Help! Fish in QT has ich. Never used coppersafe before

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

Here is my current copper test. It’s yellow and the card shows orange so I have no idea how to read it. Could that be causing the lethargy?

 

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

Another pic ... his coloring looks patchy ... there is some dried salt at the bottom of the glass

 

[Maritimer]

The patchiness looks like typical stress colors for a flasher.

I'd say your test kit looks like about 1.0 - 1.25 or so, but it's generally recommended to read the sample with the vial held slightly above the card.

~Bruce

 

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

The patchiness looks like typical stress colors for a flasher.

I'd say your test kit looks like about 1.0 - 1.25 or so, but it's generally recommended to read the sample with the vial held slightly above the card.

~Bruce

Should I add more coppersafe or wait until tomorrow? If I add it too fast it could kill the fish and if I don’t add it fast enough it could kill the fish. I’m not sure what to do

 

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

After seeing this thread https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brooklynella.247938/#post-2913287 I think maybe brook is what the fish have. They definitely looked like skin was sloughing off after the freshwater dip last night. The edges of the fins look a little ragged. Does that happen with brook or velvet? Does brook kill as fast as velvet? I ordered some reef rally but unfortunately it won’t be here until Thursday

 

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

Also his tail is frayed

 

[tgrick]

It's very hard with the pictures to determine velvet or brook. Yes...could be brook. One of the pictures does show many spots indicative of velvet. Was acriflavin purchased?

 

[melypr1985]

I would lean heavily toward velvet. The pictures are pretty classic. Get the copper up to therapeutic quickly... time is against you here.

 

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

I found an lfs that has reef rally. I will pick it up tomorrow. I contacted both LFS that I got each fish from. Neither of them have other fish showing symptoms of anything. It’s really hard to get a detailed pic. His fins are badly frayed and his skin looks like it’s peeling but also has a white haziness to it and some white speckles. Should I try a 2nd freshwater dip? Or would that just more undue stress?

 

[cmcoker]

Here is my current copper test. It’s yellow and the card shows orange so I have no idea how to read it. Could that be causing the lethargy?

I use copper safe and API kit, @Brew12 I think, posted somewhere 1.8ml of copper safe in 1g of saltwater will give you 2.0ppm. I mix this in a gallon jug and it looks pretty darn close to the card, so I use it as a reference solution to compare to the qt copper level

 

[tgrick]

It could be BOTH brook and velvet...no reason why not. Freshwater dip? It does provide relief. I would say yes but the water must be at perfect PH and temperature. These are both very fast killers and time is not on your side.

 

[Brew12]

Here is my current copper test. It’s yellow and the card shows orange so I have no idea how to read it. Could that be causing the lethargy?

I can't read these things for just that reason. I see it as a completely different color instead of a shade of the color on the card. Very frustrating.

I use copper safe and API kit, @Brew12 I think, posted somewhere 1.8ml of copper safe in 1g of saltwater will give you 2.0ppm. I mix this in a gallon jug and it looks pretty darn close to the card, so I use it as a reference solution to compare to the qt copper level

1.8ml of coppersafe per gallon will get you close to the middle of the therapeutic range of 1.5ppm to 2ppm. It takes 2.1ml/g to get to 2.0ppm.

Because the test kit is such a challenge for everyone not named @melypr1985 to read (and I'm not kidding with that, we did an informal survey and she was the only one who came close to the actual end result) I recommend that you create a reference sample. Measure out a gallon of salt water and add 1.6mL of coppersafe to it. Test it and this becomes the lightest sample you want to see. Add another 0.5ml to it and test it again. This color becomes the top of the range.

Good luck!

 

[Gmj4409]

I would lean heavily toward velvet. The pictures are pretty classic. Get the copper up to therapeutic quickly... time is against you here.

+1 on the urgency - get your copper dosage up!

 

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

Well, the flasher died this morning Pintail is still alive though. My LFS has asked me to freeze him and bring him in this evening so they can look under the microscope and determine the cause. The want to be aware if they have a possible parasite in their tanks. So I will hopefully have a definitive answer on what the cause is tonight. We had given them another freshwater dip last night, and this morning there were no spots on him, so hopefully the parasite or whatever is still there to be seen under the scope.

 

[tgrick]

I feel your loss. I lost 3 fish last month...a Hippo Tang and Yellow Tang to velvet. Then I lost a sailfin when he jumped out! I had ALL the meds available and I still lost two fish so do not be hard on yourself. I acted quickly but the disease was just too advanced even though I acted very quickly.

Let us know what they find.

 

[Maritimer]

I'm sorry to hear that, LovesDogs.

~Bruce, who has a soft spot for wrasses, and is pulling for the pintail to make it . . .

 

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

I'm sorry to hear that, LovesDogs.

~Bruce, who has a soft spot for wrasses, and is pulling for the pintail to make it . . .

I think the pintail is going to be just fine. He looks great right now. Active and eating and not a spot on him. Like nothing ever happened. Going to continue the copper treatment for 30 days but skip the reef rally bath unless he takes a turn for the worse.

Took the flasher to the LFS but the lady who identifies parasites is out until Monday so they put him in the freezer and will call me then.

 

[tgrick]

I wanted to think about this before I responded. Specifically, the skipping of the bath. It's probably too late to be of any benefit but I would worry about infection. If It were me I would now do this:

a) continue copper for 30 days and make sure he is doing well. If not doing well then...

b) You can take him OUT of copper at 10 days AT CORRECT LEVELS CONTINUOUSLY!!! He must go into a NEW tank and nothing from the old tank can be reused!

c) I would suspect some sort of infection if he is not doing well. Start with TRIFECTA. It's Kanaplex, Furun II and Metroplex. You will know soon enough if you need to acquire these meds.

d) Sterilize original tank! Bleach.

Hope all is well and that you are doing well through this.

 

[LovesDogs_CatsRokay]

I wanted to think about this before I responded. Specifically, the skipping of the bath. It's probably too late to be of any benefit but I would worry about infection. If It were me I would now do this:

a) continue copper for 30 days and make sure he is doing well. If not doing well then...

b) You can take him OUT of copper at 10 days AT CORRECT LEVELS CONTINUOUSLY!!! He must go into a NEW tank and nothing from the old tank can be reused!

c) I would suspect some sort of infection if he is not doing well. Start with TRIFECTA. It's Kanaplex, Furun II and Metroplex. You will know soon enough if you need to acquire these meds.

d) Sterilize original tank! Bleach.

Hope all is well and that you are doing well through this.

Thanks! He’s still looking great and acting just fine. You wouldn’t be able to tell he was ever sick. He never looked as bad as the flasher. What are signs of an infection I should keep an eye out for? Just odd behaviors?

Kinda bummed my first attempt at QT ended up with a death though. We never QTed our other 7 fish and had no problems.

 

[Maritimer]

Usually, infections present as red or whitish patches, and occasionally with fins or flesh degrading as though they were being eaten away.

Antibiotics are notoriously slow-acting in marine fish, so a round of treatment is likely to run 10-14 days. Sounds like you don't need them now, but they're good to keep around against future need!

~Bruce