Vibrio - do I need to tear apart the tank?

[SueAndHerZoo]

I have a tank that was home to only erectus seashorses, corals, and a few peppermint shrimp. After a major tank re-aquascaping and cleaning, I started losing my ponies very quickly. I now understand this was due to me stirring things up so lesson learned.

The few that are still alive have been in a hospital tank for the past couple of weeks - I'm trying to salvage them. My question is about what to do with the tank they were in? Do I have to tear it apart and sterilize everything and start fresh with new rock and a cycle? Or can I just keep doing large water changes and keep running the UV sterilizer I just put in? From the little I've been able to find on vibrio, it pretty much exists in most tanks and lies dormant but attacks when the livestock are stressed or injured. I really don't want to start fresh with this tank - I've invested a fortune in it and the corals are still doing really well. If I have to tear it apart, I probably won't put it back together again.
Sue

 

[Jay Hemdal]

SueAndHerZoo Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

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• Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:
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[Jay Hemdal]

I have a tank that was home to only erectus seashorses, corals, and a few peppermint shrimp. After a major tank re-aquascaping and cleaning, I started losing my ponies very quickly. I now understand this was due to me stirring things up so lesson learned.

The few that are still alive have been in a hospital tank for the past couple of weeks - I'm trying to salvage them. My question is about what to do with the tank they were in? Do I have to tear it apart and sterilize everything and start fresh with new rock and a cycle? Or can I just keep doing large water changes and keep running the UV sterilizer I just put in? From the little I've been able to find on vibrio, it pretty much exists in most tanks and lies dormant but attacks when the livestock are stressed or injured. I really don't want to start fresh with this tank - I've invested a fortune in it and the corals are still doing really well. If I have to tear it apart, I probably won't put it back together again.
Sue

The various Vibrios are mostly ubiquitous, they are found in all aquariums. Environmental stressors can cause them to be pathogenic with some fish, including seahorses.

A strong UV can help limit their numbers free floating in the water.

No point in trying to sterilize the tank, these will just get reintroduced?

How did you confirm it was a vibrio?

 

[MnFish1]

The various Vibrios are mostly ubiquitous, they are found in all aquariums. Environmental stressors can cause them to be pathogenic with some fish, including seahorses.

A strong UV can help limit their numbers free floating in the water.

No point in trying to sterilize the tank, these will just get reintroduced?

How did you confirm it was a vibrio?

Another comment - agree with above - it would suggest to me that you be certain to wear gloves especially if you have a cut, etc. I'm assuming you used some DNA service - they should be able to tell you the specific vibrio. If it is vibrio - a sulfa drug should be good.

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

The various Vibrios are mostly ubiquitous, they are found in all aquariums. Environmental stressors can cause them to be pathogenic with some fish, including seahorses.

A strong UV can help limit their numbers free floating in the water.

No point in trying to sterilize the tank, these will just get reintroduced?

How did you confirm it was a vibrio?

Never have confirmed it was vibrio so it may not be, but something definitely is eroding their flesh and killing them. You guys had looked at a few photos of my ponies in this thread and had used the term vibrio but no, I can't confirm that it is. Just not sure what to do about the tank they were in. Right now it's just home to corals, peppermint shrimp, and a sea hare.

Diagnosis?

Hi guys. I noticed one of my seahorses had what looked like gas bubble disease a few days ago. I put her in a hospital tank with Diamox, but I lost her yesterday. Today I found two dead seahorses in my seahorse tank. You can see obvious skin discoloration on one but the other looks perfectly...

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Sue