Ich or velvet?

Rpc07 · May 3, 2018

trying to figure out what’s going on with this fish. In the process of setting up a hospital tank. Not the best pic but this fish won’t stop moving for a decent pic.

Thanks in advanced.

Big G · May 3, 2018

Large spots and you can count them. At this point looks like Ich. Are there any other symptoms? Heavy breathing, swimming into powerhead, lack of appetite, hiding from light?

Rpc07 · May 3, 2018

No other symptoms. Other then the spots the fish is acting normal. Still eating like a pig.

Oldsalt01 · May 3, 2018

I'm thinkin Ich also. Any other fish in the tank? If so they ALL need to be treated and the DT left fallow for 75 days to break the parasite life cycle. Pretty wrasse. Hope it does well.

Rpc07 · May 3, 2018

Yeah I have 9 other fish that will be joining this guy in qt. None of the other fish have any spots or show any signs but I’ve been reading all day on treatment

Big G · May 3, 2018

Rpc07 said:
I’ve been reading all day on treatment

We're recommending that you try to avoid using Coppersafe these days. There are some problems with the copper concentration varying considerably from bottle to bottle. If you are using copper, we're recommending Copper Power.

Rpc07 · May 4, 2018

Good to know Big g thanks

Oldsalt01 · May 4, 2018

How big is your QT? 9 fish at once is going to tax ur cycle in a new system.

Rpc07 · May 4, 2018

I was going to try and use a 20 gallon tank. I have a seeded sponge in my current tank plus I was going to use atm colony. Not sure what other options I have

Big G · May 4, 2018

Check out Craigs List, etc. and pickup a 40 gal breeder or something similar.

Oldsalt01 · May 4, 2018

I agree with G. I don't think a 20g is big enough to QT 9 fish for 75 days, especially if u r starting from scratch with it. I personally wouldn't put 9 fish into a 20g as a DT anyway. Too big a bioload for that amount of water. JMHO.

Bob Loblaw · May 4, 2018

Rubbermaid Stock Tanks from Tractor Supply are a cost affordable option when needing to QT fish from a big tank.

150 gal Stock Tank housing the fish from my 300 due to Velvet

Oldsalt01 · May 4, 2018

Something else to remember (isn't there always something else to remember in this hobby?) for the QT is that any thing you put in there for the fish to hide in will take up copper, whether it be coral rock or PVC. PVC is much less of a problem and easily disposed of after QT is done. Copper will bind with the calcium carbide in rock and significantly affect your therapeutic levels. Additionally, if you have a pH drop for whatever reason it will come out into suspension in the water column again and drive your Copper levels sky high (been there, done that, 45 years ago). PVC is the best option but make sure you have a good copper test kit that is oriented to the type of copper (chelated vs non-chelated) you are using. I'd also consider going hypo-saline in the QT once you have the fish settled in. You can drop the saline levels over a few days with additional RO/DI water to about 1.09-1.010d for a couple of weeks and then start bringing it back up to normal levels. This last comment may start a s**tstorm of controversy, but I have used hypo to good results in the past, especially if gill infestation is an issue, as it is easier for a fish to respire in less dense water and the parasites don't seem to do well in a more brackish environment.