All of my fish except for 2 died

[Sharkbait19]

Ok thank you if anyone lives in the la area my lfs is called marks tropical fish I love that store but do you guys think that the parasites could be from them?

Any lfs can have fish parasites, especially if they are selling wild-caught critters. Whether from a dirty petco or a five-star aquarium store, new fish should always go through quarantine. You just never know.

The thing is, you are essentially keeping an mini ocean in a box. The ocean has the same parasites, but it’s not an enclosed Petri dish where the parasites have a chance to multiply.

 

[nikosbk11]

Any lfs can have fish parasites, especially if they are selling wild-caught critters. Whether from a dirty petco or a five-star aquarium store, new fish should always go through quarantine. You just never know.

The thing is, you are essentially keeping an mini ocean in a box. The ocean has the same parasites, but it’s not an enclosed Petri dish where the parasites have a chance to multiply.

I am definently going to qt now what do you recomend is the best way to qt

 

[Sharkbait19]

I am definently going to qt now what do you recomend is the best way to qt

Best way to QT is to buy a cheap glass tank from a petsmart or petco, a hob filter, a heater, and an ammonia badge (because normal ammonia readers don’t work with copper meds). I also use a sponge filter, just because QT tanks need to be extremely sterile. Use a bottle of bacteria to kickstart the cycle process. Limit decorations to pvc tubes, as rocks tend to soak up medications and leach them back out. Avoid any cross-contamination between your DT and QT tanks. Once the fish are in there, run cupramine (a good ich/velvet med) for the correct amount of time, until the spots go away. Clean the tank often, keeping the copper levels stable, and eliminating the ich tormonts. Have a copper test kit to make sure the levels are stable and safe. Once you are done with the copper meds, you should hold the fish in QT for at least two weeks to make sure no parasites turn up. Leave them in until the fallow is over. There are more than one treatment for these illnesses, which can be found on the Disease & Treatments Forum.

 

[Dom]

Couldn’t I just treat my tank with something reef safe to shorten the time

Right there... that is the problem.

You can't rush in this hobby. Short cuts lead to things taking longer than they should. And your interest in expediting the process is an illustration of that.

Lots of good advice available to you here. Lots and lots of knowledgable people here.

Personally, if it were my tank, I'd isolate the remaining fish in a holding tank, monitor for disease and treat accordingly.

But I would also break down the entire tank, sanitize and start over. Its the longer route, but, you will be more certain that your have eradicated disease in your system.

 

[nikosbk11]

Right there... that is the problem.

You can't rush in this hobby. Short cuts lead to things taking longer than they should. And your interest in expediting the process is an illustration of that.

Lots of good advice available to you here. Lots and lots of knowledgable people here.

Personally, if it were my tank, I'd isolate the remaining fish in a holding tank, monitor for disease and treat accordingly.

But I would also break down the entire tank, sanitize and start over. Its the longer route, but, you will be more certain that your have eradicated disease in your system.

what i have done is put my two surviving fish in qt with copper and i plan to do this for at least a month and keep my tank with no fish. Can the virus get on my hermit crabs i don't want to put them in qt because the copper will kill them. will they be ok?

 

[CrimsonTide]

what i have done is put my two surviving fish in qt with copper and i plan to do this for at least a month and keep my tank with no fish. Can the virus get on my hermit crabs i don't want to put them in qt because the copper will kill them. will they be ok?

The disease can get on your inverts but it doesn't damage them like fish. You will need to keep the fish in the other tank for around 2.5months. The disease lives off the fish so the time is important to make sure all the disease dies off in your main tank. Your coral and inverts are fine because they do not cause the disease to replicate.

Once the 2.5months is up you can put your old fish back in and begin to get new fish and treat them or observe them in quarantine for about a month and put them in your display. This is really the only way to avoid disease in a tank.

 

[Sharkbait19]

You can put all new inverts right into the day as long as it’s 90 days from that final addition that you add fish.

 

[artieg1]

You need to read up on the threads detailing ich and velvet issues. Also read up on Jay's current QT procedures. You have to read read read. Then choose a course of action that makes sense to you.