Ich or velvet

[icliao]

I am treating my fish only tank for white spot with hypo salinity but further how do I know if I am not dealing with both velvet and ich. Most of the fish indeed look like having ich (spots are spaced and all are eating well) but I just learn that hypo salinity does not work on velvet. I am trying not to remove the rocks due to tank size. I also prefer not to use copper so there is a possible chance to keep some corals later.

Thanks.

 

[Potsy]

If the spots are spaced apart, then it's probably ich. Velvet looks like a fine powdery covering and it kills fish very quickly. By the time it's visible, it's usually too late. Definitely avoid copper if you intend on keeping corals in the future.

 

[falconut]

Second the look of velvet. I had an outbreak of velvet in my old tank and it looked like extra small white dust. They were all over the fish and they were breathing heavy too. They didn't last two long after seeing it. So, if there're not real tiny, like dust, then it should be ich.

 

[icliao]

I guess there is not much choice I have if I still hope to keep corals later. The only other more painful choice is to life tons of rocks to remove the fish to be treated with copper. Then again it would be difficult to maintain water quality of the hospital tank with 22 fish including big Tangshan and angel fish.

I am just wondering what to do next?
Now the salinity is down to 1.010 and should I push it down further to 1.008?

When should I consider removing the fish?
What about Seachem ParaGuard?
I know dozing copper is not an option in hypo salinity?

I regret not to be more patient and QT all my new fish in copper first.
I just thought it will take years with a small QT but now I regret it fully. I am keeping my other reef tank fallow now and all the new fish going over in the future will have to go through copper QT!

 

[Potsy]

Yes, lower the sg to 1.008. It won't hurt the fish at all and won't be a problem if you don't have any invertebrates. Don't use copper in your qt unless you have to. It's very stressful and can cause organ damage in some fish. Use the qt to monitor your new addition and treat only when something turns up. Otherwise, you'd cause much unneeded stress.

 

[Sk8r]

Using copper would kill your live rock and sand. Hypo is hard enough on it, and you should be testing for water quality.

If you ever have to catch a fish in a big reef, to qt or remove, there's a fast, easy way to do it. Get a couple of garbage cans, line with garbage bags, and a powerful pump. Dig a small hole in one front corner of your tank. Pump the water out until the fish gather in the hole, net them out, then fling a flat garbage bag into your tank, over the rock (and coral if need be) then pump the water back in as fast as it came out, aiming at the center of the garbage bag, which will float, keep your sand from kicking up, preserve the layering of your sandbed, and protect your corals from the force of the water. Treat your fish in qt.

NEVER mix hypo and copper. And never move fast in a salinity change. 48 hours is a good rule. To be sure ich is out of your tank, it has to starve. Keep your fish in qt for 8 weeks. You don't have to move inverts, who don't get it. That will assure there's no ich in your tank when they're put back in.