Chloroquine phosphate

[pecan2phat]

I am using the ammonia alert badge.
I thought by using ceramic rings (large amount) from the DT coupled with some Marine pure spheres that this would negate the entire cycling aspect. The media has been in the DT for months. Granted I did add 13 fish to the QT, I thought the established bio-media could handle it. They are in a RSM250 which has a measured 59 gallons of actual water volume.
I setup the QT 2 days prior of getting all the fish out of the DT. I added bottled bacteria and the established bio-media 24 hours after newly mixed saltwater, then waited 2 days, added 240 mg of CP before pulling the fish out of the DT. First 2 days, alert badge was yellow, but on the 3rd to 5th day, it was on the alert color range. Since day 3 to 5, I have been adding Prime every 12 hours at the rate of 6 mls for the 59g of QT water. When this did not bring the alert badge back to yellow, I started adding bottled bacteria on day 4 and 5 but it hasn't changed the alert badge back to yellow.
Should I continue the dosage of Prime and bacteria? Fish look fine so far, no fatalities.

 

[Humblefish]

Should I continue the dosage of Prime and bacteria? Fish look fine so far, no fatalities.

Prime is fine to use with CP, but I would seed the bacteria in a bucket with non-medicated water. Maybe some additional ceramic rings? Most meds kill nitrifying bacteria once it hits the water, but they are better protected once entrenched in bio-media.

 

[pecan2phat]

Thanks Humblefish, I'll go ahead and do that.

 

[psionicdragon]

@Humblefish hows the testing going on the degradation of cp over time?

 

[Humblefish]

@Humblefish hows the testing going on the degradation of cp over time?

Collecting samples now to send to @Christoph

 

[psionicdragon]

trying to think this logically and want to share my thoughts.

If we know that api ammonia test kit gives a false reading because of cp, can’t we use this as a way to test whether or not there is cp in the tank?

 

[Humblefish]

trying to think this logically and want to share my thoughts.

If we know that api ammonia test kit gives a false reading because of cp, can’t we use this as a way to test whether or not there is cp in the tank?

It's not just a matter of whether or not CP is in the tank. It's knowing when the concentration might drop below therapeutic (40mg/gal) due to biodegradation/decomposition. At which point either more CP needs to be added, or the QT needs to be sterilized in order to hit the reset button on everything. I'm hoping to "map out" a rough timeline of when to expect this to happen from a newly setup QT.

 

[pecan2phat]

I noticed that at around the 11~12 day mark, fish have lost quite a bit of their appetite.
Is this a concern and should any action be taken?

 

[Humblefish]

I noticed that at around the 11~12 day mark, fish have lost quite a bit of their appetite.
Is this a concern and should any action be taken?

Any other meds in the water? Or just CP?

 

[pecan2phat]

Just CP. Was planning the General Cure on day 30.

 

[Humblefish]

Just CP. Was planning the General Cure on day 30.

It is odd for CP to cause appetite suppression. What dosage are you treating at? Is the water turning cloudy at all??

 

[pecan2phat]

I used 240 mg for 59 actual gallons of water.
The water was slightly cloudy for the first 7~9 days but has been clear for the past 4 days. I was fighting ammonia since day 3 and finally have it under control in the last day or so after utilizing the Turbo Start 900. While the ammonia was only at the alert stage on the badge, it was still present. I tried 3 different bacteria daily along with 2x daily Prime additions. Only the Turbo Start actually worked after 24~36 hours.

 

[Humblefish]

I used 240 mg for 59 actual gallons of water.

This can’t be right, as that would only be (roughly) 4.0 mg/gal. You must mean you dosed 2.4 grams (40 mg/gal).

 

[pecan2phat]

Yes sorry, it's 2.4 grams.

 

[Humblefish]

Yes sorry, it's 2.4 grams.

40mg/gal CP shouldn’t be causing appetite suppression unless you were treating wrasses, anthias or a Hippo Tang (all can be intolerant to the medication).

 

[pecan2phat]

I had badly infected fish scratching and showing visible signs of Ich and possibly flukes so I chose to do the CP route 1st.
I was quite amazed how well it worked. By day 4~5, no visible attachment and scratching stopped except for a leopard wrasse. I took a chance and added a small tupperware of sand so that she does not damage her mouth from trying to dive into the glass bottom. Is it possible that the very small amount of sand caused her slower reaction to the CP whereas everyone looks spotless and have stopped scratching for a week now?
It's day 14 today, wondering if I can start taking some of the CP out via a small water change and adding carbon to see if this corrects the appetite suppression before I start the GC treatment.

 

[pecan2phat]

There are a bunch of Fairy wrasses, one Anthias, hate to say but also 2 Pseudocheilinus wrasses ( I didn't have another QT for copper readily available) and a few tangs.
The appetite suppression has affected everyone though and it didn't happen all at once. Probably started with a few on day 8 and the rest of the herd by day 11. They still eat a little but no way near what they were initially.

 

[pecan2phat]

Sorry for the overload Humblefish but I want to convey as much info as possible.
PH has dropped significantly. When the QT was started, the PH was 8.2. I did not want to raise it with PH buffers due to ammonia being present. It's currently sitting at 7.5, would this have an effect on the appetite suppression?

 

[Humblefish]

It's day 14 today

If the fish have been in full therapeutic CP for 14 days, then the best option would be to transfer them into an observation tank at least 10 feet away. Nothing can be reused from your QTs to setup this observation tank.

 

[lewis.maryann08]

Do scooter blenny get parasites?