Fish won't stop dying!
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Naiad
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Have you been testing copper lvls when you put it in? I would recommend removal of copper from the dt and then purchasing one fish. Qt it for a month being sure it doesn't have any illness. If it survives the month add it to the copperless dt and see if it survives. If it does not survive proper qt I would look at purchasing fish elsewhere.
Pfisherman
Active Member
I certainly have nothing against a UV sterilizer but its not going to cure anything. It's a way to manage with it. Your fish may not be showing signs now, but they are harboring parasites in their gills, its also on the rocks, the sand and in the water itself. As long as there is a fish to host the parasite's life cycle will continue. Going fallow is the only way to make sure the parasites are dead and gone. Qt is the best way to make sure you dont introduce more parasites with new fish. Never put the LFS's water in your tank with new fish.
Now, if you have in fact put copper in your display you'll have a very hard time removing it from the rocks and sand. So yes, if you want corals or other inverts in there you'll need to do something about that. You can try to run carbon and other media that will remove the copper from the water but you run the risk of it leaching back into the water again from the rocks and sand. In that case, you may need to break it all down and do a thorough cleaning. That will lead to letting the tank cycle once again while your fish are in QT. Either way, the display goes fishless for a while.
Its your decision. The parasites arn't going to go away without intervention. Good luck
This is my exact belief on parasites, to say a uv light is the answer is a glittering generality. Going fallow (fishless) is the only real reef safe way to eliminate parasitic inverts. In most cases such as ich and crypt a fish is required in some part of the life cycle for said parasite to live. Coppering the qt will keep you from introduction of new problems, but thats nothing but nothing if youve already got an established population. UV may, (read MAY!) Help sometimes, but it is a definite give and take situation. Does the uv kill more thomites or beneficial bacteria? If your problem is a parasite, that requires a fish in its life cycle and you go fallow, and you run a uv, and you qt it is all good. But im not certain that your problem is a parasite.
1wwoods7
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Well they have all happened within a week of me getting new fish. Cause what I was doing was getting a new fish every week and the first few were little and just disappeared or I found then almost completely eaten by my Hermit crabs. Then after about 5 weeks I got a flame Angel and that is when I noticed spots and since then it has just happened when I get a new fish.
Sounds like velvet (with some of the fish building up temporary immunity) or a really bad case of ich. Or a combination of both. The good news is you can (and should) use copper to treat both. But you are treating in a DT with rock/substrate? With Cupramine, correct? If so, what's done is done now but any corals/inverts need to be removed ASAP...
You will also need a good copper test kit (Seachem or Salifert) to monitor the copper level on a daily basis. Rock/substrate absorbs copper and then leaches it back out, making it difficult to maintain a stable concentration.
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1wwoods7
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I am currently treating with copper and my inverts were taken out before I started. I do have a copper test that I use about every other day and my copper levels have been between .3 and .5.
You've got to way up the pros and cons. I've never said that a uv is the be all and end all its just there to help. It's only going to kill free floating parasites and goodies in your aquarium so everything that is colonised on your LR and and sand bed will stay in your aquarium. A uv is a proven way to (HELP) notice I said help,control any out brakes! In the grand scheme I would rather lose a bit of friendly bacteria if it helped me from losing a fish, that's if it is a parasite that's killing the fish of course
Naiad
Valuable Member
Yes. The problem with using copper in the dt is the lvls bounce around as rock absorbs and releases it. This is very stressful for fish. So I would remove your remaining fish and see if they need treatment or if you have cured the problem while you get the copper out of the dt.
I am not an expert on copper, but my understanding is it can leach into rock, sand, anything including the tank itself. So, using it in a DT will keep you from ever adding corals or inverts to that tank again. You would need to get a fresh tank to begin anything besides fish, and even then, I would worry about it leaching back out. Please correct me if I am wrong since this was always my understanding.
Now the fish thing is a problem. Everyone has had some good ideas on what to do. I would first set up a QT. You have 2 firefish, 2 chromis, and a rabbitfish? How big is the rabbitfish? A 10gal tank would be fine for the other 4, but I am worried not for the rabbitfish. This would be too much and two small causing lots of stress. If you can find a 20long you are better off. Set it up with a seachem ammonia badge and HOB filter. Get the fish out of DT for at least 76 days. Watch them, change water often, I would personally use a formaline treatment. This is as follows:
1) 1drop per gallon (1ml per 10gallons) every other day for 6 days. This is if they are currently heavily infected. Wait for water change until 6 days finished unless ammonia badge gives warning. Wait until right before next dose if need to do water change.
2) 1drop per gallon (1ml per 10gallons) once a week for three weeks. This is for maintenance and just clearing infection rather than treating for full out infestations. Do 20% water change immediately prior to treatment.
*Do not forget to add air to the water with formalin as it reduces O2. Also, drip the specific gravity down to 1.010 while treating.
I have used this treatment with great results.
Now the fish thing is a problem. Everyone has had some good ideas on what to do. I would first set up a QT. You have 2 firefish, 2 chromis, and a rabbitfish? How big is the rabbitfish? A 10gal tank would be fine for the other 4, but I am worried not for the rabbitfish. This would be too much and two small causing lots of stress. If you can find a 20long you are better off. Set it up with a seachem ammonia badge and HOB filter. Get the fish out of DT for at least 76 days. Watch them, change water often, I would personally use a formaline treatment. This is as follows:
1) 1drop per gallon (1ml per 10gallons) every other day for 6 days. This is if they are currently heavily infected. Wait for water change until 6 days finished unless ammonia badge gives warning. Wait until right before next dose if need to do water change.
2) 1drop per gallon (1ml per 10gallons) once a week for three weeks. This is for maintenance and just clearing infection rather than treating for full out infestations. Do 20% water change immediately prior to treatment.
*Do not forget to add air to the water with formalin as it reduces O2. Also, drip the specific gravity down to 1.010 while treating.
I have used this treatment with great results.
Thanks, you may want to write up how so this person can mimic that. I really think if inverts are wanted, the tank needs to be redone.
1wwoods7
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Well the rabbit fish is about 3 inches long 2 inches in height but it grew really quickly cause we got it when it was tiny but it seemed to stop growing. The other fish are the same Size but what exactly does the formalin treatment do?
Reef_Junkies
Active Member
Not necessarily. Depending on the size UV you'll just need to plumb it similar to how you plumb a reactor. Aesthetically, yes a UV would look less jarring if hidden in the sump.
