Velvet treatment

[Raynn]

Hi,

Today, I noticed my male mandarin died. I found him on the bottom of the tank when I woke up. It is a big loose for me, as he was a part of mated pair, which has been spawning several times.

On 21.11.2023 I noticed ich breakdown in my tank. I have tried to manage it, and I haven't had any loose since.
Unfortunately, my powder blue tang is still fully covered with it. Also, other fishes occasionally have a few spots on their body, which disappear after few days.

I am not hundred percent sure I have an ich, or velvet, as I noticed some fishes fully covered with dusty looking white spots. I will try to take some pictures and upload them here when I get back home. I have seen some pictures of brooklynella, which looks similar to disease I have in my tank at the minute. It may be a few different parasites in the same tank, if that possible.


I decided to set up a quarantine tank. I will bring the tank tomorrow, but due to lack of space, I can only fit 35 gal tank with sump. I will set up another one, exactly the same size in my friend's house due to a few tangs swimming in my display tank, which I want to separate.

Is it ok if I put about 15 fishes including some tangs to 35 gal tank to quarantine them? I want to leave my display tank fallow for at least 76 days to kill all the parasites I have there. Can I leave my star fishes, shrimps, snails, urchins etc. while tank is left fallow?


Could you also recommend some of the medications to use in my quarantine tank please? I was thinking about Seachem Cupramine or Seachem Paraguard. Which one will be better? Should I use any other copper based medicine just different brand, or just go with Paraguard instead of copper? I also plan to do Hydrogen Peroxide bath before placing the fish in qt tank. Could you give me some advices about dipping the fish, qt them, and leaving display tank fallow for that many days please? I have about 110-120 different species of coral frags in there, should I leave my protein skimmer running? What's about UV sterilizer? Is it better to connect it to my qt tank instead of leaving it in display tank?


Thank you in advice for any advices.Attach files

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi,

Today, I noticed my male mandarin died. I found him on the bottom of the tank when I woke up. It is a big loose for me, as he was a part of mated pair, which has been spawning several times.

On 21.11.2023 I noticed ich breakdown in my tank. I have tried to manage it, and I haven't had any loose since.
Unfortunately, my powder blue tang is still fully covered with it. Also, other fishes occasionally have a few spots on their body, which disappear after few days.

I am not hundred percent sure I have an ich, or velvet, as I noticed some fishes fully covered with dusty looking white spots. I will try to take some pictures and upload them here when I get back home. I have seen some pictures of brooklynella, which looks similar to disease I have in my tank at the minute. It may be a few different parasites in the same tank, if that possible.


I decided to set up a quarantine tank. I will bring the tank tomorrow, but due to lack of space, I can only fit 35 gal tank with sump. I will set up another one, exactly the same size in my friend's house due to a few tangs swimming in my display tank, which I want to separate.

Is it ok if I put about 15 fishes including some tangs to 35 gal tank to quarantine them? I want to leave my display tank fallow for at least 76 days to kill all the parasites I have there. Can I leave my star fishes, shrimps, snails, urchins etc. while tank is left fallow?


Could you also recommend some of the medications to use in my quarantine tank please? I was thinking about Seachem Cupramine or Seachem Paraguard. Which one will be better? Should I use any other copper based medicine just different brand, or just go with Paraguard instead of copper? I also plan to do Hydrogen Peroxide bath before placing the fish in qt tank. Could you give me some advices about dipping the fish, qt them, and leaving display tank fallow for that many days please? I have about 110-120 different species of coral frags in there, should I leave my protein skimmer running? What's about UV sterilizer? Is it better to connect it to my qt tank instead of leaving it in display tank?


Thank you in advice for any advices.Attach files

Im a little confused as to what you want to accomplish. To start with - How did you conclude its velvet? Rarely does mandarin goby get this.
As for number of fish with potentially being infected, you want to split this up. Utilize additionalt tank or even container pictured below and split them up focusing on water quality and adding aeration with air stones.
I suspect velvet but will need to see clear video under white light intensiuty to confirm. Treatment will be tricky as some fish dont tolerate coppersafe whicch is what you'll need well so set one tank at 2.0 coppersafe level and other at 2.25-2.5. Powder blue is a candidate for velvet and ich.
Leave inverts in display tank and treat the fish in separate containers as just described. Treat for a for a FULL 30 days (do not interrupt this 30 day period) monitored by a reliable Copper Test kit such as Hanna Brand- No API brand. Also monitor Ammonia levels while in quarantine with a reliable test kit and add aeration during treatment using an air stone.
The display tank will have to be kept fishless (FALLOW) for 6-8 weeks to assure the existing parasites go through their life cycle without a host fish and die off
Also, skip Paraguard which is literally useless in treatment containing malachite green and really does not address the issues we encounter with disease.
You can run skimmer and UV will help with new cysts and what passes through the unit but Not erase what is existing

 

[Raynn]

Thank you for your reply. Please see the picture attached. I will try to make some videos and better pictures when I come back home after work.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you for your reply. Please see the picture attached. I will try to make some videos and better pictures when I come back home after work.

I can sort of see although dark in blue appears to be velvet but size suggests possible ich. Clearer pics will help

 

[MnFish1]

To me it seems to be ich, unless you're adding fish routinely - as they would all be dead by now. However as @vetteguy53081 said - you would need to treat all of the fish. You do not need a sump. You just need a tank with a sponge filter. With so many fish - you will have a hard time all in one - instead of the sump - I would buy 2 tanks and 2 sponge filters and treat them with copper for 30 days - and prazipro. Coppersafe or the equivalent would be recommended. The good news is that If it is velvet, the copper will take care of both. Hope this helps.

 

[Raynn]

I can’t really get another tank due to lack of space. I will have 2 same tanks, but one in my friend’s house. He has reef tank, he knows what to do, he will be adding medication and measure it with Hanna checker which I already have at home. I plan to set up another reef tank in my bedroom, this is why I decided to get a tank with sump, for the future purpose.
Can I use prazipro with copper in the same time?
I will update you with better pictures later on today.

 

[Leon.NYC]

Hey there, this looks more like velvet/brook. Based on the photo it’s too small and much To be ich. 15 fish in a 35 gallon is going to be tricky. You’ll have to commit to daily water changes (due to ammonia) & constantly checking the copper.
Note: the fish must remain in full copper the entire time. This includes any temporary holdings no matter how short the timeframe is. Also you can’t keep any rock or sand in the QT as it’ll absorb the copper.
All your inverts can remain in your tank, just make sure to periodically feed the tank so they have food. Wish you the best!

 

[Raynn]

Can I use biosphere media in quarantine tank? I want to leave bare bottom with some flower pots or any other stuff to give them place to hide. What would you recommend as a bio filtration?

 

[Raynn]

I woke up today, just to find another two fishes on the bottom of my tank. Powder blue and the one I can’t even identify. Probably female mandarin - it seems like she was laying under the rock for a while. I try to rush and urgently set up quarantine tank. Do you see anything suspicious on the powder blue tang’s body, any signs of velvet or any other thing?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi,

Today, I noticed my male mandarin died. I found him on the bottom of the tank when I woke up. It is a big loose for me, as he was a part of mated pair, which has been spawning several times.

On 21.11.2023 I noticed ich breakdown in my tank. I have tried to manage it, and I haven't had any loose since.
Unfortunately, my powder blue tang is still fully covered with it. Also, other fishes occasionally have a few spots on their body, which disappear after few days.

I am not hundred percent sure I have an ich, or velvet, as I noticed some fishes fully covered with dusty looking white spots. I will try to take some pictures and upload them here when I get back home. I have seen some pictures of brooklynella, which looks similar to disease I have in my tank at the minute. It may be a few different parasites in the same tank, if that possible.


I decided to set up a quarantine tank. I will bring the tank tomorrow, but due to lack of space, I can only fit 35 gal tank with sump. I will set up another one, exactly the same size in my friend's house due to a few tangs swimming in my display tank, which I want to separate.

Is it ok if I put about 15 fishes including some tangs to 35 gal tank to quarantine them? I want to leave my display tank fallow for at least 76 days to kill all the parasites I have there. Can I leave my star fishes, shrimps, snails, urchins etc. while tank is left fallow?


Could you also recommend some of the medications to use in my quarantine tank please? I was thinking about Seachem Cupramine or Seachem Paraguard. Which one will be better? Should I use any other copper based medicine just different brand, or just go with Paraguard instead of copper? I also plan to do Hydrogen Peroxide bath before placing the fish in qt tank. Could you give me some advices about dipping the fish, qt them, and leaving display tank fallow for that many days please? I have about 110-120 different species of coral frags in there, should I leave my protein skimmer running? What's about UV sterilizer? Is it better to connect it to my qt tank instead of leaving it in display tank?


Thank you in advice for any advices.Attach files

That looks like ich, not velvet.

You may have difficulty holding all the fish in a 35 gallon tank for the 60 days your tank needs to be left with just invertebrates in it. If your main tank has some filter media that does not have calcium in it, you can use that in your treatment tank - to jump start the beneficial bacterial cycle. I would use Coppersafe at 2.25 ppm for 30 days to treat the fish.

Now - how many corals do you have? Are the fish more valuable than your coral and invertebrates? If so, you might consider moving all of the invertebrates to the new tank and leaving the fish in the main tank and treat them with hyposalinity for 30 days. Then, you bring the salinity back up and hold the fish alone for a few more weeks and move the invertebrates back in.

Jay

 

[Raynn]

Hi Jay,


I have about 110-120 different frags in my tank. They are worth a few times more than my fish stock. I am not sure I can move all my corals to 35 gal tank and keep water parameters stable, as I have a few of really sensitive corals there.
Are you sure it’s not a velvet? I have lost 3 fishes in last 2 days.

 

[JayM]

Hi Jay,


I have about 110-120 different frags in my tank. They are worth a few times more than my fish stock. I am not sure I can move all my corals to 35 gal tank and keep water parameters stable, as I have a few of really sensitive corals there.
Are you sure it’s not a velvet? I have lost 3 fishes in last 2 days.

I know it’s not what you want to hear, but if you don’t know ich or velvet by now - you probably won’t ever know.

The good news is that fallow period and treatment are essentially the same.

I’m at around day 35 with treatment/fallow for symptoms like you’re experiencing. I lost a total of 7 fish in less than a week with symptoms that most closely matched ich. Six survived and are currently doing well in hospital/QT tank.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi Jay,


I have about 110-120 different frags in my tank. They are worth a few times more than my fish stock. I am not sure I can move all my corals to 35 gal tank and keep water parameters stable, as I have a few of really sensitive corals there.
Are you sure it’s not a velvet? I have lost 3 fishes in last 2 days.

Yeah - too many corals to move then.

True velvet causes rapid breathing as the main symptom. You can’t really see any spots, maybe a fine flour like dust at the very end.

If you see salt grain sized spots that grow in number until they merge together that is ich. With ich, you don’t see rapid breathing until the very end.

Copper works for both issues, hypo doesn’t work on velvet

 

[Raynn]

I am setting two 35 gal qt tanks now. Will go fallow for 76 days in my display. Will it kill both, ich, and velvet parasites? Just in case I have both. Should I do anything with my display tank when left fallow?
Is coppersafe the best medicine to use in my qt tanks? Would you recommend any other brands?
What else should I do while my fishes will be in qt tank? Raise the temperature in my display to quicker kill all the parasites?
Thank you for advices.

Rayn

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I am setting two 35 gal qt tanks now. Will go fallow for 76 days in my display. Will it kill both, ich, and velvet parasites? Just in case I have both. Should I do anything with my display tank when left fallow?
Is coppersafe the best medicine to use in my qt tanks? Would you recommend any other brands?
What else should I do while my fishes will be in qt tank? Raise the temperature in my display to quicker kill all the parasites?
Thank you for advices.

Rayn

Fallow for 60 days works for all external fish parasites. Raising the water temperature to 81 makes the process work better, but only if your corals can tolerate that.

Coppersafe is the easiest to use and is the safest. Copper power is essentially the same product. Both are dosed at 2.25 ppm. The Hanna HR checker is the best way to measure it.

Do NOT raise the temperature in the treatment tank itself, that just makes the disease worse for the fish.

Jay

 

[Raynn]

Thank you Jay, do u know what’s the maximum temperature in mixed reef for corals?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thank you Jay, do u know what’s the maximum temperature in mixed reef for corals?

It depends on how adapted the corals have been to higher temperatures, as well as some variability between species. When in doubt, probably stay below 80.