Velvet,ick and corals

[rtague]

Hi all,so since Saturday I've lost 8 fish to either velvet or ick,not sure which one,tank is up and running for 6 months,innovative marine 100 ext,beautiful tank,was so disgusted I was going to tear down and well but thought twice when I watched a beautiful rainbow rbta and a weeping willow(the only corals in there at the moment), and various snails and hermits apparently unaffected by the disease,my question,do these diseases affect corals and snails etc?,really don't want to shut down and for now would be quiet happy just to have a coral reef without fish for a while until the disease dies off ,would really appreciate any advice.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Sorry to hear about your fish losses. Neither ich nor velvet will harm your invertebrates. After time, with no fish present, these parasites will just die out. I would urge you to set up a small quarantine tank for new fish - it won't totally eliminate issues, but it drops the problems back about 90%

Regarding how long to leave your tank fishless, the time ranges from 45 to 75 days, depending on the tank water temperature. Here is a thread that discusses it: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/45-day-fallow-periods.805213/


Jay

 

[rtague]

Sorry to hear about your fish losses. Neither ich nor velvet will harm your invertebrates. After time, with no fish present, these parasites will just die out. I would urge you to set up a small quarantine tank for new fish - it won't totally eliminate issues, but it drops the problems back about 90%

Regarding how long to leave your tank fishless, the time ranges from 45 to 75 days, depending on the tank water temperature. Here is a thread that discusses it: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/45-day-fallow-periods.805213/


Jay

Thank you,would it be unwise to add coral? it's a 100 g tank ,also my Melanurus wrasse popped up this morning,very active,and eating well,apparently unaffected,I have my doubts.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So, I wouldn’t add anything to the tank right now, the melanurus wrasse is a wild card. You should watch it for at least two weeks, four would be better. Since the tank isn’t truly fishless, you aren’t in a fallow period as the wrasse could be carrying a chronic infection. While adding corals wouldn’t directly interfere with any fallow period, there is always a chance they could bring in some new issue.
Jay

 

[rtague]

So, I wouldn’t add anything to the tank right now, the melanurus wrasse is a wild card. You should watch it for at least two weeks, four would be better. Since the tank isn’t truly fishless, you aren’t in a fallow period as the wrasse could be carrying a chronic infection. While adding corals wouldn’t directly interfere with any fallow period, there is always a chance they could bring in some new issue.
Jay

Thank you,appreciate the advice.