Velvet in DT

Gd13 · Apr 11, 2021

Hello. New here. Read alot but is my first post.

Some background on my complicated situation...

100 gallon FOWLR tank
1.23 Salinitiy
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 5
Temp 78
Been running for about 6 months

4 inch Dog face puffer
2 bengaii cardinals
1 lawnmower blenny
1 yellow watchman gobie
1 royal gramma

I thought I had ich in the tank as dfp had some spots on his fins. Within 2 days realized it was velvet. He was covered in white. Nobody else looked sick.

I did not have a QT, so I dosed with copperpower in the DT. Got up to 2.0 in two days and kept it there with very little change. Never got below 1.75 or higher than 2.10.

In the meantime, I set up 2 QT tanks.

After 10 days of Copperpower and a few freshwater dips, DFP looked much better. I placed him in sterile qt, alone, and he is thriving again. Eating like a pig and looks perfect.

I placed cardinals and gramma in a different QT after 10 days. They all look great and are eating but, again, never looked sick.

I was unable to remove blenny and Gobi. They remain in the DT at 2.0 copperpower.

I realize none of this was done to the standards of what needed to be done. I've learned alot and was just unprepared. That said, I am where I am.

The question...where do I go now with the DT? There has been copperpower for 18 days.

Will 30 days of copperpower in the DT kill the velvet so I can do water changes, run carbon, etc to get the copper out and put the fish back in the DT?

Or does anyone suggest something different considering the tank was never fallow be used the blenny and gobie are still in there? They never showed any sickness by the way.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks so much

fishguy242 · Apr 11, 2021

hi ,welcome to the reef..

lets call some expert help.
@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081

Jay Hemdal · Apr 11, 2021

Gd13 said:
Hello. New here. Read alot but is my first post.

Some background on my complicated situation...

100 gallon FOWLR tank
1.23 Salinitiy
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 5
Temp 78
Been running for about 6 months

4 inch Dog face puffer
2 bengaii cardinals
1 lawnmower blenny
1 yellow watchman gobie
1 royal gramma

I thought I had ich in the tank as dfp had some spots on his fins. Within 2 days realized it was velvet. He was covered in white. Nobody else looked sick.

I did not have a QT, so I dosed with copperpower in the DT. Got up to 2.0 in two days and kept it there with very little change. Never got below 1.75 or higher than 2.10.

In the meantime, I set up 2 QT tanks.

After 10 days of Copperpower and a few freshwater dips, DFP looked much better. I placed him in sterile qt, alone, and he is thriving again. Eating like a pig and looks perfect.

I placed cardinals and gramma in a different QT after 10 days. They all look great and are eating but, again, never looked sick.

I was unable to remove blenny and Gobi. They remain in the DT at 2.0 copperpower.

I realize none of this was done to the standards of what needed to be done. I've learned alot and was just unprepared. That said, I am where I am.

The question...where do I go now with the DT? There has been copperpower for 18 days.

Will 30 days of copperpower in the DT kill the velvet so I can do water changes, run carbon, etc to get the copper out and put the fish back in the DT?

Or does anyone suggest something different considering the tank was never fallow be used the blenny and gobie are still in there? They never showed any sickness by the way.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks so much

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

It sounds like things are pretty stable. I would go 30 days of copper power in the DT and then move the fish back. You can always redose if a disease breaks

I wonder if you might actually had ich and not velvet? Often the first and sometimes only symptom of velvet is rapid breathing. Ich starts as spots, but these coalesce together and form what can look like velvet, then the fish start breathing faster. This takes about 5 days to a week, where velvet kills fast, sometimes in 36 hours.

Jay

vetteguy53081 · Apr 11, 2021

Can we get a pic or two under white lights to confirm what you are seeing?

vetteguy53081 · Apr 11, 2021

Also, what test kits are you using as I am under impression that this is a newer tank, quite stocked already and the zeros on the parameters indicate you may be using API test kits which are far less than reliable as are ammonia badges (you should have some type of readings with waste produced and feeding requirements).
Salinity a little low and with it slightly low, it would have helped with potential of parasites although far less than hyposalinity levels.

Temp 77-79
ph 8.1-8.3
salinity 1.025
nitrate < .4
phos < .04
Ammonia < .03
mG 1300
Alk 8-9
CA 440

Gd13 · Apr 11, 2021

Thanks for all the replies! I will try to remember all the questions.
I do use api test kit. Not the little things you dip, but the liquid kit.
I do have a badge in every tank. QT tanks included.
I did not take pictures of the puffer when he was sick. Do you mean you want to see pictures of him now?
I could not tell you if it was ich or velvet. All I can say for sure is that it came on quick and he was literally covered in white. Like flour fell on him.
The only bad effect of the copper is that he did not eat. That's why I took him out after 10 days. After 2 days in QT, he eats like a horse again.
Someone mentioned that the tank was highly stocked. I didn't think so. 4 inch puffer. 2 inch gramma. 3 inch blenny. 2 cardinals maybe an inch each. And a tiny watchman gobie. A baby. I thought that wasn't too bad for a q00 gallon tank. No?
I thought 30 days of copper in the DT would be sufficient. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
Again, thanks so much for the replies