ICK wiped out my tanks... UPDATE

Joshua Agostoni · Sep 6, 2017

So update, i have lost all fish expect for the eel, you guys where completely 100 percent right. The kick ick in my opinion actually accelerated the ick in the tank. But its was deff a good learning experince. So I have set up a 10 gallon ( its all i had on hand ) qt tank with a filter a heater an air stone and a 30 gallon power head. I'm getting the salt levels ready now. I also went ahead and put a big live rock into the tank to help with ammonia since i know there is a bacteria growing on it and it happens to be my eels fav hiding spot. Now I'll only be keeping the eel in there and nothing else i know it may seem a bit small but he normally just lays around all day anyway. my question now is, do you guys see anything wrong with that set up other then the 10 gallon and how bad do you think the 10 gallon is to have him in for the 76 days. I can get a 20 gallon in about 2 weeks if i need to. Furthermore I will be using cupramine to treat him, i heard that scaleless fish dont really like this so i planned on doing more of a therapeutic approach, since i have two months to treat him i thought i would do half the normal dose. Also i feel like this will work since any ick that get put into the qt will be on him and not from my dt's water column. An suggestions. I know now that this is the place i'm going to find the correct answers not a fish store however i went to a salt water only fish store today asked him about kick ick and he laughed and was like that stuff doesn't work the screwed you. needless to say i will not be going to my local store for anything other than snails and food.

Which brings me to another question, where do you guys order fish from? what are some of the reputable sites to buy fish from? maybe ones that have arrive alive guarantees. Also when i do get a couple new fish in 2 and a half months i'm going to qt them, how long should they be qted for and to do this would i just treat them with cupramine as if they were sick even if there not.

Xclusive Reef · Sep 6, 2017

A lot of people ordered from LiveAquaria .

Humblefish · Sep 6, 2017

An eel isn't going to last long in Cupramine; it will just wither away and die in a copper based med.

Given it was likely Marine Velvet Disease that wiped out your tank, you have two options:

Treat the eel with Chloroquine phosphate
Rehome it to a LFS

Joshua Agostoni · Sep 6, 2017

Humblefish said:
An eel isn't going to last long in Cupramine; it will just wither away and die in a copper based med.

Given it was likely Marine Velvet Disease that wiped out your tank, you have two options:

Treat the eel with Chloroquine phosphate

Rehome it to a LFS

I'm not giving him away his my fav and i named him.... is this product you mean
Seachem ParaGuard 250ml

Dizzirn · Sep 6, 2017

Chloroquine Phosphate is not something you can get at lfs
You have to get a prescription from a veterinarian
But you need it to treat the eel

Joshua Agostoni · Sep 6, 2017

a vet at my local zoo who i just called, recommended to do a fresh water dip, for 30 seconds to one minute what do you guys think about that. She said they use that treatment a lot at the Pittsburgh zoo and aquarium.

Humblefish · Sep 6, 2017

Joshua Agostoni said:
a vet at my local zoo who i just called, recommended to do a fresh water dip, for 30 seconds to one minute what do you guys think about that. She said they use that treatment a lot at the Pittsburgh zoo and aquarium.

A 5 min FW dip will dislodge 80-90% of the trophonts, but impossible to say if it will remove them all: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/

I have very limited experience using Seachem Paraguard. However, following the FW dip if you can place the eel in a QT and treat with this for 30 days: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/chloroquine-phosphate.192309/

I guarantee that will clear him of velvet, provided the CP you use is pharmaceutical grade (very important).

Joshua Agostoni · Sep 6, 2017

yeah its to expensive to get the cp for a 30 dollar fish i think i'm going to give him to my local fish store, i think he is the reason for this i think he was hunting the fish at night which over stressed them and caused them to be able to get the parasite in the first place.

Humblefish · Sep 6, 2017

Joshua Agostoni said:
yeah its to expensive to get the cp for a 30 dollar fish i think i'm going to give him to my local fish store, i think he is the reason for this i think he was hunting the fish at night which over stressed them and caused them to be able to get the parasite in the first place.

Sometimes we have to make difficult choices for the greater good (long-term success of your DT).

However, the eel did not cause your other fish to get any parasites ... unless he was the fish which first introduced parasites into the tank. If he was stressing your fish out by hunting them, that may have caused their immune systems to lower which made them more susceptible to parasites already in the aquarium.

Joshua Agostoni · Sep 6, 2017

i read that these parasite are always present in the tank? and the slime coat on fish prevent them from getting it, as they are stressed they lose slime coat thus being able to get the parasite

Humblefish · Sep 6, 2017

Joshua Agostoni said:
i read that these parasite are always present in the tank? and the slime coat on fish prevent them from getting it, as they are stressed they lose slime coat thus being able to get the parasite

Parasites are not present in a newly setup DT; provided you are using dry rock/sand, mix your own saltwater, etc. i.e. you are not cross contaminating from another system.

Parasites must be introduced one of two ways:

A fish infected with trophonts. This is the "feeding stage" which has successfully penetrated through a fish's slime coat.
A tomont (parasite egg) present on a rock, sand, coral, invert - any hard surface really. (See above about not cross contaminating.)

Scroll down until you see "Understanding Ich" where I outline the parasite's lifecycle: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/

That article is specific to ich, but most other marine parasites follow a similar lifecycle.

4FordFamily · Sep 6, 2017

Humblefish said:
Parasites are not present in a newly setup DT; provided you are using dry rock/sand, mix your own saltwater, etc. i.e. you are not cross contaminating from another system.

Parasites must be introduced one of two ways:

A fish infected with trophonts. This is the "feeding stage" which has successfully penetrated through a fish's slime coat.

A tomont (parasite egg) present on a rock, sand, coral, invert - any hard surface really.

Scroll down until you see "Understanding Ich" where I outline the parasite's lifecycle: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/

That article is specific to ich, but most other marine parasites follow a similar lifecycle.

X2.

I also second the need for CP if you want to save the eel and prevent future infection.

Joshua Agostoni · Sep 6, 2017

ok so 76 to 80 days of no fish just my snails and hermit crabs... will kill off the parasites. then when i get new fish i wont be getting another eel i can put them in the qt i have set up and treat them with cupramine before i add to display tank... how long should i qt for?