Questions about Velvet

[CanadianReefer]

Read this: https://hubpages.com/animals/Keeping-Breeding-and-Raising-Saltwater-Mollies

The main challenges to overcome when mixing mollies with "regular" SW fish are:

1. Mollies are timid and easily bullied by more aggressive fish. I.e. Any angel or tang. So, you may need to house them in an acclimation box or quiet area of your sump/fuge.
2. Some kill FW mollies by drip acclimating into SW too quickly, sending them into osmotic shock. They need time to osmoregulate so it's best to take 6-8 hours (or even longer) to drip acclimate them into full saltwater. Also, don't forget to provide oxygen, temperature control the water and use ammonia reducer in the bucket if needed.
3. Mollies have a difficult time adjusting to high flow, so your sump or an acclimation box may be a more comfortable environment for them. It all depends on what kind of system you are running.

Ok, they are in the bucket and being acclimated. I was able to slow the drip to about one every two or three seconds, so hopefully that's slow enough. It's about what I acclimated both my starfish at and they ended up just fine (in fact, Luna, the blue linckia is HUGE now). If I tighten it further, it completely stops.

I have basically an empty refugium right now (only miracle Mud and sand) and that will be the perfect spot for them. I designed it as a spot to acclimate new additions to the tank conditions before adding them to the main tank.

If they survive this, am I best to try them in the main tank, or reacclimate them to FW and put them in my FW tank? I do have very small fish, such as Hector gobies (in other tanks) that have never been harassed. Other than my purple, I would say my fish are pretty low key.

 

[CanadianReefer]

Ok, they are in the bucket and being acclimated. I was able to slow the drip to about one every two or three seconds, so hopefully that's slow enough. It's about what I acclimated both my starfish at and they ended up just fine (in fact, Luna, the blue linckia is HUGE now). If I tighten it further, it completely stops.

I have basically an empty refugium right now (only miracle Mud and sand) and that will be the perfect spot for them. I designed it as a spot to acclimate new additions to the tank conditions before adding them to the main tank.

If they survive this, am I best to try them in the main tank, or reacclimate them to FW and put them in my FW tank? I do have very small fish, such as Hector gobies (in other tanks) that have never been harassed. Other than my purple, I would say my fish are pretty low key.

I use 2 gyre 250s for flow and run them at about 30-40%. Might be a lot of flow for them, as you've mentioned...??

 

[CanadianReefer]

Since people were asking, here's my QT setup. I have substrate in one of them now (non-copper tank) to make the blue dot jawfish feel at home. The substrate wasn't there when the other fish were in QT. He's already built tunnels everywhere! The baby hippo is in the top left, a longnose hawkfish bottom left, and a cleaner goby top right.

 

[Humblefish]

@CanadianReefer Looks good on the mollies. If your tank has velvet, they should start showing symptoms within a week or two. Maybe less.

I do feel the need to point out that your QT setup is very susceptible to aerosol transmission: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aerosol-transmission.190292/

 

[CanadianReefer]

@CanadianReefer Looks good on the mollies. If your tank has velvet, they should start showing symptoms within a week or two. Maybe less.

I do feel the need to point out that your QT setup is very susceptible to aerosol transmission: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aerosol-transmission.190292/

Yes, I'd read that article. I'm actually in the process of thinking up a different setup and my husband has committed to altering the laundry room so I can expand my fish room. He's promised to do it when I bought the tank

I keep a towel on top of the non copper tank to cover up anything open in the hood. Not sure that really helps, but it's the best I can do at the moment. I figured at the very least, it would be less likely that a splash from another tank would find its way in.

 

[CanadianReefer]

Alright. The mollies just went in. Long night. It's midnight here! Hopefully I acclimated slowly enough. We'll see tomorrow how they fair.

I decided that if they survive, I might just leave them in the sump. I have large enough sections for them to be comfortable, and they could act like a first warning sign. Tbh, I actually really like mollies. I have a pair in my FW tank and they've been dedicated to each other for years.

 

[TerraFerma]

Seems kinda weird your pods were thriving in the presence of copper. Are you sure you dosed right?

Second thing - how were your QT tank parameters? A QT should have spotless water quality which is easily achieved by a seasoned filter, daily water changes w/ vacuuming detritus, and re-dosing the meds. Copper and a lot of the meds can be hard on the fishes immune system. If water quality and feeding isn't spot on they can come out of there not much better than when they went in. Copper is a poison in high concentrations....it just doesn't kill fish as quick as inverts.

 

[CanadianReefer]

Seems kinda weird your pods were thriving in the presence of copper. Are you sure you dosed right?

Second thing - how were your QT tank parameters? A QT should have spotless water quality which is easily achieved by a seasoned filter, daily water changes w/ vacuuming detritus, and re-dosing the meds. Copper and a lot of the meds can be hard on the fishes immune system. If water quality and feeding isn't spot on they can come out of there not much better than when they went in. Copper is a poison in high concentrations....it just doesn't kill fish as quick as inverts.

I thought it odd as well that the pods are still thriving. That's actually why I was worried they weren't pods. However, I posted videos and everyone confirmed pods, so I checked my levels to be sure. I dosed correctly. I tested with a salifert kit to be sure, and it was dark enough to confidently say it was at a .5 level, as the curpamine recommends. Interestingly, I had contacted Seachem a while back to discuss how best to quarantine some wrasses, and they told me that a level of .3 is therapeutic, so I could lower the dose to that for more sensitive fish and it would still be effective.

I didn't do that in this case - tangs aren't that sensitive to copper.

My QTs are spotless. 50% water changes every other day with smaller fish, and if needed, every day with larger fish. The filters are well-seeded.

Whatever happened had to be a minor glitch of some sort... a splash of water in the DT sump that I didn't notice, or a drop in levels during water changes that gave a small window for the parasite to reattach. Something like that.

 

[CanadianReefer]

bad news, @Humblefish The mollies didn't make it. This morning, they were all dead. It was 6.5 hours of acclimation, but I guess that wasn't enough. I feel so bad for them.... they looked to be adjusting to the saltwater without issue - they were swimming around fairly calmly in the bucket.

I'll try one more time. If I buy them on Saturday, that will allow me a full day to acclimate them and hopefully they won't go into shock this time.

 

[Humblefish]

bad news, @Humblefish The mollies didn't make it. This morning, they were all dead. It was 6.5 hours of acclimation, but I guess that wasn't enough. I feel so bad for them.... they looked to be adjusting to the saltwater without issue - they were swimming around fairly calmly in the bucket.

I'll try one more time. If I buy them on Saturday, that will allow me a full day to acclimate them and hopefully they won't go into shock this time.

Sorry to hear this. Did you have a heater and air stone going in the bucket while you drip acclimated them? It's also not a bad idea to squirt a little ammonia reducer in there just in case.

 

[CanadianReefer]

Sorry to hear this. Did you have a heater and air stone going in the bucket while you drip acclimated them? It's also not a bad idea to squirt a little ammonia reducer in there just in case.

I'll try the ammonia reducer. I have some prime that I use for my FW tank, and I think it's usable in saltwater as well. Not sure if it addresses ammonia, though, come to think of it.

I have filter bags of ammonia reducer, but they are for FW applications only.

I'll find something to use...

 

[Humblefish]

I'll try the ammonia reducer. I have some prime that I use for my FW tank, and I think it's usable in saltwater as well. Not sure if it addresses ammonia, though, come to think of it.

I have filter bags of ammonia reducer, but they are for FW applications only.

I'll find something to use...

Take 12 hours or longer to drip acclimate them this time. Maybe even a full day or two.

 

[CanadianReefer]

Will do. The good news is that I don't see anything on the copperband, naso or foxface & no flashing or odd behaviour. The Tang is still acting normally and eating well, but there's some flashing.

Bad news - my hippo Tang that was in QT lost his battle :-( too bad, I really thought he had taken a turn for the better. Bad week for fish in my house....