Something Is Killing Fish

Rifken · Sep 19, 2023

That is good news about the peroxide dip and the eel. I'll go to humble.fish forum and check that out. What did you all do with the eel after the dip? Just put him in a QT without any meds? I've read that copper (which seems to be the go to for velvet) is a no-no for eels.

Frosty is very well mannered. He mostly stays in his cave. Comes out on the evening now and then to cruise around the tank. He eats 3 times a week. Sometimes he'd snag a piece of food from the triggers. I've never seen him bother any of the fish. I think I could put him in the other 125 once he cleared safe. It has 3 Cardinals, 1 Maroon Clown, a Blue Throat Trigger and a Sailfin Tang in it now.

Speaking of the other tank, how long do I need to wait before I can breath easier regarding whether or not the Clown Trigger infected that tank during his short stay?

Pics with a thousand words, right? Here are pics fresh from the tank. Sorry for the quality but Elvis didn't want to pose

Thought this would be all I was going to get cause he was in a cave type area. I did get another, maybe better shot but this shows a lot

THen I managed this one as well. Wish the quality was better but still shows a lot

-Bob

Gill the 3rd · Sep 19, 2023

I did the dips during the Tank Transfer Method. They call it the hybrid tank transfer method (HTTM) because of the additional peroxide dips.

I suggest going to his forum as he goes into more detail about the process and why it works. I can personally say the httm worked well for me. I used it on my eel and puffer(who had visible signs of velvet) and they both did well and were velvet free at the end. Only downside of this method is the number of tanks, saltwater and equipment you may need. Luckily at the time I had everything cause I'm a fish equipment hoarder lol. You need to make sure to properly sanitize the tanks and all equipment between transfers.

Hybrid TTM to treat more parasites!

Important - Tank Transfer Method is most effective when water temperature and salinity are kept within this range: Temp: 24C-28C / 76F-82F Salinity: 27ppt-35ppt / 1.020 SG - 1.026 SG "Hybrid" Tank Transfer Method (updated 2-9-2023) Tank Transfer Method is an effective (non-chemical) treatment...

humble.fish

How It Works:

Day 1 – Fish is placed in initial QT (transfer tank).

Day 4 – Perform 30 minute Hydrogen Peroxide bath OR 45 minute Formalin bath, then transfer the fish to a new tank.

Day 7 – Transfer the fish to a new tank.

Day 10 – Perform 30 minute Hydrogen Peroxide bath OR 45 minute Formalin bath, then transfer the fish to a new tank.

Day 13 – Transfer the fish to a new tank, and you're done.

Important notes:

The time of day you do the transfer is unimportant, but never exceed 72 hours from the last transfer. The temperature and salinity of the new tank should match the old tank, so you can just catch & release the fish (no acclimation). Transfer as little water as possible with the fish.
The two H2O2 or Formalin baths MUST be done exactly 6 days apart. (This is very important!) You can adjust the timing of the baths, if you wish. For example, if the fish is in good condition when received, the first bath can occur before the fish ever enters QT (Day 1) provided the second bath is administered 6 days later (before the transfer on Day 7). Everything else about doing TTM stays exactly the same!

Gill the 3rd · Sep 19, 2023

Forgot to add to my previous post -

When I was done the HTTM I kept the eel and puffer in a separate observation tank while the other fish completed their copper treatment of 30 days. After the copper treatment and 100% water change (to remove the copper), I added the eel and puffer to the treatment tank with the remaining fish. After 76 days of my display tank being fallow, I added everyone back in.

Jay Hemdal · Sep 19, 2023

Just to clarify things here - TTM and peroxide dips will not work unless you have a non-infected tank to move the fish into.

Jay

Gill the 3rd · Sep 20, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Just to clarify things here - TTM and peroxide dips will not work unless you have a non-infected tank to move the fish into.

Jay

Yes exactly. Sanitizing the tank and equipment is key. I also keep the tanks in a separate room and never use share the same tools/equipment between the tanks.

Copper Power at 2.5 ppm for 30 days is my preferred treatment, but I try to avoid it with certain fish like eels, puffers and wrasses.

Rifken · Sep 21, 2023

Tuesday afternoon I did the 5 minute freshwater dip followed by the 30 minute peroxide bath. Elvis did great thru that and I put him in my 29 gallon QT that I had treated with CopperSafe.

He looked much better after the dip and bath. He looked even better Wednesday morning which made me very happy. I took this picture

I checked on him at lunch and I noticed he was hanging out underneath a sponge filter but he seemed ok. Breathing wasn't too rapid and he still looked better.

I went to pick up my wife after work from the airport. She was returning from a trip to visit her dad who is suffering from dementia and not do well so I got home late. Elvis had passed sometime after lunch.

Frosty the eel is still in the 125. I don't see any signs on him, nor is he acting any different than normal. I'm not sure what to do about him. The only other tank I have is the 29 gallon QT tank. It has some sand on the bottom, three pieces of live rock, a double sponge filter, an Aqueon Power 30 HOB filter. I don't know if the tank is large enough to sustain him for 6 weeks while the 125 fallows.

If I try to put him in there I imagine I will need to change out all the water due to the CopperSafe. What about the rocks and the sand? What should I do with them? And the filters? He would need something to take care of the "cycle" right?

The other 125 was still looking good last night. All the fish looked healthy and ate great so that's a plus. Hopefully this tank won't go down because I don't know what I could do to try to save the fish in there with just the one 29 gallon tank.

Still trying to figure out how this all came to be. That would make it much easier for me to wrap my head around what is going on

-Bob

Jay Hemdal · Sep 21, 2023

Rifken said:
Tuesday afternoon I did the 5 minute freshwater dip followed by the 30 minute peroxide bath. Elvis did great thru that and I put him in my 29 gallon QT that I had treated with CopperSafe.

He looked much better after the dip and bath. He looked even better Wednesday morning which made me very happy. I took this picture

I checked on him at lunch and I noticed he was hanging out underneath a sponge filter but he seemed ok. Breathing wasn't too rapid and he still looked better.

I went to pick up my wife after work from the airport. She was returning from a trip to visit her dad who is suffering from dementia and not do well so I got home late. Elvis had passed sometime after lunch.

Frosty the eel is still in the 125. I don't see any signs on him, nor is he acting any different than normal. I'm not sure what to do about him. The only other tank I have is the 29 gallon QT tank. It has some sand on the bottom, three pieces of live rock, a double sponge filter, an Aqueon Power 30 HOB filter. I don't know if the tank is large enough to sustain him for 6 weeks while the 125 fallows.

If I try to put him in there I imagine I will need to change out all the water due to the CopperSafe. What about the rocks and the sand? What should I do with them? And the filters? He would need something to take care of the "cycle" right?

The other 125 was still looking good last night. All the fish looked healthy and ate great so that's a plus. Hopefully this tank won't go down because I don't know what I could do to try to save the fish in there with just the one 29 gallon tank.

Still trying to figure out how this all came to be. That would make it much easier for me to wrap my head around what is going on

-Bob

Sorry to hear about Elvis.

How large is the eel again?
If the 29 gallon is fully cycled, it might be o.k. to house it for the fallow period. You won't need to remove all of the copper, just most of it.

Jay

Rifken · Sep 21, 2023

Thank you. Elvis has been with us for quite awhile.

Frosty the snowflake eel is right around 20 inches and maybe a bit chunky. That's him in my avatar.

-Bob