Marine Velvet

[Susan Edwards]

@Humblefish What level of copper do I need to maintain. I didn't see a specific value given. I've added 12 mil to the QT and will add another 13 mil tomorrow (20 gal)

 

[SashimiTurtle]

@Humblefish What level of copper do I need to maintain. I didn't see a specific value given. I've added 12 mil to the QT and will add another 13 mil tomorrow (20 gal)

What kind of copper are you using. 2ppm for chelated copper.

 

[4FordFamily]

@Humblefish What level of copper do I need to maintain. I didn't see a specific value given. I've added 12 mil to the QT and will add another 13 mil tomorrow (20 gal)

.4 - .5 for cupramine. 2-2.5 for most chelated copper.

 

[aykwm]

^^ agree with above, or also just check the bottle it should mention it

 

[Susan Edwards]

Using Mardels coppersafe. It doesn't say what level to use but that it is 2.2 chealated copper. So 2.2?

 

[Humblefish]

Using Mardels coppersafe. It doesn't say what level to use but that it is 2.2 chealated copper. So 2.2?

1.5 - 2.0 is the therapeutic range. But practically speaking, shoot for 2.0 ppm on the test kit.

 

[aykwm]

Copper safe dosage should be maintained at 1.5-2 ppm throughout the treatment (better to aim to the higher range ~1.75-2) also API copper test kit is highly recommended to ensure the copper is within that range. Be sure to dose copper to the required level in the new water before adding it to the tank when performing WC as a drop in copper level below 1.5 might render the treatment ineffective and you have to start from day 0.

Good topic to read regarding treating with with copper:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/copper-treatment.193343/

Best of luck

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I would check and see how sensitive your scooter dragonettes are to copper. I know mandarins cannot tolerate copper at all.

 

[Humblefish]

I would check and see how sensitive your scooter dragonettes are to copper. I know mandarins cannot tolerate copper at all.

Good catch. Copper + dragonets is a no-go.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Wowza! Took more than half a day to remove 3 fish!. Had to remove all but one big section of rockwork and even then, it took forever to catch 2 chromis and one goby. Fish are now in their temp home, copper dosed at 12 mil out of 23-25 mil. 20 gal tank with a bit of sand and a pvc tower. I wouldn't think much more than 1 gal displaced.

Main tank put back together-relandscaped and corals back in , though most just on bottom. Will work some more on it tomorrow. Was able to redo what I didn't like or didn't work out from orignial set up. Feather fan counts as a coral and stays in MT I'm assuming. It is part of the rockwork and isn't going anywhere...

Got all the damsels from the display refugium ... Had to remove ALL rock and even then, took a couple hours! Rock just dumped back in. No rush on that tank. Will redo completely

All fish now in QT and seem to be doing well. Countdown to 76 days begins tomorrow when I raise the coppersafe to correct dosage.

 

[Susan Edwards]

@Humblefish The scooter is in the tank with the half dose copper. What do I do with him? Separate tank for 76 days while MT lies fallow?

 

[SashimiTurtle]

@Susan Edwards you'll have to put him in a seperate tank and treat with Chloroquine phosphate. I'm trying to get some from a vet now.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/chloroquine-phosphate.192309/

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Wowza! Took more than half a day to remove 3 fish!. Had to remove all but one big section of rockwork and even then, it took forever to catch 2 chromis and one goby. Fish are now in their temp home, copper dosed at 12 mil out of 23-25 mil. 20 gal tank with a bit of sand and a pvc tower. I wouldn't think much more than 1 gal displaced.

Main tank put back together-relandscaped and corals back in , though most just on bottom. Will work some more on it tomorrow. Was able to redo what I didn't like or didn't work out from orignial set up. Feather fan counts as a coral and stays in MT I'm assuming. It is part of the rockwork and isn't going anywhere...

Got all the damsels from the display refugium ... Had to remove ALL rock and even then, took a couple hours! Rock just dumped back in. No rush on that tank. Will redo completely

All fish now in QT and seem to be doing well. Countdown to 76 days begins tomorrow when I raise the coppersafe to correct dosage.

The sand in that QT is going to make it hard to keep copper levels where they should be. Do you have a wrasse that sleeps in sand? Most people put a little sand in a bowl for them, but not the whole bottom of the tank.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Okay, now that fish are where they are supposed to be, maybe depending on scooter blenny, I am offically in QT. Here are some ?'s on this qt practice. Remember I'm a six month old newbie....

1) Anything used at this point for qt is to be kept separate unless it can be sterialized like glass jars (dishwasher), things bleached etc. Not plastic items or fish nets. Things that need to be kept separate:

1. nets
2. plastic cups
3. airstones/tubing used in qt tanks
4. anything in the tank--I'll have to figure out how to clean small canister filter and hob filter and the tank of course
5. turkey baster for feeding. Glass jars used for food can go in dishwasher

2) Main tank items that stay with MT but have been used all along, even with the velvet

1. tweezers (long handle) used to yank algae
2. tongs for lifting out smaller rocks
3. New turkey baster, should I replace pipette for feeding sun corals?
4. acyrilic baskets for frags--Keep?
5. buy all new nets
6. new airstones and tubing when needed?
7. Canister filter for display refugium--do I need to do anything to it?

questions:
--hose that goes into MT for draining and filling?
--pump for pumping fresh saltwater into MT
--The 20 gal can that has the heater, pump etc. After I do a wc, everything stays in that can. It's had contact with tank that had velvet. Should I leave it in the sun for a day or because there's no fish in there, it's okay?
--all the buckets for tank maintenance
--water temp probes
So how anal do I need to be

 

[mcarroll]

I see this got moved into the disease forum since medication was going to be recommended, but some clues seem to have been missed that could be useful to the OP.

Folks of course post early and often that it has to be ich or velvet and that those diseases act fast.

But the OP's infection worked slowly through her fish....this was not acknowledged.

That's not a simple ich or velvet outbreak, right?

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I'll answer a lot of your questions in one answer, white distilled vinegar is a great cleaner and disinfectant. I always have at least two gallons in my kitchen.... it's good for eating too, lol.

Anything that doesn't have fish living in it will be completely velvet free in six weeks. Things that aren't in the tank, just give 'um a good cleaning and let them dry out.

 

[Susan Edwards]

I'll see if my dau can get me a prescription for the CP. She's a vet. That will take several days for sure and delay the scooter's treatment. Will dump out temp tank and redo for the scooter

I have more of a sand bed for the scooter who buries himself in it and the sleeper gold head goby who sifts it and hides in it. He's big on sifting all day long and I figure that's part of his eating process. I tried to get most of the sand in the pvc pcs and into the long narrow pipes for the two fish to utilize. He's already moved a lot of it...I'll have to keep an eye on copper. Have the api test kit

 

[Susan Edwards]

@mcarroll Not sure what OP means. But if you are referring to how fast it hit my tank, it hit fast and hard. I lost one fish a day or maybe every two days. Some days I lost 2. I was able to look at a fish, either by strange behavior or by the "velvet" and know that the fish would be dead within 2 days. Every single time. No exceptions.
bicolor blenny
3 anthias, a day or two apart for all 3
1 kole tang somewhere in the timing of the anthias
2 clowns. Maybe 1 day apart. One clown right along time of tang or an anthia
2 barnacle blennies. Never saw, figured cuc got em

Started around June 15-16? By Wed. the 19th, lost 6 fish. I think original posting of this thread is on June 29. I was not able to act faster to research or take action as I had a family reunion here starting on Thur the 22nd and wasn't free until the following wed. I posted for help on Thurs. and started getting what I needed to move. Had to wait for amazon as local petmart had no medications.

Sleeper gold head goby, 2 chromis, 1 scooter blenny all unaffected. So yeah, it wiped out over half my stock in a week or less.

 

[Susan Edwards]

@Robin Haselden thanks. I guess I should soak all dry rock, rinse and let them sit in the sun. Rocks get put in and out, same with rubble rock. Do not want to go thru this ever again! How is your tank coming? Ugh, off to bed. Too much to do with tanks tomorrow yet.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I had to completely remove every rock from the tank to catch all my fish. Went and got a rubber made container and set them in that, vials went in a small container with tank water. I only have a few. After the fish were caught and in their QT tanks I decided to take a tooth brush to the rocks. I scrubbed every bit of hair algae off and then I went about re-scaping instead of the wall of rock in the back I went with two islands of rocks. Then I decided I would make the left island for LPS and do SPS on the right when I get this tank stable. I glued all my corals down in the left rock and called it a night. It was around 5am when I got everything done.

The fish are in the 40B QT treated at 2ppm with Coppersafe. They are doing well. The clowns seem to be doing the best. I've watched them eat, but my female doesn't come to the top to eat. The tang appears to be getting better, I haven't seen him eat, but the flakes I put in disappear and the clowns won't touch it. Ill check the filter tinnitus and see if it's all in the floss. The six line seems to me taking it the hardest. Her just hangs out in the back between the glass and a piece of PVC. I'm not sure if it's because I moved him or because of the copper. My eel is in the 10g waiting on Chloroquine phosphate... copper will kill him. He hasn't eaten, but that's normal for him when he gets moved. I fed him a lot before I moved him, so he should be good for a while. I'm in no rush to treat him other than I'd like him to be able to go back in the DT the same time my fish do. Eels are extremely resistant to ich and velvet, but they can carry it, so I still have to treat him before he can go into the DT.