White spot about to wipe my fish out

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Deltec
Below is my "Salvage Protocol" for Marine Velvet Disease. Don't worry if you can't find all of the meds at your LFS (ex. Methylene Blue, formalin). Just do the best you can/use whatever you have on hand. For example, still do the FW dip even if you can't locate Methylene Blue ... and use one of the alternative formalin meds I listed in lieu of Formalin-MS, or skip that step altogether if you can't find formalin at all.

Also, you will be using copper (preferably Cupramine) in place of Chloroquine phosphate.

  • Give an infected specimen a 5 min FW dip, adding Methylene Blue at double the recommended dosage. I will use RODI water for the dip, temp & pH matching the water the fish is coming from. You can squirt a little freshly mixed SW into the dip just before the fish goes in, to help bring the pH up. I will also aerate the water heavily for at least 30 minutes prior to doing the dip, then discontinue aeration while performing the dip.
  • Following the FW dip, the fish will immediately get a formalin bath (using Formalin-MS) for 30-45 mins. The bath will be done in a large GLASS bowl or container, using freshly mixed SW aerated heavily for at least 30 minutes prior. SG/temp matched and aeration running heavily throughout the duration of the bath. The fish should be placed in a premixed bath solution. DO NOT add more formalin after the fish is already in the bath.
  • Following the bath, the fish will be placed in a QT pre-dosed with Chloroquine phosphate (CP) at a rate of 60mg/gal. Provide heavy gas exchange in this QT by pointing a powerhead or two towards the surface. Fish will be treated with CP for 4 weeks.
  • If a secondary bacterial infection arises (very common in fish with velvet), Furan-2 may be used. Also, the powder form of metronidazole and praziquantel may be used in conjunction with CP, if needed.
  • It is imperative that the temp remains constant every step of the way. From the tank the fish is coming from, to the CP QT he ultimately goes into. And every step in-between. It is also important that SG matches; from the tank the fish is coming from, to the formalin bath water, to the CP QT. Ensuring this and providing plenty of O2 reduces stress on the fish during this traumatic process he has to go thru.
 
Thanks again you've been a MASSIVE help i didn't make my lfs in time so I'm praying they will be ok until the morning and my lfs said bring all my fish down and they will put them in QT for me so I will be waiting at the door with my fish bang on opening time this now gives me time to set up my QT properly as ive just got my hands on a 4x2x2 for QT if ever they need it again
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
you have a very good lfs there offering to help you with qt. Most lfs doesn't even have a qt but they will encourage you to qt them when you get home.
 
I get pretty much everything from there got a loyalty card etc spent a fair bit with them and they are based in a warehouse the tanks in there are unreal they have loads and a fair few qt tanks they have been really good to me to be fair, and they're making my 6ft baby so that's probably swung things in my favour.
 
BRS
How come it's taking a while for your posts to come up? I can't see what you've wrote but had a notification that you've commented?
 
leecasey82 said:
How come it's taking a while for your posts to come up? I can't see what you've wrote but had a notification that you've commented?
Click to expand...

Not sure. I know they just did a major software upgrade on here, so the site is probably experiencing minor kinks.
 
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Tidal Gardens
OK so the photo with your Kole Tang does not look like velvet to me, it looks like a very bad bout of ich. Over time, ich will suck nourishment out of the fish (and also hinder their will to eat) rendering them very thin. Velvet often has a different appearance, in my experience. I've had both. Those spots look far too large and dispersed such that I think it is ich. Humblefish is more of an expert than I, but just my .02.

That said, it should not really change what Humblefish has suggested you do to treat. If ich is that bad in your system, it is a very quick killer and immediate action is/was necessary anyhow.

Good luck!

P.S. I just had a strain of velvet wipe out my angels in my angel tank one by one. One day they were eating and healthy, the next day hiding and somewhat lethargic (not eating), and the next dead as a doornail. There would be a milky film on them when they died (which does not mean a whole lot because dead fish can often get nasty anyway) but I never suspected velvet. There were no spots, anywhere, on any of the angels. It took my hippo tang in the same fashion. Fortunately and unfortunately, my Chevron tang I added showed classic velvety appearance and very small spots, and it clicked. This strain was deadly, very fast-acting (3-5 days alive max for each fish), and VERY difficult to diagnose. I feel stupid for not knowing before, but until the Chevron "took one for the team", it was almost impossible to identify until him.

I have had velvet strains in the past that do not show velvety appearance, milky covering on badly affected fish, but rather many (much smaller) spots. Still very deadly, but at least I knew what I was dealing with.

Good luck to you.
 
Your last post has just come up but nothing after answering if I was in the uk! You might be right could be the upgrade
 
3fordfamily said:
OK so the photo with your Kole Tang does not look like velvet to me, it looks like a very bad bout of ich. Over time, ich will suck nourishment out of the fish (and also hinder their will to eat) rendering them very thin. Velvet often has a different appearance, in my experience. I've had both. Those spots look far too large and dispersed such that I think it is ich. Humblefish is more of an expert than I, but just my .02.

That said, it should not really change what Humblefish has suggested you do to treat. If ich is that bad in your system, it is a very quick killer and immediate action is/was necessary anyhow.

Good luck!

P.S. I just had a strain of velvet wipe out my angels in my angel tank one by one. One day they were eating and healthy, the next day hiding and somewhat lethargic (not eating), and the next dead as a doornail. There would be a milky film on them when they died (which does not mean a whole lot because dead fish can often get nasty anyway) but I never suspected velvet. There were no spots, anywhere, on any of the angels. It took my hippo tang in the same fashion. Fortunately and unfortunately, my Chevron tang I added showed classic velvety appearance and very small spots, and it clicked. This strain was deadly, very fast-acting (3-5 days alive max for each fish), and VERY difficult to diagnose. I feel stupid for not knowing before, but until the Chevron "took one for the team", it was almost impossible to identify until him.

I have had velvet strains in the past that do not show velvety appearance, milky covering on badly affected fish, but rather many (much smaller) spots. Still very deadly, but at least I knew what I was dealing with.

Good luck to you.
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Thank you I'm constant monitoring breathing and my Lfs seems to think its ich but will know for certain tomorrow if they survive the night
 
Nutramar Foods
If they survive the night that doesn't necessarily rule out velvet but I still stand by my shaky diagnosis lol
 
Hey you could be right I've not a clue I've never had this problem or looked into it. I will let you know the outcome tomorrow
 
I'm sorta thinking that fish has both...
 
WWC
leecasey82 said:
Getting right on my **** this ws now! Been treating it with medic from poly cell and it says switch your uv off so did and now the ws has spread into my chevron tang like crazy and my potters angel has died. Just rang my lfs and they said medic won't really work and that my uv bring switched off has probably caused the ws to spread. I don't know what to do and it looks like my tank is about to be wiped out!
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OMG! I'm sorry. Quarantine the fish. Put the corals in a separate hospital tank and hope for the best. Redo the system. Tears the fish in a quarantine tank. Maybe your LFS will give you some of their used filter media so you won't have to recycle. Fingers crossed, Shahin Ruyani.
 
Nutramar Foods
Don't use any lfs media unless you're going to put it in a tank with cupramine or something - sure to introduce parasites. The sheer volume of fish through their systems mean their systems are just littered with trouble
 
3fordfamily said:
Don't use any lfs media unless you're going to put it in a tank with cupramine or something - sure to introduce parasites. The sheer volume of fish through their systems mean their systems are just littered with trouble
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Well my Lfs are going to QT them for me for72 days in that time my tank will have been left fallow long enough and my 6ft will nearly be up and running so will use old tank and water for QT once emptied is my plan I think and just pray my fish pull through
 

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