ick?

[greg0385]

So my 10 green chromis has now become 5 and i have a purple pseudochromis thats barley hanging on. 4 out 5 chromis that died, started out with a scratched side that within 48hours had went to down to raw flesh til the point that couldnt swim well.

Now my purple pseudo has a milk mustache and it seems to be getting worse.

Anything i can do to help save my fish?

 

[Aquaph8]

Not sure that is ich. Hard to tell, but could be velvet. Either one is best treated with copper in a separate/cycled QT tank.

 

[MableShwartz]

I'm not exactly sure what that is. Are there white spots on the fins? What're your water perimeters? Saltwater Aquarium Fish Disease Trouble Shooter this is a site that helps trouble shoot your disease. Hope it helps! Good luck!

 

[greg0385]

No spots on fins just around mouth. Looks like flaky skin not fluffy cotton balls.

I did a water test 10mins ago and tomorrow is water change day so this is the worse of worse.
All API test
ammonia 0ppm-.25ppm pending how you hold to the light but looks closer to 0 color.
PH- 7.8-8.0 colors didnt match either one but in that range.
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate-5-10ppm hard to match color exactly
phosphate-0.0
Temp-78.5(DT), 79.1(sump)

 

[greg0385]

Uronema is what i have read to be the problem with the chromis dieing. Had 10 a month ago, now down to 4. Was 5 for the longest until 4days ago one came up missing.

Now i have to figure how to treat and most important is buying frags at the frag swap next month.

Any suggestions?

 

[greg0385]

Bump!!! And i have type error above, i want to treat for the bacteria but most treatment involve copper and dont want to hinder me buying frags next month. Sorry i want my cake and eat it too!

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

I had a white spot problem about a month and a half ago so I went and got a cheap 20 gallon aquarium kit and put all my fish in it. I treated with copper and methylene blue for the entire time. My fish have been back in my display tank for a week and have not showed any signs of white spot. Cycling a quarantine tank then using copper does sound right because copper kills the bacteria I'm pretty sure. If I'm wrong please correct me.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

If its Uronema I believe Malachite green will treat it but i have never had that problem.

 

[greg0385]

Will that have a ill effect on snails and corals?

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

Yes, it has to be give in a quarantine tank. Most medicines are applied that way because they will kill corals, smells,shrimp, an on.

 

[greg0385]

How do you go about getting rid of the bacteria in the DT? I only have 6-10 snails and 4 chromis. No corals as of yet but in the next month that will all change. So i could treat the DT if needed before adding more fish,invert and corals.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

I'm not sure but dosing your tank will kill the bacteria and wouldnt be able to add corals. My tank was without fish for six weeks to get rid of white spot which is marine ick. Maybe that would work for you. Maybe someone else could tell you different.

 

[greg0385]

From what i read about Uronema is that it can live without fish and can live through hypo. Hopefully im over reactting and it was just chromis being chromis and there isnt a problem. I just hate buying more fish to find out that its still around. The four chromis i have left all look great as the 6 that died did before getting a red rash like scratch on there sides. Its been 2wks since i have seen signs of the problem.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

I would wait and see what happens. They could have had something else wrong that does have anything to with it. If nothing else surfaces then buy a few more chromis since they are cheap. But I would still advise getting a quarantine tank so you can catch this kind of stuff before it gets in the display. I know from experience. I bought a angelfish that could have took out $300 in fish that was already in my tank.

 

[greg0385]

I have been looking for 2-20 gallon tanks, one for a qt for corals and the other for fish. If i put them end to end them if im right they will be 4ft long so i could put 48" t5s over them.

Just an idea, any advice you can give would help.

 

[reeffirstaid]

Quarantine (QT) is one of the only ways to prevent parasites from entering your aquarium. The bad news is once external parasites are present in your main aquarium they are tough to eradicate. My recommendation would be to establish a QT tank and perhaps move all your fish into that. Here you can administer copper though you will need a copper test. I recommend Seachem Cupramine. You want a level of around .5 ppm. Start slow and gradually build up. Then let your main tank run fallow for a minimum of 8 weeks, that should be enough time for the parasites to have diminished without finding a new host. Then you can start a normal QT regimine which should help prevent other parasites in the future.

 

[Dowtish]

Greg, if you plan to treat your fish at all, I would highly suggest doing it in a seperate tank. No matter if the treatment is considered reef safe, your rocks are going to soak it up, and you have a lot of water to be dealing with as well. That way the smaller tank won't have rock to soak up the medication, and will be much more effective. Find you a 10 or 20 gallon tank, and get it cycled as quick as possible. You can get a sponge and out it in your sump to gather up bacteria, and use it to cycle the tank. It will take about 2 weeks to really be effective. If you don't have 2 weeks, be prepared to water changes.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

 

[greg0385]

The issue is reading about Uronema is that it doesnt need fish to live. Im really hope its not a bacteria and it was just chromis being chromis.

The funny/sad thing is when i had a 55gallon tank(first tank) it was healthy and i did everything wrong. I mix salt right into the tank, no heater, no top off.

Now with this tank im doing everything i can do right and babysit this one and im already having problems.