Fish sick from unknown cause

[Robbie_Maxwell]

Hi ive noticed over the last few days what looks like ich in my display tank.

i have almost all my fish for the last year and a half with the exception of a kole tang That was added in april and flame hawkfish that was added over a month ago When I upgraded.

I quarantined both those fish(obviously not well enough) without medication as both showed no signs of disease after 4 weeks

The only things that have gone in the tank since the flame hawk are some clean up crew that were not quarantined and a few frags(which were dipped)

is it possible that the infection came from the CUC?

what is also strange is that the flame hawk along with my firefish are the only ones not showing symptoms. Im also wondering if the hawkfish was sick but showed no symptoms So slipped under the radar?

im finding it hard to get pictures of my other fish because they move too quick to actually be able to see their skin clear enough.

My qt isnt big enough to hold all the fish so im probably gonna have to buy another asap

any help would be greatly appreciated
Robbie

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like velvet but either way needs to be treated right away. QT is best and a freshwater dip as well before medicating

 

[Robbie_Maxwell]

Looks like velvet but either way needs to be treated right away. QT is best and a freshwater dip as well before medicating

Ya im going to get on it straight away. How long should i leave my display tank fallow?

 

[vetteguy53081]

9 -10 weeks

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Looks like Cryptocaryon (ich) to me. The differential diagnosis is this: Amyloodinium (velvet) causes the fish's respiration rate to go sky-high very soon. Ich causes increased respiration only when the fish is near the end.

Count the fish's respiration rate (I count for 15 seconds and then multiply by 4). Normal rate for these fish would run 70 to 110 BPM. A fish with velvet is going to respire much faster - 120+ BPM.

It is very common for CUC to carry disease into your tanks. I wish LFS would isolate their inverts, but most throw fish in with them, and that's where the trouble starts. I remember seeing one store that would put their ailing fish into their coral system in the hopes of "curing them" - crazy!

Jay

 

[Robbie_Maxwell]

Thanks

Im going to do fresh water dip and run cupramine in qt for 4 weeks and leave the tank fallow for 76 days.

Anything else i can be doing?

 

[Redfoxtang]

Sounds like a good plan. Just be sure to to maintain therapeutic copper levels. Also you can cut your QT in half if you can set 2 QT tanks up and have copper in one and nothing in the other just for observation.

QT 1- 14 days in copper at therapeutic levels checked with Hanna copper checker to maintain accuracy. Then after 14 days move to QT 2

QT 2- 14 days no copper just observation to make sure QT worked as should. This will insure fish are not expose to copper as long and if ich somehow made it through (doubtful) that it does not infect DT.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Sounds like a good plan. Just be sure to to maintain therapeutic copper levels. Also you can cut your QT in half if you can set 2 QT tanks up and have copper in one and nothing in the other just for observation.

QT 1- 14 days in copper at therapeutic levels checked with Hanna copper checker to maintain accuracy. Then after 14 days move to QT 2

QT 2- 14 days no copper just observation to make sure QT worked as should. This will insure fish are not expose to copper as long and if ich somehow made it through (doubtful) that it does not infect DT.

I worry that 14 days copper is too short. I would suggest 30 days of full copper, then remove the copper and watch the fish for 14 days. This saves the stress of moving the fish to a second QT
Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks

Im going to do fresh water dip and run cupramine in qt for 4 weeks and leave the tank fallow for 76 days.

Anything else i can be doing?

I think you’ll need to anyway (while your tank is fallow) but always keep fish in the QT with no copper for two weeks after the Rx to watch them.
You did rule out rapid breathing?
Will you be running prazi for flukes?

Jay

 

[Robbie_Maxwell]

I think you’ll need to anyway (while your tank is fallow) but always keep fish in the QT with no copper for two weeks after the Rx to watch them.
You did rule out rapid breathing?
Will you be running prazi for flukes?

Jay

Breathing seems fine and they all seem to be acting normal with every still eating its just that they are covered in something

i think im going to run copper for the 30 days to be sure everything is gone from the fish and keep them with no copper then until the tank is done its fallow period.

I havent thought of prazipro as i find it hard to find alot of the medications typically used in the US here in Ireland (no lfs with anything saltwater) but ill definitely look into it

thanks