Emegency help needed

[nothingfishy]

Hello all-

I posted before about the plan I had, and well the plan failed. In attempt to eradictate the parasite, I moved all my fish to a 100 gallon trough. I completely nuked my tank, 10 percent bleach for 5 hours, and two days of just tap water running thru my tank. I think it was safe to say there was nothing living in that tank, good or bad.

In the trough, I had copper in there from the moment the fish entered in. Well, as some of you guys warned, I lost 14 of 20 fish in there. After 3 days of disinfecting tank, I got the display up and running. I put in two bottles of biospira, along with stability. I then added the 6 remaining fish, feeding every 3rd day, and monitoring ammonia. The ammonia came up to .5 for a few days, and went back down to zero.

It has been two weeks since I have had tank back up and running, and in the last week, I have lost 3 more fish. All of them last night, after the 3 fish had stringy, white substance coming off of them. Almost looked like when someone peels after a sunburn.

Checked ammonia, and nitrite is around 5, and amm is 0. I know the nitrite isn't good, but I am waiting for it to drop. I did a 1/3 water change on Friday.

So I am very confused about this white string, substance. Could this be velvet, or brook, even though I completely bleach the tank, didn't introduce livestock, nor did I ever have symptoms of this before.

The three remaining fish, niger trigger, yellow tang, and guenia fowl puffer. Only the puffer has this stringy substance on him. Not sure what to do, what to check.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[DDon]

I read through your other thread and trying to follow all you did.
A few things jump out at me.
How long did you have the fish in hospital tank with copper? Looks like only a few days total, if so you didn't cure the ich as it takes 4 weeks (from what I have read. Never used copper myself, just tank transfer).
You never cycled the display tank before adding the fish back in. Even with what you added you are basically cycling the tank with your livestock as evidenced by the ammonia first and now the nitrite. As I'm sure you know ammonia and nitrite are bad for fish. In your situation I would start doing large water changes to keep levels down.

 

[nothingfishy]

The copper was run 3 days total, 25 days short o the plan. After losing my aussie tusk, giant naso tang, minatus grouper and a few others, I realized I wasn't able to keep ammonia down in tub, even with 20 daily water changes, no feeding etc. So I felt I had not choice but to cut it short and get the display back up and running. More water volume, more flow etc.

Not my plan, but felt it was necessary. However, the bottled bacteria did keep ammonia low, for only a few days, before it went to zero. I have read articles about nitrite in saltwater, where it said it wasn't as toxic as we once thought.

Lastly, the symptoms I am seeing, are not that of ich, but something else, just don't know if its something parasitic or something with water quality not cycled yet.

 

[snorvich]

"Peeling" can be brook or uronema. However, "your plan" would not solve any problem regarding parasites so I would just be guessing. Nitrite in and of itself is not a big issue except as an indication that your tank is not cycled.

 

[nothingfishy]

"Peeling" can be brook or uronema. However, "your plan" would not solve any problem regarding parasites so I would just be guessing. Nitrite in and of itself is not a big issue except as an indication that your tank is not cycled.

Not sure im following regarding my plan. The plan was to remove fish to a different set up, a 100 gallon trough, utilizing copper for 4 weeks. After that, I was going to observe them for another few weeks. While this was happening, being I have no coral or inverts, I was going to nuke the tank, bleach it down, new sand, cycle tank while fish are in quarantine, and then reintroduce.

It didn't take but two days, no feedings, to get an ammonia read. I did a water change, and started to lose fish. I then became frustrated, knowing I was going to lose all my fish, so I got the tank back up and running, and used bacteria.

What I am doing now is not the plan, but simply a detoured route. I simply could not keep ammonia at bay in a separate quarters.

Never will I do that again. Nor will I quarantine fish, too much money, too much risk. I want the three remaining fish I have to live, and those most likely will be the last 3 fish I ever acquire.

Trying to make the best of what I have now, because I don't like seeing anything suffer. I wont be adding anymore fish, hopefully these three live out there lives, and then I can let someone else take the tank and have their fun with it.

 

[lagatbezan]

The peeling skin sounds like brook which i dont think copper is effective against. The best form of treatment would have been formalyn dips.
I personally think qt is a must and would never go without it. However IMO its most effective/successful when done from the begining with the first fish purchase. It gets to be hard and nearly impossible when trying to treat/save multiple fish at the same time specially when there is already a disease or infection on some of the fish. I feel your frustration. Hang in there. Hopefully the remainh fish will pull through.

 

[tenbears]

Fresh water dips and ginger

 

[HumbleFish]

Fresh water dips and ginger

Throw in an egg, some flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. and you've got yourself an awesome cookie recipe.

 

[snorvich]

Throw in an egg, some flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. and you've got yourself an awesome cookie recipe.

Bake at ?????

 

[tmz]

Fresh water dips and ginger

Bad advice.imo.

 

[nothingfishy]

Okay, so its been a couple of days since this discovery/mishaps and I thought I would provide an update.

Since yesterday, the three remaining fish, seem fine, eating very aggressively, something they had not done in the past couple weeks.

The puffer, who appeard to have the same, white shedding, as the perished fish showed signs of, has gone away.

So either a couple of things I can see:

The nitrite level is started land on the scale again, meaning before it was at the max api level of nitrites, 5 ppm, now it is around the two mark. So the levels are definitely dropping, and im guessing the cycle will be complete within a week.

If this truly was brook, or velvet (certainly does not appear to be ich) would it just get up and disappear from these fish, or would it have lingered on them til they were either dead or treated?

I want to lean toward it not being parasitic, just water conditions cycling and becoming eratic.

I did a 20 gallon water change, (not much on a 155 I know) to siphon new sand, help lower nitrite a bit, and get some new water in the tank.

What do you guys think, do I have an issue with brook or some other bug, or am I dealing with a new, unstable tank?