Ich/Velvet ID

[joro]

I would only prophylactically treat with Prazipro (for flukes) and only after copper is complete. All other diseases which require different medications show obvious physical symptoms. Ich, flukes and sometimes velvet are the "hidden diseases" I treat for without waiting for obvious signs to show up. Remember, all medications are essentially bad for fish and you have to weigh the risk/reward of preemptive treatment. By adding a PBT into the mix right now, you may be forced to expose all of your fish to antibiotics or some other medication they don't currently need.

If you add a decent sized PBT down the road, you won't have to worry about it being bullied. More likely the other way around.

I see, last time I did QT a few years ago on many of these fish I still have in fact, I did Copper and Prazi treatments (not at the same time of course), which seemed to work well so I'll probably do that again here. Maybe this is an excuse to put my 29G QT in the office back into production so I could QT at the same time but keep them separate. Decisions, decisions ;Smuggrin

 

[Barrett]

I see, last time I did QT a few years ago on many of these fish I still have in fact, I did Copper and Prazi treatments (not at the same time of course), which seemed to work well so I'll probably do that again here. Maybe this is an excuse to put my 29G QT in the office back into production so I could QT at the same time but keep them separate. Decisions, decisions ;Smuggrin

You do have at least 76 days before they go back to the DT so you will have plenty of time to setup the other qt for a PBT, which BTW is one of my all time favorite fish.

 

[joro]

You do have at least 76 days before they go back to the DT so you will have plenty of time to setup the other qt for a PBT, which BTW is one of my all time favorite fish.

I'm blaming you and @Humblefish when the wife asks why I need to setup another QT tank, haha

Another quick update, just tested Cu concentration and it's 2.0 on the dot! The fish ate well this evening and Bruno - the Midas Blenny - has been found (chasing a piece of food no less). All in all everyone looks good, the male Blue Star Leopard Wrasse was breathing a little heavy but I'm not sure if that's because I moved a pipe to see him (he was on the side again and wanted to make sure he was still with us). I remember last time I had him in QT the first few days were like this until he found his bowl of sand, so I think he may just be a little stressed out and wants to find a place to hide (that's not a PVC pipe).

 

[joro]

Update - I noticed this morning that the ammonia alert badge was reading "Alert" (0.05 ppm ammonia), so my plan is to do a 20G water change (of course I'll medicate the new water before it goes in) and put some more BiosSpira in the system to see if that helps. On a positive note, the female blue star leopard wrasses was out this morning although as soon as she saw me, back into the sand she went!

 

[ngoodermuth]

You are doing great! I was sorry to read about your losses...I was really rooting for them :/

Glad everyone else is doing well, and pulling for a full recovery!

 

[joro]

So checked this morning and while the ammonia alert is now more yellowish, it’s still not completely yellow which I would expect. Looks like another water change will be happening tonight.

Our one-spot Foxface, Foxy, has been breathing a little heavy but I think it’s due to stress. He is getting picked on - in fact a lot of the fish are - by the purple tang. I guess the Achilles kept the purple in check but now she’s trying to exert dominance. Last time Foxy went through copper as well he had a similar behavior. So not too concerned since everyone else seems to be breathing normally.

 

[Barrett]

Do you have a light shining above or behind the ammonia badge, I have found my don't read correctly unless there is a light on them.

 

[joro]

Do you have a light shining above or behind the ammonia badge, I have found my don't read correctly unless there is a light on them.

Above yes and I also shine a high powered flash light on it when I read it. I haven’t been able to get it to stick to the side of the Rubbermaid so it’s just sitting at the bottom. Do you think that could be effecting it?

 

[Barrett]

Above yes and I also shine a high powered flash light on it when I read it. I haven’t been able to get it to stick to the side of the Rubbermaid so it’s just sitting at the bottom. Do you think that could be effecting it?

I don't think so I have placed them all over the place.

 

[Humblefish]

Do you have a light shining above or behind the ammonia badge, I have found my don't read correctly unless there is a light on them.

+1 You have to shine a bright white light either directly overhead or behind the badge to see its true reading. The "flashlight" feature of a cell phone usually works pretty good.

I'd also ask your wife to confirm the reading. Women seem to be better at perceiving slight differences between colors.

 

[joro]

I'm so devastated right now, I went to feed the fish tonight and my beloved red-tail trigger, Bruce, had passed. He's been eating like a champ since he's been in the HT and I just don't know what went wrong. I did a close visual inspection to see if I could see any dots/ripped fins/or something that would indicate a possibility but I couldn't find anything. I've posted a few close of snaps of his gills below just in case I'm missing ammonia burns (I haven't ever seen these first hand so not sure what they look like). That said, I'm wondering if he passed overnight (he ate yesterday at feeding time) and maybe that's what has caused the ammonia to not go back to the safe yellow zone?





All the other inhabitants ate well tonight and don't seem to be under duress and everyone has been accounted for except for the 2 leopard wrasses which I've seen previously, just not today. My assumption again is that they are buried in the small sand container but don't want to go poking around. I've also posted a picture of what I'm seeing on the ammonia alert badge, my wife agrees it's not fully yellow but also not fully to the "alert" color. I'm planning to do another 20G water change tonight unless you all think otherwise.

 

[Tristren]

Sorry to see that. I'm afraid I can't offer advice but I will say it's amazing how quickly and thoroughly you acted on this and I'm sure it will save a lot of your fish.

 

[Maritimer]

Very sorry for your loss, one Bruce to another . . .

I don't think your ammonia badge is anywhere near a panic zone ... though maybe a "raised eyebrow" zone.

~Bruce

 

[Humblefish]

@joro I see no evidence of ammonia burn from your photos. However, its not completely unexpected for a fish to just die in copper. It's basically a poison (not a true medication), so every now & then you will encounter a fish whose system just cannot tolerate it.

 

[joro]

Very sorry for your loss, one Bruce to another . . .

I don't think your ammonia badge is anywhere near a panic zone ... though maybe a "raised eyebrow" zone.

~Bruce

Thank you and definitely a sad day, he was one of the two fish (the other being my copperband butterfly) that I feed each night by hand.

I double checked the Cu concentration and it’s still right on 2.0 ppm, temp is 77, and SG is 1.026. So all in the correct range (although I did turn the heater up a degree). Maybe I’ll let let the fish rest tonight, heat up another 20G water change for the morning, and see where we are at then.

 

[joro]

Quick update - ammonia badge went more to yellow today so I’m going to hold off another day on the the water change. Everyone ate very well tonight, they were back in the water column actively feeding which was great to see! I did notice Foxy didn’t seem to eat much nor has he since going into HT. I spent a little time following him around with a flashlight and I did notice he has nip marks on his caudal fin. I’m assuming it’s the purple tang since he was being aggressive earlier in the week towards everyone but not 100% sure. Any suggestions or should I just let them figure it out?

 

[joro]

[Double Post]

 

[Maritimer]

Purple may have felt a refreshed need to assert himself in a new territory. If he continues to be aggressive for more than a few days, you can try a mirror alongside the tank, or a divider. @FourFordFamily may have insight to offer, as tang aggression is something he's dealt with rather a lot . . .

~Bruce

 

[4FordFamily]

Sorry for your loss, buddy!

 

[melypr1985]

I've been out for a few days, but I'm back. I'm sorry to see the loss of the trigger. Sometimes it does happen. We can say that "this fish" does well in copper and "this fish doesn't" but those are generalities and in the end, each fish is different and has it's own tolerance levels to copper and other medications. Oh and I loved that video! Excellent way to show that it may be a huge pain in the tush to do, it's very possible to get all your fish out of a tank for treatment.

I spent a little time following him around with a flashlight and I did notice he has nip marks on his caudal fin. I’m assuming it’s the purple tang since he was being aggressive earlier in the week towards everyone but not 100% sure. Any suggestions or should I just let them figure it out?

If they don't work it out pretty quickly, I would think about using eggcrate to separate the PT from the others. It's hard enough to get fish through velvet and treatment for it without having a fish try to take over the "top dog" spot. If he's keeping Foxy from eating well and stressing him out then it's probably a good idea to keep them apart for a while.