PLEASE HELP ASAP!! VELVET INFECTED FISH

[Rython]

You got some really good photos of the fish. That looks like the same kind of stuff I've been dealing with in nearly every fish order lately.

 

[Coral Keeper]

You got some really good photos of the fish. That looks like the same kind of stuff I've been dealing with in nearly every fish order lately.

Which is?

 

[HotRocks]

Which is?

Definitely velvet.

Definitely appears to be the start of bacterial infection as well secondary to the velvet affliction.

 

[Coral Keeper]

Definitely velvet.

Definitely appears to be the start of bacterial infection as well secondary to the velvet affliction.

In your opinion, should I start using antibiotics right now or wait for an additional day or two so the fish get more used to the copper level and more velvet comes off of the fish?

 

[scuzy]

In your opinion, should I start using antibiotics right now or wait for an additional day or two so the fish get more used to the copper level and more velvet comes off of the fish?

I think I would do antibiotics as the secondary infection usually get the fish to go down.

 

[4FordFamily]

I’d use spectrogram if you can source quickly, or kanaplex and furan 2 at a minimum (much like spectrogram) in conjunction with copper.

 

[HotRocks]

I’d use spectrogram if you can source quickly, or kanaplex and furan 2 at a minimum (much like spectrogram) in conjunction with copper.

Agree, start Kanaplex and Furan-2 since you have on hand.

 

[Rython]

I lost 4 and saved 2. The ones I saved I used the method @4FordFamily described above, assuming bacterial infection. They looked most like your yellow tang does.

The others also looked similar, but since that treatment didn't work, they either were already too infected, or they instead/also had velvet. Some of their behavioral symptoms that last day were consistent with velvet, though it wasn't easy to see like it is on your PBT. I didn't have a microscope at the time so I can't be 100% sure. I am super confident that @HotRocks and @4FordFamily are as good as anyone at diagnosing this stuff though.

Don't get discouraged by my bad record. I like your odds a lot better. All my fish had just gone through shipping and the ones I couldn't save looked like they had a foot out the door as soon as I received them. 2 of the 4 I lost were dead within 6 hours. Yours look like they had a much healthier starting point and are still swimming around.

 

[HotRocks]

I lost 4 and saved 2. The ones I saved I used the method @4FordFamily described above, assuming bacterial infection. They looked most like your yellow tang does.

The others also looked similar, but since that treatment didn't work, they either were already too infected, or they instead/also had velvet. Some of their behavioral symptoms that last day were consistent with velvet, though it wasn't easy to see like it is on your PBT. I didn't have a microscope at the time so I can't be 100% sure. I am super confident that @HotRocks and @4FordFamily are as good as anyone at diagnosing this stuff though.

Don't get discouraged by my bad record. I like your odds a lot better. All my fish had just gone through shipping and the ones I couldn't save looked like they had a foot out the door as soon as I received them. 2 of the 4 I lost were dead within 6 hours. Yours look like they had a much healthier starting point and are still swimming around.

Definitely have a better chance in this scenario where the fish were healthy in DT life prior to velvet exposure then newly collected fish that are afflicted.

@Coral Keeper also jumped right on this so his odds are as good as it gets. Large undertaking, stressful, but I have faith!

 

[Coral Keeper]

Definitely have a better chance in this scenario where the fish were healthy in DT life prior to velvet exposure then newly collected fish that are afflicted.

@Coral Keeper also jumped right on this so his odds are as good as it gets. Large undertaking, stressful, but I have faith!

Thank you! We really needed to hear this.

 

[Coral Keeper]

Due to issues of trying to read 1.75ppm of copper using the API test kit and the live rock absorbing some of the copper, I've decided to increase the levels closer to 2.0ppm today so I'm not borderline close to going below 1.50ppm, at least until I get my hands on the Hanna copper tester which will be this upcoming Monday or Tuesday (thats when the LFS will get them in stock).

 

[Coral Keeper]

So, just an update of what's going on, i slowly rampped up the copper level to 2.00ppm in the QT and the seachem ammonia badge just started to show at 0.05ppm so I did a 31 gallon water change with a Salinity of 1.026 and Copper at 2.00ppm before i added it into the QT, as soon as the water was changed they looked even worse than they did (more white dots) but they were acting much happier and and more normal, especially the powder blue. The powder blue seemed to start getting more of his vision back and was hardly bumping into things anymore.. so I felt much better about him.. i let the fish chill in the new clean water for an hour or so then dosed the QT with Furan-2 and Kanaplex as specified on bottle/package. So far everyone is acting better.. so we will see..

 

[HotRocks]

So, just an update of what's going on, i slowly rampped up the copper level to 2.00ppm in the QT and the seachem ammonia badge just started to show at 0.05ppm so I did a 31 gallon water change with a Salinity of 1.026 and Copper at 2.00ppm before i added it into the QT, as soon as the water was changed they looked even worse than they did (more white dots) but they were acting much happier and and more normal, especially the powder blue. The powder blue seemed to start getting more of his vision back and was hardly bumping into things anymore.. so I felt much better about him.. i let the fish chill in the new clean water for an hour or so then dosed the QT with Furan-2 and Kanaplex as specified on bottle/package. So far everyone is acting better.. so we will see..

Are you dosing copper power with a syringe? The API kit can be tricky to read. Did I ever give you the link to the copper power dosing instructions?

 

[Coral Keeper]

So this is the powder blue right after the water change but before the antibiotics.. he looked much worse but started acting much better..

 

[Coral Keeper]

Are you dosing copper power with a syringe? The API kit can be tricky to read. Did I ever give you the link to the copper power dosing instructions?

Yes, I'm dosing the copper with a syringe.
Oh yes, it is incredibly hard to read at times.. it was driving my wife n I CRAZY!!! It looked completely different in every room.. so what we did was very carefully measured a gallon of clean saltwater then dosed 1.18mL copper making the gallon of saltwater 2.00ppm then made that our control and would compare..

 

[HotRocks]

Yes, I'm dosing the copper with a syringe.
Oh yes, it is incredibly hard to read at times.. it was driving my wife n I CRAZY!!! It looked completely different in every room.. so what we did was very carefully measured a gallon of clean saltwater then dosed 1.18mL copper making the gallon of saltwater 2.00ppm then made that our control and would compare..

Good deal.

I worry a bit about absorbtion. Brand new QT is hard to know. Media and such. I have never experimented with copper power and live Rock.

Spots should have stopped increasing near the 1.50ppm mark. How many total ml have you dosed so far?

 

[Coral Keeper]

Good deal.

I worry a bit about absorbtion. Brand new QT is hard to know. Media and such. I have never experimented with copper power and live Rock.

Spots should have stopped increasing near the 1.50ppm mark. How many total ml have you dosed so far?

I've dosed a total of 65mL, 1.18mL per gallon x 55 gall = 65mL total, then I also dosed an additional 4mL due to rock absorption for a grand total of 69mL..

 

[Coral Keeper]

Are any of these antibiotics going to affect the api copper test results in any way?

 

[Coral Keeper]

There is a astera starfish in the QT that is still alive?! With copper at 2.00ppm?! Are they known to withstand copper?

 

[brwaldbaum]

There is a astera starfish in the QT that is still alive?! With copper at 2.00ppm?! Are they known to withstand copper?

I've had 1/2" size hermit crabs live over a week in 0.5 ppm Cupramine.