signs of being sluggish he’s moving around a lot. Sometime he widens his mouth but I’ve been keeping no lights on so maybe I’m surprising him now when the lights are on now or he’s getting skiddish(lights mainly kept off definitely for now including DT)
I’ve read all the articles on ich/velvet and am doing what I can with what I got, any comments appreciated thank you. (He is not full size probably 4” or so

Last thing it’s not a “test” but I have a diamond goby and the crabs and snails still in the main tank, diamond goby is completely fine no issues at all.. I’ve read sometimes they are not affected by these two diseases/parasites.
I hope I posted in the right forum I tried to read before posting.. thank you all hope to keep him well and keep going, plan to upgrade to a 75 or a 120 since I know my porcupine will get MUCH bigger

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Welcome to Reef2Reef- sorry for your troubles!

#fishmedic - presumed velvet wipeout; a skittish, infected puffer not eating in QT, and an asymptomatic Diamond goby still in the DT.

To the OP, a few questions to start, then some comments/advice:
-How big is the Quarantine Tank?
-Is the QT cycled?

You’ll want a QT tank that’s big enough to comfortably house the puffer for the duration of the Display Tank’s fallow period (and the goby too, both to make sure that neither are too stressed, to make sure that both are treated and not carrying the disease any more, and to run the tank fallow - fishless - so your fish don’t just get infected again as soon as you add them back into the DT).

For the RODI - have you considered a simple, portable, countertop system with an adapter so that you can just hook it up to a sink faucet when needed and stow it in a closet/cabinet when not in use? I know this sort of system is relatively popular for people in apartments who can’t hook one up permanently/mount it on a wall.

 

[vetteguy53081]

How are you all, I’ve been a saltwater hobbyist for about 7 months now.. recently my tank nuked
I know it cycled and I was stupidly religious on the water changes, I got advised from a hobbyist that I didn’t need to change the water as much so I took 2/3 weeks off ( I probably overfed slightly)
55 gallon tank
Mainly use distilled water in jugs.. in times of need use tap water w API conditioner(RODI system not an option for me)
Many snails and crabs
Down to one fish now anyway.. lion fish died clown died and a trigger..
I believe how fast it happened (2-4 days) I have velvet present in tank I have one porcupine puffer left threw him in QT believe tank is too small so if I NEED to upgrade I will to save him
I use coppersafe I did the dosage for 10 gallons and a Hanna checker will be here tomorrow..
If I need a bigger tank I will literally get one tomorrow haven’t had time but to order things on Amazon and work with what I got
He was yellowish it seems to be going away slightly not eating yet I have a filter and a bubbler in the water for aeration
Diet for him has been krill, clams on a half shell and some frozen silversides he never got stuck on krill hed always Eat the clams

Since quarantine (4) days now, he’s probably ate 2 krill I put food in once a day and take it out if not eaten

Do I top off water normally?
I can check tomorrow once Hanna checker arrives and keep water at therapeutic level temp is at 76 degrees
Is it normal for him in copper to eat very lightly like he is? No signs of being sluggish he’s moving around a lot. Sometime he widens his mouth but I’ve been keeping no lights on so maybe I’m surprising him now when the lights are on now or he’s getting skiddish(lights mainly kept off definitely for now including DT)
I’ve read all the articles on ich/velvet and am doing what I can with what I got, any comments appreciated thank you. (He is not full size probably 4” or so

Last thing it’s not a “test” but I have a diamond goby and the crabs and snails still in the main tank, diamond goby is completely fine no issues at all.. I’ve read sometimes they are not affected by these two diseases/parasites.
I hope I posted in the right forum I tried to read before posting.. thank you all hope to keep him well and keep going, plan to upgrade to a 75 or a 120 since I know my porcupine will get MUCH bigger

Copper can impact diet, oxygen and must be at therapeutic level of minimum 2.0 to work and best at 2.25-2.5 monitored by reliable test kit such as Hanna brand.
Fish with velvet will typically stay at the surface of the water, or remain in a position where a steady flow of water is present in the aquarium. As the disease progresses outwards from the gills, the cysts then become visible on the fins and body. Although these cysts may appear as tiny white dots the size of a grain of salt, like the first sign of Saltwater Ich or White Spot Disease, what sets Oodinium apart from other types of ich is that at this point the fish have the appearance of being coated with what looks like a whitish or tan to golden colored, velvet-like film, thus the name Velvet Disease.
Remove fish from main tank and give them a FW dip or bath and then place them into a QT with vigorous aeration provided. Treat the fish in the QT with a copper-based medication. Although many remedies contain the general name as ich or ick treatments, read the box to be sure it targets Oodinium. Other signs will be fish scratching body against hard objects, lethargic behavior, Loss of appetite and weight loss, Rapid, labored breathing, Fins clamped against the body, and typically stay at the surface of the water, or remain in a position where a steady flow of water is present in the aquarium.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

How are you all, I’ve been a saltwater hobbyist for about 7 months now.. recently my tank nuked
I know it cycled and I was stupidly religious on the water changes, I got advised from a hobbyist that I didn’t need to change the water as much so I took 2/3 weeks off ( I probably overfed slightly)
55 gallon tank
Mainly use distilled water in jugs.. in times of need use tap water w API conditioner(RODI system not an option for me)
Many snails and crabs
Down to one fish now anyway.. lion fish died clown died and a trigger..
I believe how fast it happened (2-4 days) I have velvet present in tank I have one porcupine puffer left threw him in QT believe tank is too small so if I NEED to upgrade I will to save him
I use coppersafe I did the dosage for 10 gallons and a Hanna checker will be here tomorrow..
If I need a bigger tank I will literally get one tomorrow haven’t had time but to order things on Amazon and work with what I got
He was yellowish it seems to be going away slightly not eating yet I have a filter and a bubbler in the water for aeration
Diet for him has been krill, clams on a half shell and some frozen silversides he never got stuck on krill hed always Eat the clams

Since quarantine (4) days now, he’s probably ate 2 krill I put food in once a day and take it out if not eaten

Do I top off water normally?
I can check tomorrow once Hanna checker arrives and keep water at therapeutic level temp is at 76 degrees
Is it normal for him in copper to eat very lightly like he is? No signs of being sluggish he’s moving around a lot. Sometime he widens his mouth but I’ve been keeping no lights on so maybe I’m surprising him now when the lights are on now or he’s getting skiddish(lights mainly kept off definitely for now including DT)
I’ve read all the articles on ich/velvet and am doing what I can with what I got, any comments appreciated thank you. (He is not full size probably 4” or so

Last thing it’s not a “test” but I have a diamond goby and the crabs and snails still in the main tank, diamond goby is completely fine no issues at all.. I’ve read sometimes they are not affected by these two diseases/parasites.
I hope I posted in the right forum I tried to read before posting.. thank you all hope to keep him well and keep going, plan to upgrade to a 75 or a 120 since I know my porcupine will get MUCH bigger

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Regarding the 10 gallon being too small or not, that depends a bit on the size of the puffer. Certainly monitor the ammonia level in that tank, and keep it below 0.5 ppm. You can use filter media from your main tank if need be, to supply the beneficial bacteria (just not calcium based media, as the copper may react with that).

The diamond goby in the tank may be an issue - they are resistant, but not immune to some diseases. I'm worried it could carry a sub-clinical infection, causing the puffer to get sick when you return it.

It may be too late, but there is another option - it might be best if you moved the invertebrates out and treat both the puffer and the goby with hyposalinity (low salinity). Then, after 45 days, you could move the invertebrates back into the tank, once you've raised the salinity again. This is a good option when you don't have many invertebrates compared to the value/number of fish.

Jay