Sick Fish

[Asianinvasion]

Hi guys,

I had a pink streaked wrasse that started acting weird after a "dropped doser in tank and it nuked my corals and inverts" incident. I figured it was due to that but he ended up looking like the pictures attached.

I immediately set up a qt and did a 30 min h2o2 bath into a copper treated tank. I followed this thread: https://humble.fish/community/threads/marine-velvet-disease.12/

QT tank itself is 10 gal, HOB, airstone, PVC hides, seachem ammonia checker, seachem matrix, set to 26C.

The wrasse died the next morning along with 2 other fish. I suspected this was velvet as these other 2 fish died within 36 hours of the wrasse dying.

Now I am about 3 days (after ramping to 2.5ppm as check with Hanna checker) into a copper treatment with copper power and now my swales basslet looks to be in terrible shape (pictures attached). He had some white dots yesterday and it appears to have exploded overnight. He also has white poop, breathing rapidly, laying on side, and not eating.

Everyone else (x2 Macneill Assessors and x2 lined dartfish) are eating, do not have any visible dots, and generally seem to be okay-ish.

So after all the background info - Is there anything I am doing wrong here? Anything I can improve? I am slowly accepting that the basslet (given his condition) is likely not gonna make it but i want to ensure the others do.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi guys,

I had a pink streaked wrasse that started acting weird after a "dropped doser in tank and it nuked my corals and inverts" incident. I figured it was due to that but he ended up looking like the pictures attached.

I immediately set up a qt and did a 30 min h2o2 bath into a copper treated tank. I followed this thread: https://humble.fish/community/threads/marine-velvet-disease.12/

QT tank itself is 10 gal, HOB, airstone, PVC hides, seachem ammonia checker, seachem matrix, set to 26C.

The wrasse died the next morning along with 2 other fish. I suspected this was velvet as these other 2 fish died within 36 hours of the wrasse dying.

Now I am about 3 days (after ramping to 2.5ppm as check with Hanna checker) into a copper treatment with copper power and now my swales basslet looks to be in terrible shape (pictures attached). He had some white dots yesterday and it appears to have exploded overnight. He also has white poop, breathing rapidly, laying on side, and not eating.

Everyone else (x2 Macneill Assessors and x2 lined dartfish) are eating, do not have any visible dots, and generally seem to be okay-ish.

So after all the background info - Is there anything I am doing wrong here? Anything I can improve? I am slowly accepting that the basslet (given his condition) is likely not gonna make it but i want to ensure the others do.

This fish is infested with ich and needs immediate treatment. It appears that its in a quarantine setting and can be treated with coppersafe at 2.25ppm and maintain 80.5 degree temperature during a 30 day period. Add air stone also for added oxygen.

 

[MnFish1]

1. I would double-check your copper levels.
2. Treat the fish for 30 days in copper (chelated - 2.2-2.5 ppm)
3. This looks like severe Ich, could also have a component of velvet - either way copper will take care of both.
4. I do not completely agree with the protocol per the website you chose. I would have rapidly ramp up copper to 2.2-2.5 as compared to waiting for 48 hours
5. As to what you're doing wrong - Nothing for these fish - -you seem to be on the right track - in the future, signs of illness like this need rapid/immediate treatment.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Yikes!! Better act fast, per the above.

 

[Asianinvasion]

This fish is infested with ich and needs immediate treatment. It appears that its in a quarantine setting and can be treated with coppersafe at 2.25ppm and maintain 80.5 degree temperature during a 30 day period. Add air stone also for added oxygen.

I'm treating with copper power at 2.5ppm - is This OK or should I lower it? Also, I have one airstone in there already should I add another for more oxygen?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm treating with copper power at 2.5ppm - is This OK or should I lower it? Also, I have one airstone in there already should I add another for more oxygen?

lower to 2.25

 

[Asianinvasion]

1. I would double-check your copper levels.
2. Treat the fish for 30 days in copper (chelated - 2.2-2.5 ppm)
3. This looks like severe Ich, could also have a component of velvet - either way copper will take care of both.
4. I do not completely agree with the protocol per the website you chose. I would have rapidly ramp up copper to 2.2-2.5 as compared to waiting for 48 hours
5. As to what you're doing wrong - Nothing for these fish - -you seem to be on the right track - in the future, signs of illness like this need rapid/immediate treatment.

I've double checked and it is at 2.57ppm.

i just don't understand how it got worse during treatment. Also, one of my assessors has white dots now - anything I can do or is this something to just leave and keep treating the tank like usual?

 

[JumboShrimp]

I'm an 'airstone nut' when I QT. I like the larger stones, better than the standard small ones, and like the larger 6" long stones (bars) even better.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi guys,

I had a pink streaked wrasse that started acting weird after a "dropped doser in tank and it nuked my corals and inverts" incident. I figured it was due to that but he ended up looking like the pictures attached.

I immediately set up a qt and did a 30 min h2o2 bath into a copper treated tank. I followed this thread: https://humble.fish/community/threads/marine-velvet-disease.12/

QT tank itself is 10 gal, HOB, airstone, PVC hides, seachem ammonia checker, seachem matrix, set to 26C.

The wrasse died the next morning along with 2 other fish. I suspected this was velvet as these other 2 fish died within 36 hours of the wrasse dying.

Now I am about 3 days (after ramping to 2.5ppm as check with Hanna checker) into a copper treatment with copper power and now my swales basslet looks to be in terrible shape (pictures attached). He had some white dots yesterday and it appears to have exploded overnight. He also has white poop, breathing rapidly, laying on side, and not eating.

Everyone else (x2 Macneill Assessors and x2 lined dartfish) are eating, do not have any visible dots, and generally seem to be okay-ish.

So after all the background info - Is there anything I am doing wrong here? Anything I can improve? I am slowly accepting that the basslet (given his condition) is likely not gonna make it but i want to ensure the others do.

100% that's not velvet. It is most likely Cryptocaryon, but there is another ciliate (very rare) that I used to call "hard ich", this could be that. Copper works on both, but "hard ich" takes longer to cure, and the fish don't always have that long.

I would stay at 2.5 ppm

If you had a microscope, and did wet mount skin scrape would tell me what the organism is here.....

 

[MnFish1]

I've double checked and it is at 2.57ppm.

i just don't understand how it got worse during treatment. Also, one of my assessors has white dots now - anything I can do or is this something to just leave and keep treating the tank like usual?

Because - the copper does not act immediately - and only kills certain stages in the life-cycle. Just to be sure - ALL of your fish should be being treated with copper. Your display tank should be left without fish for 6-8 weeks

 

[Asianinvasion]

100% that's not velvet. It is most likely Cryptocaryon, but there is another ciliate (very rare) that I used to call "hard ich", this could be that. Copper works on both, but "hard ich" takes longer to cure, and the fish don't always have that long.

I would stay at 2.5 ppm

If you had a microscope, and did wet mount skin scrape would tell me what the organism is here.....

I might be able to borrow a microscope. The basslet has not died yet and seems to be getting better? How hard/dangerous is it to do the biopsy on a live fish? I imagine it's too stressful but I might be wrong.

 

[Asianinvasion]

Because - the copper does not act immediately - and only kills certain stages in the life-cycle. Just to be sure - ALL of your fish should be being treated with copper. Your display tank should be left without fish for 6-8 weeks

Noted. Guess this is gonna be added to the string of disasters that turn into lessons .

 

[MnFish1]

Noted. Guess this is gonna be added to the string of disasters that turn into lessons .

Hopefully the disaster stage is over:)

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I might be able to borrow a microscope. The basslet has not died yet and seems to be getting better? How hard/dangerous is it to do the biopsy on a live fish? I imagine it's too stressful but I might be wrong.

Biopsy on live fish can be done, but it really requires practice. You need a dissecting microscope.

However, as @MnFish1 mentioned, it takes time for a treatment to work, so if the basslet seems to be getting a little better, I'd leave it alone and just let the copper do its work....