What does this look like?

[Sashaka]

Sorry. Even in the glass the fish would not hold still for a picture well. The fish is in the formalin already. It's pretty sick, so I don't expect it to make it. It took me all day to catch the fish. Based on your thinking, I'll try antibiotics next then...if he survives the dip. I'm watching closely..it's right by my computer in a bowl with an air stone and small heater. I was worried about aerosol poisoning from the Formalin, so I have it covered with paper towels and an oversized plastic bag. Is that good enough to protect myself? I don't have a mask.

So far...so good in the dip. Thanks EmdeReef

 

[EmdeReef]

Sorry for your problems and understand it can be tough to take good pics. We can only suggest potential causes so you’ll have to decide what it resembles most.

Hopefully the tang will pull through. It’s good as long as it’s eating. Good luck!

 

[Big G]

I was worried about aerosol poisoning from the Formalin, so I have it covered with paper towels and an oversized plastic bag. Is that good enough to protect myself? I don't have a mask.

Gloves; if no gloves put plastic bags over your hands. Wear long sleeves. Pull a Tee shirt up over your nose. Wear glasses for splashing. Wash all clothing after. Rinse hands, arms and face with cold water and soap first. Then again with warm water and soap. I know, the stuff makes me nervous too.

 

[Humblefish]

Do you have acriflavine or Ruby Reef Rally?

After the formalin bath, performing a 90 min bath using either one of those would probably be useful before the fish gets treated with antibiotics in QT.

I don't have to tell you though that you're facing an uphill battle here.

 

[Sashaka]

If it's bacterial or fungal I don't think formalin is the way to go.

If I understood everyone right, the recommendation yesterday was to treat for a combination of Brook and bacterial infection. The formalin dip is done. The fish seemed to weather 50 minutes well. It's in a 3 gal sick tank now. It's very small.

The white cottony growths are less pronounced after the dip, but have changed to a more coppery color now after the dip. Nothing dropped off the fish that I can tell during the dip.

The fish is very tiny, so the 3 gal sick tank is good (I think) for the round of meds recommended: Kanaplex + Furan-2 + Metroplex. I only dosed the food with these meds last time, so I'll dose the water in the tank and the food this time. The little 3 gal should be easy to do frequent water changes. The fish seems pretty traumatized, so I think I'll add meds tomorrow, that's if the fish makes it through the night.

Thanks for your advice. Sick tank pics attached.

 

[Sashaka]

Do you have acriflavine or Ruby Reef Rally?

I don't have Acriflavine, but I am dosing the 180gal with Ruby Reef Rally now, the tank the fish came out of, so yes, I can dip tomorrow before I add the antibiotics. Thanks for the tip! I wouldn't have thought of dipping with the Rally on my own.

 

[Sashaka]

Have you compared vs. pics of lympho now that you mention it looks like cotton? Bacterial and fungal infections can cause similar growths as well.
If it's bacterial or fungal I don't think formalin is the way to go.

Yes, I thought of that too, but the fish is so thin, it hardly eats, and from what I can tell from the research (I could be wrong), the virus Lympho does not usually suppress appetite. Nothing is ruled out, though. The other fish are itching, but they don't show any visible signs of disease. I wish I had a better camera so I could show pics of all the other fish...even get a short video up to show the frequency of the fish itching. They are all fat as I feed more than someone with coral in the tank.

 

[Sashaka]

Update: Hippo made it through the night. It spent the day after dip yesterday on its side in the sick tank. This morning it is upright but spending all its time at the bottom...not swimming around much. I tried flakes, frozen, and pellet, but I did not see it eat. I'm hoping it took a nibble when I wasn't looking and is just adjusting to the new digs. Crossing fingers and continuing with the plan to dip in Rally and then medicate with antibiotics later this afternoon.

 

[4FordFamily]

Don’t feed the fish while it’s not eating without removing excess food quickly, especially in a small qt.

Antibiotics will be needed as this fish appears to have infected open wounds.

 

[Sashaka]

Thanks 4FordFamily. I use a pool water blaster (a separate one for each tank) to suck out uneaten food. They are cheap (I've gotten them on sale for $1.00 before and I stock up because they are cheap and don't last forever). They work well for quick siphoning jobs. They also work well for stirring sand to feed coral, blowing rock to remove sediment or small particle of food when cleaning the tank and target feeding corals and fish. I have a food wand but prefer to use the water blaster to target feed because the food wand opening is so small, larger food particles cannot be used in it. The water blaster handles larger pieces well. I've used them for several years now. Anyone else do this or something similar?


Walmart sells a 5 pack for 3.88, but I've seen them sold in other stores as well. https://www.walmart.com/ip/WATER-BL...5035&wl11=online&wl12=148750943&wl13=&veh=sem

 

[Big G]

Thanks 4FordFamily. I use a pool water blaster (a separate one for each tank) to suck out uneaten food. They are cheap (I've gotten them on sale for $1.00 before and I stock up because they are cheap and don't last forever). They work well for quick siphoning jobs. They also work well for stirring sand to feed coral, blowing rock to remove sediment or small particle of food when cleaning the tank and target feeding corals and fish. I have a food wand but prefer to use the water blaster to target feed because the food wand opening is so small, larger food particles cannot be used in it. The water blaster handles larger pieces well. I've used them for several years now. Anyone else do this or something similar?


Walmart sells a 5 pack for 3.88, but I've seen them sold in other stores as well. https://www.walmart.com/ip/WATER-BL...5035&wl11=online&wl12=148750943&wl13=&veh=sem

+1 ^^^ I like it. Very clever.
Can you get some Black worms or live brine shrimp for your fish. Live food works wonders. I like to cultivate White worms. Much easier to take care of and you don't need to keep them in the refrigerator.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/give-your-white-worms-a-bath.350754/#post-4365170

 

[Sashaka]

Can you get some Black worms or live brine shrimp for your fish. Live food works wonders. I like to cultivate White worms. Much easier to take care of and you don't need to keep them in the refrigerator.

I've always wanted to try culturing black or white worms for my fish, but I work such late and screwy hours, I am afraid I'd have a crash every week! The process sounds time consuming, that "one more thing to do" in an already overworked fish routine schedule, but maybe I'll try it. I must have missed where it said how the worms are harvested. How do you clean your cultures before feeding? I assume one just rinses and feeds. Wouldn't one have to worry about fungus or bacteria from the soil getting into our tanks with just a rinse?

BTW: I really like Rockslide123's suggestion, "I put them in a plastic test tube with a couple of tiny holes drilled in the bottom and hang it in the water. It takes a couple of hours for them all to work their way out so makes a nice slow feeder." I bet that would work for any live food!

 

[Sashaka]

Well...another power outage! Aren't I lucky! I was out for 5 days when the first storm hit, and hour when the second storm hit, and now I'm out again today. Thank goodness for the generator! Too bad most of my house runs on 220...electric heat, digital fridge, etc. Sigh! The 180 gal, 29 gal, and 3 gal sick tank are all good though. And at least I had dipped and medicated the 3 gal before the lights went out so I had time to sit and observe for a bit. Unfortunately, the BioCube with my corals is one of the bedroom tanks! If any of you reefers are God fearing men or women, pray God the lights come back on soon. They've been out an hour plus now.

Hum... come to think of it... It was probably, likely, or possible that the stress of the generator being turned on and off three or four times a day to refill it during the first outage that stressed my Hippo so much the pathogen he's fighting got the better of his natural immune system. That and being new to a tank that basically has not had a working skimmer since it was set up in Dec. (See my other thread about my Skimmer problems on this tank. I plan to post my build thread, but I've had so many issues, who would want to read it!) Frequent water changes are how I've kept up with water quality, but it's expensive on such a big tank.

 

[Big G]

I've always wanted to try culturing black or white worms for my fish, but I work such late and screwy hours, I am afraid I'd have a crash every week! The process sounds time consuming, that "one more thing to do" in an already overworked fish routine schedule, but maybe I'll try it. I must have missed where it said how the worms are harvested. How do you clean your cultures before feeding? I assume one just rinses and feeds. Wouldn't one have to worry about fungus or bacteria from the soil getting into our tanks with just a rinse?

BTW: I really like Rockslide123's suggestion, "I put them in a plastic test tube with a couple of tiny holes drilled in the bottom and hang it in the water. It takes a couple of hours for them all to work their way out so makes a nice slow feeder." I bet that would work for any live food!

White worms a very easy and perfect for a lazy guy like me You don't have to refrigerate them; I just keep them out in the garage. I put mine into a plastic shoe box with some breather holes punched in the sides. Add planting soil & the white worms. I use a spray bottle to moisten the soil twice a week and I feed the worms once a week with a half piece of whole grain bread with yogurt on one side. Place the bread/yogurt side down against the soil. Dampen. That's it. Takes about a month to get a thriving box full of worms going. PaulB's thread explains it much better than me. The fish love the worms. Happy and fat.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/give-your-white-worms-a-bath.350754/#post-4365170

Here's where I got my worms. Cheap and quick: https://madriverseeds.ecrater.com/c/1780299/other-items

 

[Sashaka]

Here's where I got my worms. Cheap and quick

Ok. I'm sold. For $10 and no shipping costs, I will place an order and try to culture some white worms. Do you check the PH of the potting soil you get? If so how? Maybe the potting soil indicates on the bag what the PH is? Thanks.

 

[Sashaka]

Update on Hippo tang: Day 3 . Complete water change, a little Prime, and 2nd dose of Kanaplex + Furan-2 + Metroplex.

Tang is not hiding today. The pics do not show up the white patches as much as they actually are, but I think they are less pronounced on body and nose of fish. Now that there are fewer white patches, I can see tiny black spots on body. I'm not sure if it is black spot or just the damage done by whatever the fish is fighting.

I did not see it eat, but it is still alive, so I'm still crossing my fingers.

 

[Sashaka]

Day 4:

White patches still the same. I can't get a good picture, but they are the most pronounced in the spot near the base of the tail and the nose area...visible in previous blurry pics. The left side of body is covered worse than the right side of body, too.

Saw tang picking at food today. I'm not sure how much it's eating, but I'm hoping that the fact that it is tasting food and maybe nibbling again is a good sign. ;Happy

 

[Sashaka]

Day 5: Complete water change for the 3 gal sick tank again. Added a little Prime and 3rd dose of Kanaplex + Furan-2 + Metroplex. Tang is alert and watchful when I'm near the tank now; it does not go into immediate hiding like did the first day in the sick tank. According to Humblefish's thread https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-index.247573/ and all the good advice from R2R responders, if the problem is ick or velvet, the Formalin dip should have helped. If it's brook or Uronema, the Metroplex it likely helping. I remain hopeful to save this fish.

In the MD, the largest banner fish is showing visible signs of of illness now. It's barely visible, like a fine sprinkling of white dots on the body, but it's there. I can only see it on the fish when it hits the light just right. I've looked at so many pictures to try to id, my mind is reeling, and I'm still not sure. All I know at this point is I'm fairly certain the problem came in on the snails I added to the tank without quarantining.

Now with a visible sign of illness and not just scratching on objects in the tank, I can't wait and continue the current course of treatments using the Kick Ick and Rally. Instead, I removed as many snails as I could find (two turbos still in tank somewhere that I couldn't locate and possibly a few cerith snails that the dragon wrasse missed). I then added CopperPower to the tank to support the fish until I have a day off of work to break down the tank - again.

Here's the plan...

I will leave all fish right in the 180 and treat them there (too many fish to put into separate sick tanks at this point). I'll remove all rocks, sand, decorations, etc., on my next day off and put them in the empty 75 gallon. At this point, I will bleach the heck out of everything. I'll run the 75 gallon until bleach does not register during testing for ammonia anymore, and then I'll do a complete water change and dose liberally with water purifier. I'll run a circulation pump and an air stone to recycle everything right in the 75 gal tank. Once everything is fully cycled again, and after a minimum of at least 72 days, I'll transfer everything back to the 180 gal. The fish will be treated in the bare 180 gal with some PVC pipe for hiding while the rock and decorations are recycling.

I have some questions. Will the sand clean up enough in the bleach bath to reuse? I have so much of it. I hate to throw it all away, but if you guys/gals think I should....that's what I'll do.

Also, is there a way to keep the 180 cycled without compromising treatment? I can't use Prime with CopperPower. I wish I could just treat with CP in the tank instead of CopperPower, but I have too many wrasses.

Thoughts or suggestions, please. Many thanks for your support!