Is velvet always fatal?

[mfinn]

Can some fish live with velvet, or is it always fatal, left untreated.

 

[HotRocks]

Can some fish live with velvet, or is it always fatal, left untreated.

Depending on the type of fish and volume of tank they may very well be able to live with it for quite some time. Also if a UV, oxydator, diatom etc are present the population of free swimmers may be kept under control. @4FordFamily had several Wrasse live in a tank for 6+ months in a tank before it became a real problem.

 

[4FordFamily]

Depending on the type of fish and volume of tank they may very well be able to live with it for quite some time. Also if a UV, oxydator, diatom etc are present the population of free swimmers may be kept under control. @4FordFamily had several Wrasse live in a tank for 6+ months in a tank before it became a real problem.

Even still some wrasse didn’t show any symptoms I even had a blonde naso tang that pulled through and seemed resistant. Until a power outage took them all. I still lost about half of my ornamental wrasse collection trying to “manage” velvet.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Always fatal, no. Very often fatal, very much so. Coming from someone who has observed two velvet wipe-outs in her reefing career....

 

[MaccaPopEye]

Can some fish live with velvet, or is it always fatal, left untreated.

Yes fish can live with velvet and it's not always fatal if left untreated, but generally if you don't at least take some measures it will be.

 

[DucatiGtr]

Um.. I had a velvet outbreak 2 yrs ago from not qt fish when I got lazy and wasn’t too educated on velvet.. it took down huge fish.. full grown naso, vlamingi, Achillies, dussi, 10 wrasses all pretty large, clowns, butterflies, everything... droppped like dominos.. is you have velvet it will kill everything and fast..
I think way too many people confuse it with ich..

I currently had velvet in a qt abs managed to save 3 fish including a gem tang.. velvet they become zombies swimming non stop in water flow.. it’s the absolute worst.. I started back up in October and have some really nice fish along w coral..

I have come across velvet so many times from lfs it’s exhausting.. I now prefer to buy from established tanks or rather pay extra for fish already treated then observe again..

Once velvet begins, unless you have a shark, it’s over...

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Velvet is a parasite and the only way to eradicate it is by eliminating the source (fish) and place in QT with cupramine for minimum of 4 weeks. Depending on the condition of your fish, I suggest slowly raising copper levels to give time for your fish to adjust. Run tank fallow for 6 weeks minimum. Otherwise stress will eventually strike at some point and take over the immune system. Stressful I know

 

[ngoodermuth]

Um.. I had a velvet outbreak 2 yrs ago from not qt fish when I got lazy and wasn’t too educated on velvet.. it took down huge fish.. full grown naso, vlamingi, Achillies, dussi, 10 wrasses all pretty large, clowns, butterflies, everything... droppped like dominos.. is you have velvet it will kill everything and fast..
I think way too many people confuse it with ich..

I currently had velvet in a qt abs managed to save 3 fish including a gem tang.. velvet they become zombies swimming non stop in water flow.. it’s the absolute worst.. I started back up in October and have some really nice fish along w coral..

I have come across velvet so many times from lfs it’s exhausting.. I now prefer to buy from established tanks or rather pay extra for fish already treated then observe again..

Once velvet begins, unless you have a shark, it’s over...

My experiences with velvet in a DT have been similar to yours. There are a few people here that do not QT or run observational only and have had pretty decent success, there’s a pretty intensive thread going on it at the moment.

But, I QT and prophylactically treat all incoming fish to prevent this exact scenario.

 

[DucatiGtr]

My experiences with velvet in a DT have been similar to yours. There are a few people here that do not QT or run observational only and have had pretty decent success, there’s a pretty intensive thread going on it at the moment.

But, I QT and prophylactically treat all incoming fish to prevent this exact scenario.

Yes! It made me so paranoid now that it’s the only thing I really fear besides brook...

I’ll be keeping my gem, blue throat, mimic in copper and qt for a few more weeks then observe a bit more..

 

[AZRipp]

From experience, I would say no, however some may disagree. I was hit with it and it took 14 fish. I had 5 survive, of which 3 clearly showed signs of velvet. I have a 400 gallon tank that makes it nearly impossible to catch fish once they are in there. Secondly, it struck when I was on vacation with my sister in-law taking care of things. Although I had a few survive, it took most of those infected.

 

[roberthu526]

I am sure some fish will build resistance to velvet but the risk is so high that I don't think it's worth even trying. I have dealt with velvet and lost every single one of my fish in a 300 gallon display. I learned my lesson and kept the tank fishless for four months and bought two 120 W Emperor Aquatics and run them 24/7 just in case. It is absolutely something I never want to see in my tank ever again.

 

[AZRipp]

I am sure some fish will build resistance to velvet but the risk is so high that I don't think it's worth even trying. I have dealt with velvet and lost every single one of my fish in a 300 gallon display. I learned my lesson and kept the tank fishless for four months and bought two 120 W Emperor Aquatics and run them 24/7 just in case. It is absolutely something I never want to see in my tank ever again.

Out of curiosity, how much do they heat your water? I run ozone due to being concerned about temperature rise. Living in AZ we are very cognizant of this. Thanks

 

[roberthu526]

Out of curiosity, how much do they heat your water? I run ozone due to being concerned about temperature rise. Living in AZ we are very cognizant of this. Thanks

I can't be sure but my guess is about half a degree. But to be honest I don't really notice any difference temperature wise.