Everything I have read says that velvet is the quick path to extinction - but I am trying to figure out a tank problem. For starters, I take my hat off to you guys that get these great fish pictures... I can never seem to get them in focus... I have a Max-S 650. Current stocking is just a few corals and mostly Damsels. Lacking photos - I will try my best to describe what I have observed:
A couple of months ago, a 4 stripe damsel began an odd behavior. He would swim out in the open, away from rocks, and swim downward very fast and then jerk upwards - like a rollercoaster. From the behavior, it seemed to me like some kind of parasite. It doesn't do it a lot, but if you watch it long enough you might see it a couple of times. Now - aside from the odd swimming motion, THAT fish showed no outward signs of distress... I wasn't sure if it was a display of dominance, or illness though I notice that lately it dug a small pit next to one of the rocks... perhaps spawning behavior?
My next observation was a domino damsel... it had a mottled white texture which I thought was velvet... I tried in vain to catch it, but was unsuccessful, Here's the rub - that fish did not die, but had that appearance for several weeks, every time I saw it. My understanding is that if it was velvet, it would have been gone in a few hours... It seems to have cleared up - though the trailing edge of the dorsal fin was white and ragged, which has since cleared up.
I have a fish that I THINK is a blue damsel... though the color is a deep purple... It too, displayed that grayish covering over its body... which has also cleared up.
During these observations, all fish ate readily and were active swimmers.
Now... the ones that didn't make it... I had several non-damsel fish which one day were doing fine, and gone the next. Many of them disappeared quickly. Like - eating normally one morning, gone the next... which is why I thought velvet... One that I did observe sick was a yellow tang. He was doing quite well, and bulking up nicely. Suddenly one day, I observed him laying on his side on top of the rocks, he had a large round white spot on his side. Not dots like ich, or a coating like velvet - a large round white spot. He was also breathing heavily. When I tried to catch him, he went behind the rocks, and I never saw him again.
The only non-damsels that have survived are a lawnmower blenny and a clown... though technically the clown is closer to being a damsel than not... There were/are no agressions observed, so I don't think the fish were killing each other. Inverts are the usual CUC of snails/hermits, a couple of urchins, and a shrimp.
So... the question is - could the tank have velvet and the damsels are just a bunch of tough guys? The tang was the last fish that died, and I haven't lost anything since - that was a few weeks ago.
A couple of months ago, a 4 stripe damsel began an odd behavior. He would swim out in the open, away from rocks, and swim downward very fast and then jerk upwards - like a rollercoaster. From the behavior, it seemed to me like some kind of parasite. It doesn't do it a lot, but if you watch it long enough you might see it a couple of times. Now - aside from the odd swimming motion, THAT fish showed no outward signs of distress... I wasn't sure if it was a display of dominance, or illness though I notice that lately it dug a small pit next to one of the rocks... perhaps spawning behavior?
My next observation was a domino damsel... it had a mottled white texture which I thought was velvet... I tried in vain to catch it, but was unsuccessful, Here's the rub - that fish did not die, but had that appearance for several weeks, every time I saw it. My understanding is that if it was velvet, it would have been gone in a few hours... It seems to have cleared up - though the trailing edge of the dorsal fin was white and ragged, which has since cleared up.
I have a fish that I THINK is a blue damsel... though the color is a deep purple... It too, displayed that grayish covering over its body... which has also cleared up.
During these observations, all fish ate readily and were active swimmers.
Now... the ones that didn't make it... I had several non-damsel fish which one day were doing fine, and gone the next. Many of them disappeared quickly. Like - eating normally one morning, gone the next... which is why I thought velvet... One that I did observe sick was a yellow tang. He was doing quite well, and bulking up nicely. Suddenly one day, I observed him laying on his side on top of the rocks, he had a large round white spot on his side. Not dots like ich, or a coating like velvet - a large round white spot. He was also breathing heavily. When I tried to catch him, he went behind the rocks, and I never saw him again.
The only non-damsels that have survived are a lawnmower blenny and a clown... though technically the clown is closer to being a damsel than not... There were/are no agressions observed, so I don't think the fish were killing each other. Inverts are the usual CUC of snails/hermits, a couple of urchins, and a shrimp.
So... the question is - could the tank have velvet and the damsels are just a bunch of tough guys? The tang was the last fish that died, and I haven't lost anything since - that was a few weeks ago.
I saved the above, and my Foxface I thought was beyond help. Unfortunately, my large blue spot in a 29g QT ate the firefish and when finally moving back to the QT I injured the royal gramma 
