As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with how you are QT'ing. I strongly suspect this fish died due to flukes or velvet, or some other disease TTM does not address.
BTW, so sorry for your loss. I know a Regal ain't a cheap fish.
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As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with how you are QT'ing. I strongly suspect this fish died due to flukes or velvet, or some other disease TTM does not address.
BTW, so sorry for your loss. I know a Regal ain't a cheap fish.
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Thanks for that - I'm still in the "convince myself it would have happened anyways" phase (even though it may not have). It was not a cheap purchase, but that's actually not bugging me as much as that I feel like I failed him. Life (no matter how small) is more precious than money.
After about 10 minutes in FW (just to be sure):
Some of that debris may be due to having added the power head from my DT into the QT. I see some things that MAY be worms, however...?
This is just a quick cell-phone shot backed by a flashlight. Let me know if setting up the DSLR camera will help.
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If it helps determine anything; the gills were a bright red and the eyes looked a little bloodshot at the bottom while it was alive. The blood is moving further into the eye now that it's dead.
@DLHDesign Was the redness around the gills (symptom of ammonia burn) or inside the gills (can indicate worms/parasites inside the gills)?
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Inside.
I would abandon TTM and start raising the copper level to treat for velvet. To protect the blenny.
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Off to the store I go to get copper meds. 
When the flow was there, yes - he would swim into it more than not. I actually kept powering it down when he got close to it (wasn't sure it wouldn't suck him up). He was getting blown about a lot, but I think that was a result of the overpowered head.
When the flow was there, yes - he would swim into it more than not. I actually kept powering it down when he got close to it (wasn't sure it wouldn't suck him up). He was getting blown about a lot, but I think that was a result of the overpowered head.
Off to the store I go to get copper meds.
When the flow was there, yes - he would swim into it more than not. I actually kept powering it down when he got close to it (wasn't sure it wouldn't suck him up). He was getting blown about a lot, but I think that was a result of the overpowered head.
So you're saying he was intentionally trying to swim right into the flow of that powerhead? That is a classic symptom of velvet. Watch the video below (not mine) and around the 0:35-0:40 mark you'll see the PBT swim directly into the flow of the powerhead. That is what I'm talking about.
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Thanks (again) @Humblefish. I'm not totally sure that it was the same behavior, but it also wasn't that far off. By the time I added the (overpowered) power head into the tank, the fish seemed pretty exhausted/lethargic, so any behavior was more along the lines of fighting to stay in control than it was about anything intentional looking... Still; there was a lot of rubbing against things (first the clay pot, then the tank bottom and sides). I do recall thinking, "Is that one just really itchy, or...".
There may have been discoloration - I don't know. This is where I don't have enough experience to compare good coloration to bad.
I've gone ahead and dosed in 12.5mL of Kordon's Copper-Aid. The instructions called for a temperature raise to at least 82F, so I did that beforehand. I also added a tiny power head (Aqueon 500) and set up the HOB filter with just the mesh pad (no carbon).
The blenny seems to be doing fine right now. He was actively eating earlier when I put in some mysis shrimp - popping out of his cave to gobble up pieces that float by. I can't say for certain, but it does appear like his breathing is a bit heavier than when we first got him. That may just be me looking for signs, however.
Hopefully the next few days are less chaotic. I'll keep an eye on the QT tank and will update with status one way or the other. Many thanks to the entire [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] for the help; to say I was underwhelmed at the response from the LFS would be to put it mildly, so I'm beyond appreciative that I continue to find proof that I can count on the members of this forum as I progress through this journey. Cheers.
There may have been discoloration - I don't know. This is where I don't have enough experience to compare good coloration to bad.
I've gone ahead and dosed in 12.5mL of Kordon's Copper-Aid. The instructions called for a temperature raise to at least 82F, so I did that beforehand. I also added a tiny power head (Aqueon 500) and set up the HOB filter with just the mesh pad (no carbon).
The blenny seems to be doing fine right now. He was actively eating earlier when I put in some mysis shrimp - popping out of his cave to gobble up pieces that float by. I can't say for certain, but it does appear like his breathing is a bit heavier than when we first got him. That may just be me looking for signs, however.
Hopefully the next few days are less chaotic. I'll keep an eye on the QT tank and will update with status one way or the other. Many thanks to the entire [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] for the help; to say I was underwhelmed at the response from the LFS would be to put it mildly, so I'm beyond appreciative that I continue to find proof that I can count on the members of this forum as I progress through this journey. Cheers.
Copper-Aid is chelated copper sulfate, so I recommend getting an API copper test kit so you can ensure the Cu level remains between 1.5 - 2.0 ppm.
Also, I would (slowly) lower the temp back down to at least 77-78 as there is more available O2 in the water at lower temps. This will help with oxygen transport to the brain if the blenny gets parasites or worms inside of his gills. The raising temp thing is to help treat FW ich, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis.
Also, I would (slowly) lower the temp back down to at least 77-78 as there is more available O2 in the water at lower temps. This will help with oxygen transport to the brain if the blenny gets parasites or worms inside of his gills. The raising temp thing is to help treat FW ich, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis.
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Test kit picked up. Looks like the dosage suggested (12.5mL) resulted in a 0.25 ppm of measurable copper using the API test after about 12hrs. I'll dose a bit more until I reach the 1.5 ppm level.
Done. Dialed back the heater over the course of the day to get it back down to 78F (which is what the small heater I have maintains the tank at).
Thanks again! The blenny is still eating well and does not appear to be having any issues breathing. How long should I dose the copper for? My guess is 7 days (I think I recall seeing this date somewhere...), but the packaging doesn't really make that clear...
BTW - I'm pretty sure that the diagnosis of velvet is the correct one - which makes me feel better (that it wasn't just me messing things up). The angel was certainly sensitive to light, as mentioned in your post of velvet. Now that the chaos is past, I'm catching up on stuff I should have read before even getting the first fish. ;-)
For velvet, I would treat for at least 14 consecutive days. However, 30 days of treatment would be better as that would also cover ich.
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30 Days of QT begun. Sort of...
I've been slowly bringing the Cu levels up. When I tested them (three times) with the "new" ATI kit (it had dust on the box...), they came out lower than .50. I doubted the test kit worked, so I tested the solution directly and it registered above the max (5.0), so it's at least got Cu in it (and registers the test). When I dose in about 1 mL of the Cu into the power head, the blenny does a whole lot of twitching for a few minutes. So I'm trying to limit what I add, but I'm not sure that it's really bringing the Cu levels up all that much. :-\
I've been slowly bringing the Cu levels up. When I tested them (three times) with the "new" ATI kit (it had dust on the box...), they came out lower than .50. I doubted the test kit worked, so I tested the solution directly and it registered above the max (5.0), so it's at least got Cu in it (and registers the test). When I dose in about 1 mL of the Cu into the power head, the blenny does a whole lot of twitching for a few minutes. So I'm trying to limit what I add, but I'm not sure that it's really bringing the Cu levels up all that much. :-\
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Test kit expiration is 03/2018.
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Tank currently contains:
PVC pipe (schedule 40)
Small power head
Heater
HOB Filter (only using the foam; not the carbon nor media)
1 Blenny
I had an airstone in there, but I removed it when I put in the power head and filter.
PVC pipe (schedule 40)
Small power head
Heater
HOB Filter (only using the foam; not the carbon nor media)
1 Blenny
I had an airstone in there, but I removed it when I put in the power head and filter.
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melypr1985
totally addicted
I've heard of this with copperpower. Where the person kept adding and adding and adding the copper but the levels never seemed to go up the way that they should. She used way more than the bottle indicated she needed for her tiny QT, but it eventually got there. It makes me wonder if sometimes a bottle or two will, somehow, get watered down before being capped and sent out. Meaning you happened to get the one in a thousand bottle that was bad. Just a guess really, but that's my theory. Point being: maybe try getting a new bottle of copper aid and seeing if it makes a difference.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I was wondering this myself, which is why I tested the bottle directly (undiluted). That test didn't really show anything other than that I did, in fact, have copper in enough concentration to be off the chart - which I would expect would be the case in even a "low" batch.
So far I've used about half the bottle. I did a 5gal water change last night and dosed in another 10mL* (which made the blenny hack for a bit even dosed slowly into the power head). If I'm generous with the color change read, that got my concentration up to 1.0ppm. Given that the bottle is supposed to treat 400gal (though they don't say at what concentration that will yield on the bottle), that means that I've added enough CopperAid to treat 200gal - and I've only targeted 15gal...
Not sure I'll be able to get out to the LFS today (and even if I did, they have yet to impress me with the quality of their supplies), so I'm thinking about ordering something online. BRS has Cuprion, but their warnings are a bit scary (I'm certainly not a "professional aquarist"... yet). I'd guess that the warnings are there to prevent random purchases... Should this be the product I order, or is there a better option out there?
* - Note that I didn't add it all at once. I dosed in batches of 1mL using a slow drip, waited 5min, then measured and repeated. I set my limit at either a measure of 1.5ppm or a dose of 10mL. I measured again this morning (5+hrs later) and the level is still below 1.0ppm.
