Velvet or Ich

[OceanJack]

Hello everyone,

about a week or two ago...I started a thread about how my Starry blenny succumbed to a bacterial infection. However it seems that things are a bit more dire in my tank...

I'm pretty sure that my remaining fish have either ich or velvet, I lost a puffer, another blenny and a coral beauty angel.

The blenny was the only one that was flashing and swimming strange, he was also biting his own tail it appeared?

The fish that died showed no signs of ich or velvet spots, now the remaining fish in my tank are 3 chromis and a flamehawk.

The chromis has not shown any signs of ich or velvet, the flamehawk looks a little less red. I did see spots on him but couldn't tell if it was just sand from me tanking the rocks out.


I have a QT tank setup right now and copper power ready to treat them, I also have Melafix and Kordon Ich plus as well.

My plan was to do a FW dip on the remaining fish, then QT them and add copper power. Should I be dosing other medication as well for the fish?

Also what should I be dosing the Copper Power at? It's a 10 gallon QT tank.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Sounds like velvet to me

Emergency treatment protocol in post #2 in this thread:
Velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum)
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...(Amyloodinium-ocellatum).217570/&share_type=t

Copper Power should be brought to 2.0 over a couple of days. 48 hours is preferred, but you’ll have to gauge how the fish respond to the rising level.

 

[4FordFamily]

Sounds like velvet to me

Emergency treatment protocol in post #2 in this thread:
Velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum)
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=1020&share_tid=217570&url=https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/Velvet-(Amyloodinium-ocellatum).217570/&share_type=t

Copper Power should be brought to 2.0 over a couple of days. 48 hours is preferred, but you’ll have to gauge how the fish respond to the rising level.

I agree.

A Hanna copper checker would be a great idea. Biospira and a HOB filter (remove carbon and add some sort of sponge media) will help keep ammonia down. It’s tough to be “reactive” and bring fish back from velvet but dangit it is worth a shot! Good luck!

 

[OceanJack]

Yeah, i figured... I'm reading up on Humblefish's thread now.

So what I plan on doing is, a FW dip today. Then a bath with Formalin and then QT with Copperpower.

Does anyone know what the dosage should be at first? It's all a bit confusing, I understand that therapeutic levels should be 1.75 to 2.0 right?

 

[OceanJack]

using the calculator from Aquarium Store Depot, it is saying for Copper Power to dose 10.36ML to achieve 1.75ppm.

Is that the value I should be aiming for after the Formalin bath in my QT Tank? I don't think I have the time for ramping up copper

 

[ngoodermuth]

Yes, 1.75-2.0 is correct for chelated copper. Should bring it up over 48 hours max if possible. Might not want to do it all in one shot though, I’d at the very least do it over the course of a day.. adding it every few hours.

I’d personally skip the formalin, if they are weak it could finish them off right there. I’ve had decent success with ruby reef rally (acriflavine) instead. API fungus cure is another source of acriflavine that I’ve seen others use successfully.

 

[OceanJack]

I'll try the API Fungus Cure, they seem fine so far and are eating but I'll cut the dose in half and will target .75 or 1ppm for the copper today.

Then aim for 2.0 over 48 hours. I'll do this and will keep you all informed.

 

[sfin52]

good luck sorry about the loss.

 

[OceanJack]

Thanks, @sfin52.

Wouldn't have been as bad but I had a work trip out of town so it's even worse not being able to handle this sooner.

 

[sfin52]

thats always been my fear leave and tank issues and nothing can be done till I get back.

 

[OceanJack]

Got them out, did the 5 minute fw dip and they're in the api fungus bath right now. Waiting to transfer over to the qt with copper

 

[OceanJack]

The fish are in the qt tank with copper at 1.0 ppm, they are breathing fast with no appetite but I'm guessing it's due to stress.

 

[ngoodermuth]

The fish are in the qt tank with copper at 1.0 ppm, they are breathing fast with no appetite but I'm guessing it's due to stress.

How’s aeration in the tank? Can you add an extra airstone? Velvet does a number on the gills, they might be struggling for oxygen.

 

[OceanJack]

I have a old protein skimmer pump for aerating the water. It was from a mini g protein skimmer so pretty heavy aeration. The fish seem a little better so far, but time will tell.

 

[OceanJack]

Since Thursday, I'm down to two fish. Lost my two chromis, one was user error and the second one died after copper was added and slowly ramped up.

However my flame hawk is doing good and eating, got his color back. The last chromis is doing just as well.

Right now I have copper at 1.85ppm. So I have not topped off the water yet, should I add copper power to the fresh water before I top off?

Also when I do a water change, should I add copper power to the wc water or?

 

[Schnizzle]

Do NOT add copper power to the top off water. DO add copper power to water change water. I just went through successful treatment of my crew for ich.
Make sure the water change water is at the matching copper level before adding to the tank. You do not want the copper to fall below therapeutic level.
If you were to add copper to top off water it would have the same effect as adding salt. It will increase to toxic levels. Just have a mark on the tank to keep the water level at. When it evaporates, copper will increase. When you add freshwater, copper will come back to the level it was at before evaporation. My level went between 1.61 (at the lowest) and 1.88 in a 40b during the two and a half weeks of treatment.

 

[OceanJack]

I just read that on Humblefish's thread in the other sub. I'm testing every day to ensure it doesn't go over the OD scale of things. Thanks for the reply!