Second guessing myself

Steve1500 · Mar 17, 2018

I am TTMing a yellow and blue tang along w/ a black cap basslet. The whole reason I went with TTM is because I don't want to med the fish if I don't have to. But, as you all know, TTM only treats for ich and not velvet or brook. And tangs seem to be very susceptible to the later two also.

So, being the newbie and questioning my every decision, I am thinking about treating with copper after I TTM these three fish. Either way, I will also treat w praz and metro/focus.

Now, here is my struggle. If I don't treat with copper and I monitor the fish in my QT for 3-4 weeks after TTM, will this be enough for velvet and brook to show their ugly faces? I would much rather monitor than treat w copper, but I also don't want to run the risk of them getting velvet or brook because I did not treat with copper. Is copper an unnecessary overkill?

What are your thoughts...stick with Plan A (TTM/monitor) or go to plan B (TTM/Copper)? Or a variant, copper the tangs and not the basslet? Options are blowing my mind!

Thanks in advance,
Steve

Big G · Mar 17, 2018

Some fish have been known to act as a carrier of Brook for months without displaying the symptoms.

Jahalu · Mar 17, 2018

I use only ttm these days. Just ttm and prazi. Then I observe for 2-3weeks. But be meticulous. No carrying over of anything/ complete sterilization. I love this method. In the time of ttm and observation, velvet or brook would most likely show. Nothing is 100%, but I have never had an issue and have ttm many times, including tangs. So I would stick with plan A. If you see anything suspicious during observation, you could always implement plan B.

4FordFamily · Mar 17, 2018

Velvet is every bit as common as ich these days, I don’t recommend TTM, unfortunately.

Humblefish · Mar 17, 2018

The problem with TTM is we are living in the age of velvet. It is everywhere right now, almost every wholesaler has it in their system. TTM delays symptoms of velvet showing up, because it partially (but not completely) outruns the parasite's life cycle. So, I would observe for velvet for 2-4 weeks post TTM. Don't just look for the white dots to show up - because you may not see them. Observe closely for key behavioral symptoms of velvet: