Please help ID this disease!!! URGENT!!!!

R

romeo0119

New member
Can anyone please tell me what is on my regal tang?? First I thought it was ich but I don't think it is. My clown mysteriously die this morning, I checked and see no sign of sickness, no white spot, nothing inside his gill. So I check around the tank saw something weird on my regal tang. I've include pics, please help, I've remove the regal tang to my QT tank already. The other fish are still in there includes a yellow tang and a yellow watchman which by the way seem health and still eating.
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Those are the best pictures I could took, my camera is crappy, what should I do now? He breaths rapidly like he's not getting enough oxygen. HELP MY FISH PLEASE!
 
You think it's really ick? It does look like it in the picture but when you really look at the fish, there are bumps on him, it like a layer of dust on him. I haven't treat the tank for ick because it's a reef tank, but the yellow watch man has been in there for about 2 months already, the regal tang was recently added last weekend. If it was ick, wouldn't my yellow watch man caught it before the tang?
 
i would say ick too it could also be what i think is velvet, which kills fast, treat the tang with copper, did you not qt the new fish?, those oter fish are infected to if the clown died you can bet your other tang is going to get this
 
Yea i think it's velvet too....I've tried to search for velvet related topics and I saw this post

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=906309

From the picture, my tang almost look like the PBT.
1. What is the best copper med to use?
2. How long will have to leave my tank fishless in order for the velvet to go away?
3. How do you qt a madarin?

Yes it was my fault I did not QT the regal tang since my buddy at the LFS told me that it has been QT. Please give me some advice.
 
1. the copper i use is cupramine by seachem with a red sea test kit for copper,cause i cant read the test kit by seachem
2. i would say 6-8 weeks do a little research on that but i am leaning toward that
3.i have read that mandrians are pretty disease resitant and people dont qt them, on this one again do a research on that i dont have one so i cant help sorry
well you got the regal in qt that is a start,the next is to start treatment asap how big is your qt? in that one picture is that the normal behavior, with the fish laying on its side playing dead?
 
Ok I'll have to check that med at my LFS tomorrow, hopefully it won't be too late. Can anyone else confirm the 6-8 weeks period? I have a 10 gal QT. The fish been up at the surface gasping for air. It's not acting normal
 
I would say velvet also with the sudden onset and gasping for air. Sad thing is when its to this point it may be too late. You can do a fresh water dip with PH and temp matched to give instant relife and put a air stone in to hyper oxgenate the water. I am not sure if another copper kit will measure seachem copper acuratly as its designed different. The seachem kit is very easy to go bad but they are always fast to send a replacement set of reagents if your kit does not read right.
I actually just went through velvet and can not belive my fish made it. I think the FW dip was the turning point in mine as they were pretty bad. But I did have seachem cuppermine on hand to start treatment right away. Good luck!
 
I already did the FW dip. Hopefully my fish will be ok. If the worst case happen which I will lose my other 2 fish to it. How long will I have to keep the tank fishless for in order for the velvet to go away? (Question to Angela)
 
Update!

My regal tang died, I've removed the rest of the fish into the hospital tank. I've pick up some coppersafe today. What test kit do you guys recommend using? Also I read the instruction but it wasn't clear, it said use 5ml per 4 gal and treat for one month. That does not really tell me much. Can someone that has use this give me some pointer? I plan to do a complete water change on my main tank, will this help?
Thanks for all the help.
 
I have used Coppersafe with good results...I never did find a test kit.
I did large water changes EVERYDAY and added the appropriate amount to the new water.. get a liquid medicine dispenser that has ML on it..
Treat all your fish, even the Mandrin. If you don't treat him, he will become infested and you are leaving a host in the tank by not removing him, keeping the parasite alive....I would leave the tank fallow for at least 8 weeks...go as long as possible
 
Thank you kim for your advice. Unfortunatly, I found the madarin dead this afternoon. I still have a yellow watchman in there, I'll get him out as soon as I get home today. I already started the copper med follow by the instruction. Would doing a complete water change on the main tank help? I plan to drain it out completely and add all new water ( of course live water from the LFS).
 
The disease sounds like velvet since its killing so fast. I have only ever used seachems cuppermine but I would buy the same companys test kit as the copper. I have been told fallow for 4 weeks by reputable people and then I have read its very hard to erradicate and go 8 so I am going 6 in my 270 ;). I also cross contaminated a QT with it via the refractometer so be carefull it is nasty stuff. Just glad they were still in the QT and not the main when I started noticing signs.

Doing a 100% water change is just a PITB and not nesicary because the cysts are still in the rock/substraight so you still have to wait 4-8 weeks regardless of water changes. Good luck re-stocking (with proper QTing ) ;)
 
Update!

Just got home and found my yellow tang die in the QT tank. Sad day for me, I exam the fish body and notice that there are a few red spot right by his tail. And his fins and tail looks like something has been chewing on it, looks torn up. Anyway, I was trying to catch my yellow watchman to move him to QT and I notice a lot of worm near by a rock. I found a picture on the internet

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/3762/header1280ut4.jpg

They look like that. The strange thing is, the yellow watchman seem to be really healthy from all this ordeal. He's been there for 2 months, all the fish have die by now he's the last one in ther and he still eating and there is not sign of sickness. Could anyway the worms are the source of all fish dying? Maybe the bit the fishes when they're sleeping at night? Are those worm harmful for the tank?
 
I had a hippo that died the same way romeo. :( it really sucks to try and do all you can to save the little guys and nothing works. Its frustrating. Since then, i took out my only other fish, and set him up to quarantine. Im gonna leave him out for as long as possible to try to break the ich life cycle. If you could check out my thread on "what size QT tank?" that would be great, ide appreciate ur input :)
 
1st off that is a bristle worm and they are totally reef safe. They are part of the clean up crew and only eat dead/dying things and in no way could have bite the tangs and caused them to be sprinkled with parasites. Some strains of very large bristle worms can cause trouble but we are talking HUGE sizes, not your avarage worm we all have. They are nasty looking but serve a great purpose.
The yellow gobie may have missed the bullet on this round but I would be afraid he will come down with it or keep it in low numbers only to keep the velvet parasite alive in the tank to reinfect new fish. Gobies tend to be more resistant to some diseases but that does not mean they can not carry the parasite and infect other fish with it.
Since you have a total loss I would 100% definetly get the gobie out in a QT and do copper to just be safe. And let the main sit fallow for 4-8 weeeks before I added new fish. And please do QT everyone properly before adding to the new tank. Patience is hard but loosing all your fish is harder :( Sorry for your trouble!

Here is a good QT link...

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php
 
Thanks everyone for your help. I've learn a lot these past few days, my tank is sitting empty right now. My shrimp goby is in the qt tank and he's doing well. I've dose some copper med and right now it's at .5 I'll do a 50% water change today and see how it goes. Again thanks, I'd buy you all a cup of coffee If I could :)
 
Sorry to hear that. Over the past 3 weeks, l lost my beloved porq puffer and today my Niger Trigger. They were doing fine one day and the next, I just saw them at the bottom of the tank breathing slowly, almost trying to gasp for air.
 
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