Fallow didn't work, what to try next?

roblox84 · Nov 5, 2020

So my tank was fallow for approx 90 days to rid my tank of velvet. After that I added a molly and it was in there was several weeks and showed no signs of velvet. Last week I added a royal gramma and it's already showing signs of velvet.

Is it ends up dying what should I try next? Should I just toss my snails and corals and dry my tank out? I was thinking about bleaching my tank and rock to kill the parasites but I'm not sure whether the bleach will turn my life rock white.

40g Nano · Nov 5, 2020

Did the royal gramma come with velvet from the lfs?

roblox84 · Nov 5, 2020

14g Nano said:
Did the royal gramma come with velvet from the lfs?

I didn't see any spots on the fish when I received.

brandon429 · Nov 5, 2020

molly and gramma= not from qt= vector
is that far off? the fish needed treatment prevention to reinforce the fallow as I read in the fish disease forum

SaltyT · Nov 5, 2020

roblox84 said:
I didn't see any spots on the fish when I received.

Fish usually harbor parasites in their gills before the spots show on them. It was likely infected with something when you added it to your tank.

roblox84 · Nov 5, 2020

SaltyT said:
Fish usually harbor parasites in their gills before the spots show on them. It was likely infected with something when you added it to your tank.

Ok so what's a sure way to rid a tank of parasites? Will enough hydrogen peroxide kill everything?

brandon429 · Nov 5, 2020

No peroxide isn’t the right tool for that

w have to see what the crew thinks / whether fallow must be redone

SaltyT · Nov 5, 2020

roblox84 said:
Ok so what's a sure way to rid a tank of parasites? Will enough hydrogen peroxide kill everything?

You could go fallow again, that will rid your tank of velvet. You can use hydrogen peroxide as a bath, but I would not recommend treating your tank with it since you have snails and corals.

HuduVudu · Nov 5, 2020

roblox84 said:
Ok so what's a sure way to rid a tank of parasites?

There isn't one. This is a frustrating path to follow.

JasonK84 · Nov 5, 2020

Remove fish to QT and treat with copper power while starting over the fallow process in the DT. From that point forward everything wet that you introduce must go through a QT process to keep things out. Or keep rolling dice.

40g Nano · Nov 5, 2020

Qt both fish in separate tank while dt goes fallow again

brandon429 · Nov 5, 2020

Nice to see the unison here for the approach I’ll add this to our cycling thread / when to add fish to show updated trending in the hobby

Alchameth · Nov 5, 2020

Fallow is a waste of time if you are not QT new fish and either proactively treating or waiting 4+ weeks evaluating and treating if needed. I proactively treat with copper and Prazi. All fish spend 6 weeks in QT before they go in my main tank.

So if you want to get rid of it, yes fallow again, and QT ... EVERYTHING before it goes in main tank, and don't cross use any equipment... not a scrubber on the glass, non a pippet for testing salinity, nothing that goes in or around QT goes into display.

roblox84 · Nov 5, 2020

Ok will do. Looks like i just need to buy from my old lfs that have good stock. I bought some coral of a dude on Craigslist that came with velvet and wiped my tank the first time and now after fallow i get this infected Gramma from online, sheesh. I guess my luck ran out by not QT'ing in 12 years of reefkeeping.

Alchameth · Nov 5, 2020

Buy from where you want to buy from... just take proper precautions.

I lost half my livestock 2 times over 3 years trying to manage ick... finally had enough and went the eradication route. In the middle of my second fallow period right now, so I feel your pain.

Hang in there and good luck

JumboShrimp · Nov 5, 2020

I have all healthy fish now— but my journey to get there (think, “Marine Velvet”) took me three agonizing tries; fallow for 80 days each time. Ugggg.

artieg1 · Nov 6, 2020

I think you should exhaustively read the stickies on QT for parasites. It is an incredible shame that you went through the trouble of going fallow, but somehow missed the part about now introducing new fish until you are certain they're not carrying those parasites. For me, personally, no fish goes in my tank (regardless of source) until it has made it through a QT regimen of copper at therapeutic levels. There are other ways to clear parasites. I would read up. You hear from time to time that QT didn't work here or there, and nothing is 100% in life. But I've found that a consistent QT protocol has eliminated the fish disease issues that previously plagued me.