I Feel Like I’m Doomed!

[blaxsun]

(And for anyone who wants to jump on me about my last comment, just go back and read all the recent panic posts from impatient new reefers who decided to ignore advice and who added a ton on fish to a barely cycled tank, didn't quarantine, etc... Not trying to bash this OP, but it's like a broken record lately)

Nope. If you bypass QT you either need to know what you're doing or be prepared for the consequences.

 

[Tamberav]

I do dip corals but one thing I did not count on was my fish having parasites. Coral I know has hitchhikers and I do know fish have diseases but it wasn’t a top concern but now it is.

corals can also carry in fish diseases and coral dips do not kill them. Sorry, not to be alarming but it’s worth knowing.

1.25ml per cup of three percent hydrogen peroxide for a dip for 30 min for fish can help with relief. If a fish perished in this.. they were probably too far gone. Again, this is a dip, not a tank dosage.

 

[AydenLincoln]

If you have a local store that has a cleaner shrimp, I would recommend that. we had like ich on our 6'in blue tang hippo. Cleaner shrimp cleared up the ich and white spots after an evening of the cleaner shrimp being in the tank and the fish lived to put on another 2'inches before we traded him out for a smaller one.

I do.

 

[damsels are not mean]

corals can also carry in fish diseases and coral dips do not kill them. Sorry, not to be alarming but it’s worth knowing.

1.25ml per cup of three percent hydrogen peroxide for a dip for 30 min for fish can help with relief. If a fish perished in this.. they were probably too far gone. Again, this is a dip, not a tank dosage.

This will definitely help with velvet and brook. Not sure about ich though. It's worth trying if you have a bottle around. There might even be a 24 hour store that sells some depending on where you live...

 

[AydenLincoln]

This will definitely help with velvet and brook. Not sure about ich though. It's worth trying if you have a bottle around. There might even be a 24 hour store that sells some depending on where you live...

The little guy died so now I have to treat the tank.

 

[AydenLincoln]

It sucks because my lfs which is 30 minutes away is closed Monday/Tuesday and being so new I don’t have everything needed to treat it/fix things immediately. I’ve been slowly acquiring it. So my Petco yes I know people hate it mine is good and has a big frag tank which is usually really good…has really helped me/the fish people used to work for my lfs and this is the first time I’m having any issues. Now I’m going to contact the store/corporate.

This will definitely help with velvet and brook. Not sure about ich though. It's worth trying if you have a bottle around. There might even be a 24 hour store that sells some depending on where you live...

 

[oreolk]

Sorry for your loss. Go to your local Petco and pick up a 10 gallon tank and a hob filter. Anything going in your display goes in there first, even just for observation and to make sure he is eating. If you notice a problem in there it is much easier to treat. I know it sucks to lose a fish but trust me it happens. As reef keepers it is up to us to give them the best chance for survival.
I notice that you live in Easton. Your local store wouldn't happen to be Something Fishy would it? I'm a PA girl too and have no salt water fish stores near me in NE PA .
Good luck in the hobby and God bless

 

[AydenLincoln]

Sorry for your loss. Go to your local Petco and pick up a 10 gallon tank and a hob filter. Anything going in your display goes in there first, even just for observation and to make sure he is eating. If you notice a problem in there it is much easier to treat. I know it sucks to lose a fish but trust me it happens. As reef keepers it is up to us to give them the best chance for survival.
I notice that you live in Easton. Your local store wouldn't happen to be Something Fishy would it? I'm a PA girl too and have no salt water fish stores near me in NE PA .
Good luck in the hobby and God bless

It is! I’m sorry about that definitely worth a drive somewhere. Unsure if The Pet Zone in Pittston, Pa is any closer to you but I’ve heard good things about it. Something Fishy is where I got almost everything…sadly they are closed Monday/Tuesday and it happened overnight so nothing was open.

 

[oreolk]

It is! I’m sorry about that definitely worth a drive somewhere. Unsure if The Pet Zone in Pittston, Pa is any closer to you but I’ve heard good things about it. Something Fishy is where I got almost everything…sadly they are closed Monday/Tuesday and it happened overnight so nothing was open.

I was to the pet zone in Pittston years ago, not really impressed then but might check it out again. Have made road trips to something fishy I do need to stop down there again. I guess that I just need to live in Florida

 

[Tamberav]

corals can also carry in fish diseases and coral dips do not kill them. Sorry, not to be alarming but

It sucks because my lfs which is 30 minutes away is closed Monday/Tuesday and being so new I don’t have everything needed to treat it/fix things immediately. I’ve been slowly acquiring it. So my Petco yes I know people hate it mine is good and has a big frag tank which is usually really good…has really helped me/the fish people used to work for my lfs and this is the first time I’m having any issues. Now I’m going to contact the store/corporate.

To be honest it not is not really petcos fault or even a LFS. The fish come from the ocean and they get mixed together in close quarters with other fish at the wholesaler... the wholesalter does not care about disease, they just care about shipping the fish out asap to places like Petco or a LFS so they can get their money. The fish catch disease from each other since they are kept in tanks together in large numbers... it spreads.

The fish are ofc stressed after being caught in the wild, shipped half way around the world, put into crowded tanks, shipped again to the LFS... then caught and brought home to you. Often not eating as they should during this process.

All this stress makes disease show its ugly head as their immune system drops. Not every fish will get sick just like not every person will catch a cold.

It is kind of part of the hobby that we have to learn how to combat. Some people set up separate QT tanks as there are not many effective reef safe treatments.

Now no place should sell you a fish they know is sick. Sometimes they just don't look sick until a few days later though.

Now worth noting is Petco is not allowed to use Copper in their tanks to treat fish. Probably because it is toxic and they don't want to be liable for employees doing something dumb. Many LFS DO use copper but not enough to cure a fish... but just enough to make the fish appear healthy until it goes in your tank where there is no copper.

There are obviously exceptions to the rule and some LFS even do a real quarantine. Some may know how to order from better wholesalers that have less disease and so on.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

corals can also carry in fish diseases and coral dips do not kill them. Sorry, not to be alarming but


To be honest it not is not really petcos fault or even a LFS. The fish come from the ocean and they get mixed together in close quarters with other fish at the wholesaler... the wholesalter does not care about disease, they just care about shipping the fish out asap to places like Petco or a LFS so they can get their money. The fish catch disease from each other since they are kept in tanks together in large numbers... it spreads.

The fish are ofc stressed after being caught in the wild, shipped half way around the world, put into crowded tanks, shipped again to the LFS... then caught and brought home to you. Often not eating as they should during this process.

All this stress makes disease show its ugly head as their immune system drops. Not every fish will get sick just like not every person will catch a cold.

It is kind of part of the hobby that we have to learn how to combat. Some people set up separate QT tanks as there are not many effective reef safe treatments.

Now no place should sell you a fish they know is sick. Sometimes they just don't look sick until a few days later though.

Now worth noting is Petco is not allowed to use Copper in their tanks to treat fish. Probably because it is toxic and they don't want to be liable for employees doing something dumb. Many LFS DO use copper but not enough to cure a fish... but just enough to make the fish appear healthy until it goes in your tank where there is no copper.

There are obviously exceptions to the rule and some LFS even do a real quarantine. Some may know how to order from better wholesalers that have less disease and so on.

This gets my vote for 'post of the day'. Every new person should read this before buying their first fish.

 

[Rtaylor]

People have been having success with hydrogen peroxide if you want to read up on it here:

Hydrogen Peroxide bath

Hydrogen Peroxide bath (updated 1-31-23) What It Treats: Provides temporary relief for Marine Velvet Disease and Brooklynella. After a 30 minute H2O2 bath, the fish should be transferred into a Quarantine Tank (QT) for followup treatment. How To Treat: (The following is needed) 3% Hydrogen...

humble.fish

 

[3429810]

If you have a local store that has a cleaner shrimp, I would recommend that. we had like ich on our 6'in blue tang hippo. Cleaner shrimp cleared up the ich and white spots after an evening of the cleaner shrimp being in the tank and the fish lived to put on another 2'inches before we traded him out for a smaller one.

Sorry but this should be called out. Your cleaner shrimp did not clear up the ich. I don’t believe there is any evidence cleaner shrimp can clear up ich,velvet or anything else. From my research it seems like they can help a bit but not much as they can’t actually get at anything buried into their skin deep enough. I would love that to be true but it really seems like cleaner shrimp effectively helping with any parasite is a myth. Ich also comes in stages so you could do nothing and it will “clear up”. A cleaner wrasse will do better but I don’t think there is anything outside of medication that will actually clear up any of the parasites. Anything below that and it’s management not eradication.

 

[bnord]

Sorry for the loss of the dottyback - if it was this fast it increases the chances it was velvet and it was in the tank for a day there is still a chance it shed parasites and a reasonable next move is a trip to what ever store has a 10 gal and equipment for a now hospital which will become an observation tank which later becomes your new QT system
appreciate your concern for the fish in your care

best of luck