Help marine velvet!

twintrades · May 19, 2013

Bought some fish from a LFS. Not the one i normally go to mind you! these are for breeding. Bout a black pair and a snowflake pair.

From day one the snowflakes didnt eat tried everything but they wasted away. ( have another set on order)I did notice that they were breathing strange in the last days tho...

Now on the black pair i see lots of little specks like there dusted with something They arnt breathing bad and they eat good. But i googled marine velvet and YEP its that!

So heres my worry...... How [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]contagious is it ??? I used the same turkey baster for feeding my main reef tank. And i might have mixed a cup of there water with frozen food and gave some to my main tank..... I cant remember now !

Any way im boiling my baster and buying seperate feeding jars and baster for the main tank. Ive never had a sick fish. Then again ive never bought anything from a diff store.....

Also did the mom-n-pop shop sell me sick fish ? Or do all fish have it? fish came from ORA

From day one they have been in there own tanks nothing else has bugged them.

How long should a tank sit Fallow to be rid of the parasites ?[/FONT]

Aquaph8 · May 19, 2013

Normally by the time you see the symptoms of MV it's too late, it kills pretty fast. It's very contagious and I would definitely be worried about transferring it. The low copper levels that some LFS run their tanks can mask MV. It's not something that all fish would be able to carry, it kills pretty fast. Copper is the best way to treat a sick fish, I would recommend a fallow period of 2 months just to be sure. HTH, goodluck and I hope your DT isn't infected.

bullet reef · May 19, 2013

+1^^^
Any chance is Brooklynella and not MV? Brook is also very bad but I believe it can actually take a little longer for affected fish to succumb to it and people often confuse the symptoms of the two.

twintrades · May 19, 2013

as of now the clowns arnt breathing heavy or scrapping there gills..... Just have a ton of white dots. You really have to look close at them they dont stand out.

But the snowflakes that died had all the symtems of Velvet. My trusted LFS is closed tomorrow....... I wish i could get meds but have to wait till mon eve after work till i can get them and administer....

twintrades · May 19, 2013

Oh and what should i do about the Filters for the tanks there sponge type. SHould i toss them after treatment or will they be ok to rinse out and keep useing them?

BTW each tank has a chunk of LR in it..... toss the rock or should i dry it out ? what would you do with the rock ???

Stressed,
Twinrades

Ligershark · May 19, 2013

set up a 10 or 20 gallon as a quarantine with a heater and hang on filter. treat that tank with copper. run them for 2 months keeping the other tank fallow (without fish). marine velvet wiped out all my fish in October. i put fish in 3 weeks ago.

twintrades · May 19, 2013

My main tank has fully stocked fish..... Tang, wrass, 3 reef chromis,pair of wyoming white clowns and hawk fish......they dont all fit in a 20.

Aquaph8 · May 19, 2013

The clowns are in a different tank right? Go ahead and treat them and keep an eye on your display tank. You should be able to get copper safe from any big box pet store.

twintrades · May 19, 2013

Well Ill be treating tomorrow. Hope the 2 pairs make it !!!

twintrades · May 20, 2013

SO should i take the rock out before i treat them? Will it be ok to dry out and re seed ? Or should it be pitched?

Also im using sponge filters what should i do with the media while im medicating ? After the meds are done is it stilll ok to use it ? Or should it be pitched ?

Aquaph8 · May 20, 2013

The sponge filters are fine and will be your main source of filtration, but you might want to remove the rock. You don't really need to dry it out but it should be QT'd for eight weeks.

twintrades · May 21, 2013

Well Im treating with copper safe. 12 ml per 10 gallons.

I just hope this works! Brooklynella and ick look the same.....

Aquaph8 · May 21, 2013

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Aquaph8 · May 21, 2013

Very hard to diagnose this stuff, brook is more of a slimy coating. Forma green treats Brook and Velvet I believe.

twintrades · May 21, 2013

yea its more of a dotty apperance.

How long should i use the copper safe? Its chleeted copper btw

Aquaph8 · May 21, 2013

Just follow the directions on the box.

twintrades · May 21, 2013

Fish look more stressed now then when they wernt being treated. Rapid breathing and Not as active.............. scares me a lil

Also when testing it says to hold the vial and look down at the card..... if i set the vial down on the card it looks like its in the 4.0 range. if i hold it an inch off it looks 1.5-2.0 .... what should i do?

Aquaph8 · May 22, 2013

I normally treat according to the directions honestly, I have a really hard time telling the colors on those test kits.

MelissaC · Jun 8, 2013

[h=5] had marine velvet in one of my tanks there were survivors. The fish look good now that are left in the tank. Been about 2 or more months since the out break. I have to move that tank and want to take the survivors put and put in my other tank. Is it safe to do so? They are showing no signs and are eating great?[/h]

Hugo’s_Reef · Jul 11, 2013

Ligershark said:
set up a 10 or 20 gallon as a quarantine with a heater and hang on filter. treat that tank with copper. run them for 2 months keeping the other tank fallow (without fish). marine velvet wiped out all my fish in October. i put fish in 3 weeks ago.

Did you have to disinfect or redo tank after the velvet outbreak or did you jut waited out ??