Marine Velvet or Ich

[blueb2200]

Long story short I'm treating my fish for what I thought was Ich (by doing hyposalinity) but now maybe thinking it's marine velvet. I started with 7 fish now down to 3. (RIP Blue Dot Jaw, 2 Helfrichi, and green goby :sad2: :wavehand Each one had a whitish mucus slime on their skin when they died plus the white dots that leads me to think it's Marine Velvet. (Whitish slime appeared a day before the fish dies) I'm I right about it being marine velvet?

Also now that me QT tank is at 1.010 (about 4 days at 1.010 but the fishes have been in the tank for about 10 days), do I have to raise it slowly then use cupramine or something similar?

 

[b0bab0ey]

I honestly don't know much about Velvet but according to the link below:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=83

"Symptoms

The symptoms of marine velvet usually involve the skin and lungs. Mild infections will usually only infect the gills and the fish may show minimal symptoms. As the infestation becomes more severe, the gills will become inflamed, bleed, and the lung tissue will begin to die. The fish will show signs of irritation and distress, with rapid breathing and lethargy. As the inflammation increases, the fish will lose its ability to transport oxygen across the gill membranes resulting in a fish that shows symptoms of suffocation, and if treatment is not initiated, death will often result.

The skin is the site of attachment for the organism and in severe infections, small gold-colored spots will cover the skin, which can progress to create a "velvet" appearance which gives the disease its name. By the time the gold-colored velvet appears, however, the gills may be so infected that treatment is usually too late. Many fish die from this disease without ever showing any visible skin changes. It may be possible to visualize early forms of the infection on the skin by using indirect illumination. This works best on dark fish and can be done by shining a flashlight on the dorsal surface of a fish in a darkened room. Viewing infected fish against a dark background may also be helpful."

 

[b0bab0ey]

Also, read this:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1991470

It says there to lower your salinity to 1.009 during hypo treatment. You stated yours is 1.010. I know it sounds nit-picky but I'd lower your salinity to 1.009 just to be safe.

 

[blueb2200]

Thanks for the info b0bab0ey. I've read the second link and many others like:

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/41535-going-hypo.html
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...nts/23131-hyposalinity-treatment-process.html
http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseases/skin_disorders.html
http://www.reefland.com/forum/marin...ase-treatment/19162-marine-velvet-ich-uv.html
http://www.reefland.com/forum/marin...ment/18915-copper-treatment-use-problems.html

These are the one's I have tabbed at the moment. So I think I'm going to raise the salinity slowly and start the cupramine treatment sense it will kill marine ich and velvet.

 

[mess7777]

maybe you have both.

 

[MrTuskfish]

The good news: both can be cured in the same ways. But velvet is more contagious, faster acting, and deadlier. IMO, a lot of fish being diagnosed with ich actually have velvet. There are just too many "ich" posts and not enough "velvet" posts. Velvet is more common than this forum would indicate; at least IMO & IME. Treating ASAP is the key with velvet and many fish are lost to this horrible parasite; in spite of doing all the right things. Be ready to treat the survivors with an antibiotic, velvet can leave some nasty, festering sores. Also, the slime problem is a key symptom of Brooklynella and it needs totally different treatment. I'd Google all 3, including images, and be sure you're on the right path I believe your, Brooklynella infested fish usually don't last more than a few days unless treated with formalin. In any case, knowing what to look for will come in handy sooner or later.

 

[blueb2200]

Update:

All fish seem to be doing better. (Red Mandarin Dragonet, Mystery Wrasse, Tail spot blennny) There is no signs of ich on the fish and they have stopped scratching. I think I might be on the road to recovery.

The question I have is that I have been keeping the dosage down to .3 to .4 with using Seachem's Cupramine. Seachem recommends to keep it at .5. Do you think that keeping it down will still kill the parasite?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Update:

All fish seem to be doing better. (Red Mandarin Dragonet, Mystery Wrasse, Tail spot blennny) There is no signs of ich on the fish and they have stopped scratching. I think I might be on the road to recovery.

The question I have is that I have been keeping the dosage down to .3 to .4 with using Seachem's Cupramine. Seachem recommends to keep it at .5. Do you think that keeping it down will still kill the parasite?

Cuprimine is usually effective at .30, but more effective at .5. A confusing answer, I know. Mandarins are usually the last fish to get ich or velvet, because of their jelly-like slime coat. Whether velvet (my guess) or ich, be sure to stick to the treatment schedule. I really prefer to use Cupramine at .50 if possible; many others disagree. I'd raise the level to .50 slowly, if you decide to do so. Watch their feeding habits; if fish stop eating as they are now, drop it back down. This can be a tough decision; but all parasite treatments require a 100% kill rate to really work, and oodinium (velvet) is something that you sure don't want back. Just be vigilant, treatment of both of these parasites often include a period where the fish look good, but forms or the parasite are just incubating and about to re-emerge. At that point, the copper should kill every one of the little SOBs.

 

[blueb2200]

Everything is still looking good. The fish have been in the QT tank over a month, 43 days to be exact. 5 days to adjust, 4-5 for trying to go the Hyposalinity treatment (didn't seemed to be working, fish dying left and right with infection. 2 days to go back up to 1.024. 14 days for cupramine to work, the rest just waiting it out to see if the infestation is going to come back. Nothing!

Well in a couple of more days I think they are going back to DT if there is no signs of pest life. Yah!

 

[mess7777]

good luck!