Coral beauty with white spots, reef tank, help please.

[CMDemey]

Just upgraded lighting to reef lighting and noticed my coral beauty angel has what looks like tiny airbubbles or salt specks. I have read the stickys, but I do not and cannot have a duplicate quarantine tank. I have a 29g with live rock, snails, crabs, Haitian reef anemone, and 3 other fish I don't see any spots on. The beauty sleeps in the live rocks but has not been itching, not acting neurotic, and has a healthy appetite. I don't know if I caught it early enough or if the parasite is already contaminating the tank. The most I could do is a hanging small quarantine tank inside the main tank, I can get a better 2 gallon isolation tank tomorrow and put it beside the main to share some light, but that's about it. I gave garlic, I know not proven, but if it won't hurt and could help, then its going in just in case. I can't isolate all 4 fish, or treat the tank with the invertebrates there by dropping salinity or copper, and it was said nothing else really works that is safe for nems and snails, right? Any suggestions for someone who can't whip up a spare tank?

 

[juniorrocketdad]

Honestly your in a bad situation, the best you. Can do is feed a good diet by soaking your food in selcon, until you can go fallow you will have ich in your tank the best you can do is hide it by having healthy fish

 

[CMDemey]

Ugh. I was afraid of that. So its really doing no good for me to quarantine the coral beauty, even though I don't see it on the others, its too late right? What is fallow? I'll get the selcon in the morning. Do I treat the whole tank with that, with the nem, seastar, and snails, and crabs in there too? Or do I just treat the coral beauty? Here are a few pictures, is this what it is? Its not possible that it is undissolved salt? Stupid but hopeful question I couldn't help but ask. When I added a little saltwater towards the evap, there was some particles that hadn't dissolved and blew around the tank on the fish. That was like 2 days ago so I realize it would have dissolved by now, but I don't want to lose any of them. They eat good, frozen meal variety's. Added some garlic. I couldn't even see it under the other light, I think we have only had this fish a week now.

 

[CMDemey]

Coral beauty spots

Coral beauty spots

Should I just let it back out with the others since the tank already is infected then?

 

[juniorrocketdad]

You realize your supposed to add freshwater for evap because salt doesn't evaporate right? I would check your salinity and do a water change but fallow is when you leave the tank fish less for 72 days, this is the only way to insure ich is gone from your tank, if you can't put all of your fish in a separate system in another room(ich can travel through the air for like ten feet) than the best you can do is give high quality food. Selcon is a food additive that you soak your food in before feeding

 

[juniorrocketdad]

And yes unless you can go fallow just let him back in with the other your just creating extra stress

 

[CMDemey]

I looked up both after the comment, going to get the econ in just a bit. To fallow the fish, if I could, what then of the nem, seastar, snails, and crabs? Do they have to be removed from the tank to fallow it as well, or does it only effect fish? I am not sure that I can, but maybe the 4 fish could go in a nano tank if I can find one I can afford. Once removed from the tank with the invertebrates, then in the quarantine tank, do I treat with the copper too?

As for the saltwater/evap statement...I get a lot of evap and salt creep on the lid where it splashes at the open space in back and edges. We have 2 Siberian huskies and 2 cats so I battle pet hair. I do not scrape the salt creep back into the tank, I clean it off and toss it. I keep 2 jugs of filtered water to adjust for any water loss or salt loss, one is pure filtered water, the other a salt mix. I add the fresh water to keep water level up, I add the saltwater a tiny bit at a time if the salt level is declining. I try to keep it right at 1.25. I emptied out the bit at the bottom of the jug and there were undissolved particles from the reef salt mix that I didn't notice until they hit the tank.

 

[Deinonych]

There's no point in keeping the fish in the breeder's box, as it's not physically isolated from the parasites. If you want to rid your tank of the parasite, all fish must be physically removed from the aquarium and treated in a separate, dedicated aquarium. The existing tank must remain without fish for 72 days to allow the parasite to die off.

Recommend reading the stickies at the top of this page for more information on disease treatment and prevention. A sound quarantine practice is essential to long-term success in this hobby.

 

[CMDemey]

Read them, and found more to read off site I found based on the above conversation. Looks like I'm setting up a small hospital tank. Besides, our wrassie shows signs of the same spots starting. I see the nem and invertebrates are immune to pick and stay in the main tank during the quarantine. Will grab the selcon and copper treatment for the fish. Thanks for the advice!

 

[juniorrocketdad]

No problem good luck, and don't cut corners and out the fish in early you will regret it

 

[CMDemey]

So far so good...

So far so good...

First dose of the copper treatment went in Sun. night, its Tue. morning, the fish are still alive, all are eating normally now after settling from the stress of capture and mini tank intro, and the wrassie has finally came out of hiding.

Water is still cloudy in the hospital tank, not sure if that is due to no charcoal filters or due to the copper treatment. I am just running the little airpump filter stacks but I stuffed phosphate pad chunks in place of the charcoal for the 18 day copper treatment phase. I figured they would catch some stuff but not kill the copper treatment. I don't know if the little under gravel filters actually work, or work without the 2" of gravel over them, but they do circulate the water and put air bubbles so hoping it will work.

Couldn't find selcon in any of the 2 chain pet stores or the local store, I did find a pellet with vitamins, garlic, and omega fatty acids so I am feeding that with their frozen foods.

I saw it was recommended to use the ammonia alert suction cup thing in the hospital tank instead and since I have them in such a tiny tank I figured best to know daily if it gets scetchy. Should I also treat the main tank with anything that says reef safe? I know those don't have a great history of working, but with the fish out and only the invertebrates there, the parasites will still starve out over time, just didn't know if I should add anything to boost the chances of all of them dying?

I realize my setup is not optimal, but it was an additional $100 I already didn't have at the moment, so I am making due the best I can to keep our tank going healthy. If necessary, I'll change things and get what they need, just hoping this will do.

 

[CMDemey]

Still not sure what the cloudy was all about. Its been clear ever since. I've read so much about treatment and prevention now. Wish I'd found these sites and stickys before getting myself in trouble, but we are learning.

What I didn't realize is that it is not pouring the recommended dosage of cupramine in the tank day 1, then a second and final dose 48 hours later and leaving it cycle for 14 more days. That was how I understood the directions until further advice/research. Maybe in a big tank where the tank wouldn't go toxic every 2 days. It wasn't quite clear to me at first, the point of the treatment is just to maintain the copper level in the hospital tank at .5 for 2 1/2 weeks. I also had to use the small nano type tank and of course no charcoal filter, so it was scary at first, especially using the advised ammonia alert things that are halfway useless and said safe when I noticed the fish rapidly trying to breathe. Added a copper test and figured out on day 2, to test and do 50% water changes every other day, reading the copper and keeping the tank clean, healthy, and at the .05 of copper. 6 days in and I barely see a trace of the ick on the coral beauty, its color is vibrant again, and the tank stays clear, and I have figured out this two month process.

Can't wait to be able to add them back into the main tank...but I will not jump the gun and add them early. 8 weeks is going to be my limit though...counting it down.