I thought my fish all died

[Hilltopreef90]

I recently had what I’m assuming was velvet disease based on how fast all my fish died and because it began 3 days after adding new fish I hadn’t quarantined properly (I only held them 2 weeks and only observed for signs of illness)
Anyway a little over a week ago I had 2 fish left out of 14, a 6 line wrasse and a watchman goby that I couldn’t get out of the tank. I decided to go ahead and remove all the rock to be able to catch them and try to treat them but when I got home they were nowhere to be found after a few days of feeding and not seeing any sign of the fish I assumed they were dead and began my fallow period, last night after over a week the goby popped up from under a rock and was watching me healthy as can be.
I don’t know what to do now, if I still wait until it’s been 74 days before I add any new fish how do I know it’s safe as long as I have one fish in the tank‍ The guy at the fish store said not to remove him and he wasn’t susceptible to getting whatever killed the other fish.
As long as there is a fish in the tank can velvet still remain in the tank or will it still die out after 74 days ?
This is so frustrating!! But at the same time I was so thrilled and relieved to see my goby out watching me and looking great

 

[mdb_talon]

Hopefully one of the experts on fish disease will chime in, but it is my understanding that whether that fish is showing symptoms or not he is capable of being a host and allowing the life cycle to continue. If that is the case then it seems your fallow period would potentially be accomplishing nothing.

 

[Grumblez]

I recently had what I’m assuming was velvet disease based on how fast all my fish died and because it began 3 days after adding new fish I hadn’t quarantined properly (I only held them 2 weeks and only observed for signs of illness)
Anyway a little over a week ago I had 2 fish left out of 14, a 6 line wrasse and a watchman goby that I couldn’t get out of the tank. I decided to go ahead and remove all the rock to be able to catch them and try to treat them but when I got home they were nowhere to be found after a few days of feeding and not seeing any sign of the fish I assumed they were dead and began my fallow period, last night after over a week the goby popped up from under a rock and was watching me healthy as can be.
I don’t know what to do now, if I still wait until it’s been 74 days before I add any new fish how do I know it’s safe as long as I have one fish in the tank‍ The guy at the fish store said not to remove him and he wasn’t susceptible to getting whatever killed the other fish.
As long as there is a fish in the tank can velvet still remain in the tank or will it still die out after 74 days ?
This is so frustrating!! But at the same time I was so thrilled and relieved to see my goby out watching me and looking great

You should remove and medicate in a separate tank. The good news is actually if you bump your temperature to 81 you only need to fallow for 45 days

 

[Hilltopreef90]

Hopefully one of the experts on fish disease will chime in, but it is my understanding that whether that fish is showing symptoms or not he is capable of being a host and allowing the life cycle to continue. If that is the case then it seems your fallow period would potentially be accomplishing nothing.

That’s what I’m worried about, I’m just as concerned that if I do basically tear the aquascape apart to catch him and I quarantine him that I might end up killing him in the quarantine.
The guy at the lfs should be an expert and is telling me it’s ok to leave him and reminds me that I don’t know what actually killed the fish which is true except a couple fish did show signs of velvet disease, the others died with no symptoms at all.

 

[mdb_talon]

That’s what I’m worried about, I’m just as concerned that if I do basically tear the aquascape apart to catch him and I quarantine him that I might end up killing him in the quarantine.
The guy at the lfs should be an expert and is telling me it’s ok to leave him and reminds me that I don’t know what actually killed the fish which is true except a couple fish did show signs of velvet disease, the others died with no symptoms at all.

I fully admit i am far from an expert on fish disease(though often know a lot more than the LFS guys). On the other hand there are some really smart people here on the subject hopefully will chime in. I honestly dont understand how he can confidently say that leaving it in there is fine especially if he would say he(or you) dont really know what killed all the rest. In my mind thay is an even greater reason for a true fallow period.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Your fallow (fishless) timer doesn't start until after every fish is removed, or known dead. I'm sorry but you need the goby out.

 

[Hilltopreef90]

Your fallow (fishless) timer doesn't start until after every fish is removed, or known dead. I'm sorry but you need the goby out.

Is it safe to treat the goby with coppersafe ??

 

[Hilltopreef90]

Is it safe to treat the goby with coppersafe ??

I plan to remove him then treat in the quarantine tank with coppersafe and leave the display fallow for 74 days
Question? Since the goby needs sand, or prefers sand should I still put in a bowl of sand while treating with copper or only keep the pvc pieces for him to hide in ?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I plan to remove him then treat in the quarantine tank with coppersafe and leave the display fallow for 74 days
Question? Since the goby needs sand, or prefers sand should I still put in a bowl of sand while treating with copper or only keep the pvc pieces for him to hide in ?

I have put a lot of sand sleepers through quarantine without sand in there. If you want you can get synthetic sand that is non-calcerous for it to sleep in. That material should not absorb copper.

If you are unsure about the species move slowly into the correct full dosage of 2.5.

Ensure you have a Hanna colorimeter for copper. Close enough does not work with copper. You need to know exactly where your levels are.

 

[Grumblez]

I plan to remove him then treat in the quarantine tank with coppersafe and leave the display fallow for 74 days
Question? Since the goby needs sand, or prefers sand should I still put in a bowl of sand while treating with copper or only keep the pvc pieces for him to hide in ?

If you want to QT for 74 days have at it but you only need to do 45

45 Day Fallow periods

I've been doing some research into the "76 day fallow period". I never heard of that prior to coming to Reef2Reef this past summer. I had always used 32 days as the maximum time for a tomont to remain viable under tropical conditions, and then I would round up to 45 days to help ensure that...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Tamberav]

Turn up the heat either way. You don’t want to find you failed fallow at 74 days. Also rocks should be blasted and sand stirred.

Sand is ok in QT. The copper is absorbs is a tiny amount.

 

[Hilltopreef90]

Turn up the heat either way. You don’t want to find you failed fallow at 74 days. Also rocks should be blasted and sand stirred.

Sand is ok in QT. The copper is absorbs is a tiny amount.

What do you mean by blasting the rocks ?

 

[Tamberav]

What do you mean by blasting the rocks ?

Take a turkey baster or powerhead and blow the crud out.

The idea is try to break up any areas that ich may go dormant.

I think it’s just based on a theory of why fallow can fail but it’s a good practice.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I’ve heard a couple of cases now where gobies survived a protozoan infection that took out the other fish, that’s new to me. Eels, sharks and rays can survive ich, but few can survive velvet.
Common wisdom is though, move all fish out for a fallow period - the process fails often enough, you just don’t want to given any more reasons it could fail.
Jay

 

[Hilltopreef90]

Will treating the goby with copper in the quarantine tank harm him ? I’d hate for him to survive and then I accidentally kill him trying to treat him

 

[Grumblez]

Will treating the goby with copper in the quarantine tank harm him ? I’d hate for him to survive and then I accidentally kill him trying to treat him

Probably not if you measure and monitor copper level closely.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Will treating the goby with copper in the quarantine tank harm him ? I’d hate for him to survive and then I accidentally kill him trying to treat him

Dosed properly, the copper will be fine with that fish. However, as you mentioned, gobies prefer a more secure habitat than a bare quarantine. Some small PVC pipe pieces, or a tray of sand and some PVC pipe usually works fine - be sure it can't jump out.

Jay

 

[Hilltopreef90]

I restarted the quarantine with 10 gallons of water from an established tank (not the one that my fish died in) and 10 gallons new saltwater and I added a sponge I’d been keeping in the established tank.
My ammonia is at zero but I’ve still got nitrites, how do I get rid of the nitrates? I’ve never tried to set a tank up this way and not sure when to know it’s safe for fish

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I restarted the quarantine with 10 gallons of water from an established tank (not the one that my fish died in) and 10 gallons new saltwater and I added a sponge I’d been keeping in the established tank.
My ammonia is at zero but I’ve still got nitrites, how do I get rid of the nitrates? I’ve never tried to set a tank up this way and not sure when to know it’s safe for fish

Nitrites are not harmful to marine fish. Nitrates are only harmful to fish at high levels (>100 mg/l) for long terms. Ammonia is the true fish killer, needs to be measured with an accurate test kit (not the API) and kept below 0.25 mg/l if the pH is above 8.

Jay

 

[Hilltopreef90]

So I can add fish now even though it’s showing nitrates? I used two different tests SS well as an ammonia badge and the ammonia is zero