Marine Ich bs Velvet Timeline

[microlady]

I am wondering if my disease outbreak this past summer could be contributed to velvet instead of ich. Six fish died within 3 weeks. They all scratched on rocks, breathed heavy, hung out in areas of high flow, his away from the light, and looked like they were dusted with powdered sugar. I have seen ich before many times, and it looked different. Plus I never lost a fish to ich, and I even lost a clown and a blue damsel to this stuff. I thought damsels could survive anything? Was the timeline too long for velvet?

 

[Deinonych]

The timeline and behavior you describe fits a velvet infection. Velvet is especially virulent as evidenced in the micrograph below of infected gill lamellae.

 

[ThRoewer]

Velvet can act very quickly if the fish's immune system is compromised.
It can also move slower when the fish are otherwise fit and healthy.

It is really the one parasite that gives me sleepless nights...

 

[microlady]

Yeah, that sounds like what caused my outbreak. The yellow tang had reoccurrences with ich when I first got him, but this stuff looked way different on its body. The two tangs appeared to actually shed their slime and they had cloudy eyes too. It was a nightmare.

 

[Dmorty217]

With 6 fish dying in a few weeks I would suspect velvet too. Usually you never see spots with velevet and if you do it's too late. It's difficult to distinguish between ich and velevet at the first outward signs, since many are the same for both. I formalin dip everything when it first arrived now because I had two different bouts with velvet and lost them both.

 

[ThRoewer]

+1 on the formalin dip - no fish goes into my tanks (including QTs) without it.

And I'm planning to set up an invert QT system where all inverts have to spend 2 months before going into an established system.

 

[snorvich]

With 6 fish dying in a few weeks I would suspect velvet too. Usually you never see spots with velevet and if you do it's too late. It's difficult to distinguish between ich and velevet at the first outward signs, since many are the same for both. I formalin dip everything when it first arrived now because I had two different bouts with velvet and lost them both.

This. Behavior is the best/easiest way to distinguish. Visual is usually too late.

 

[coolxborg]

So does a formalin bath eradicate velvet?

If my fish get velvet or suspect to have velvet, all i would need to do is formalin bath? Or do i still need to treat with something like CP or copper?

 

[ThRoewer]

CP is better but not all fish handle it well. Copper is risky because some velvet strains have adapted to tolerate it better than fish.

The formalin bath for incoming fish is just a precaution against a light velvet or Brooklynella infection or if immune fish have some parasites in their gills that may spread to fish who are not immune. The formalin also kills all free stages of other parasites that may have traveled with the fish. It also kills skin and gill flukes, just not intestinal flukes.
For a full blown velvet outbreak you would need to give the fish a formalin bath daily and then transfer it to a clean (=uninfected) tank.
Basically TTM with daily transfers and formalin baths.

For fish that can tolerate it CP is the better velvet treatment choice.

 

[vinhle00]

Is it true that formalin might reduce the life span of your fish?

 

[ThRoewer]

Is it true that formalin might reduce the life span of your fish?

It has been shown to be a carcinogen in mammals (humans), but is still not completely banned from use in hardwood or plywood as long as certins limits are not excided.

How it affects fish long term is likely not well researched.

Velvet however is well researched and is known to reduce the lifespan of infected fish to mere days if not even just hours.
Same goes for Brooklynella and Uronema.

Formalin dips are used by many marine research institutions and public aquaria as a preventive measure for many years with so far no reports of linking it to premature fish deaths.

One or even a few baths will likely do no permanent damage if executed correctly.

 

[vinhle00]

Yeah i understand about velvet and how bad it is but wanted to see if i should treat with formalin then CP or just skip the formalin bath. I heard Acriflavine is easier on the fish but i'm still trying to get my hands on it.

 

[ThRoewer]

If it's just velvet, CP should do the trick.
But CP does nothing against brook, the other quick killer.