Please Help with Desease Identification

[Big Blue]

Can someone please help me identify what this disease or parasite is killing all my fish. I think it is Ich but I'm not sure. It has been moving from one fish to the next and I have currently lost five fish so far with two more on the way out.

http://cdn-2-service.phanfare.com/images/external/9218903_5275593_138499849_WebLarge_3/0_0_88a40d75dfa978ec3a9250654c812273_1
http://cdn-2-service.phanfare.com/images/external/9218903_5275593_138499850_WebLarge_3/0_0_eb9588a06035a6e08c5a396becf81be7_1

 

[lagatbezan]

I'm not an expert but it could be either velvet or a severe case of ich.
I would set up a QT and take them out and treat with Formalin if velvet or copper for ich.
Velvet is a fast killer which usually kills within 24 hours.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I'm not an expert but it could be either velvet or a severe case of ich.
I would set up a QT and take them out and treat with Formalin if velvet or copper for ich.
Velvet is a fast killer which usually kills within 24 hours.

IMO, copper works better for velvet than formalin. Formalin works well for brooklynella, though. This fish doesn't have much time and copper treatment is the same for ich & velvet. All fish in the tank will need to be treated in a QT and the DT left fishless for at least 8 weeks. Hypo can also be used to cure ich, but won't help with velvet or brooklynella. I'd use Cupramine copper and follow the directions. If you go this route, let us know after the 1st dose of copper and we'll help all we can.
Edit: Just saw the trigger and I'm sure its ich. Read the stickys at the top of this forum and choose hypo, copper, or tank-transfer. The ONLY cures for ich, IMO & IME.

 

[snorvich]

IMO, copper works better for velvet than formalin. Formalin works well for brooklynella, though. This fish doesn't have much time and copper treatment is the same for ich & velvet. All fish in the tank will need to be treated in a QT and the DT left fishless for at least 8 weeks. Hypo can also be used to cure ich, but won't help with velvet or brooklynella. I'd use Cupramine copper and follow the directions. If you go this route, let us know after the 1st dose of copper and we'll help all we can.
Edit: Just saw the trigger and I'm sure its ich. Read the stickys at the top of this forum and choose hypo, copper, or tank-transfer. The ONLY cures for ich, IMO & IME.

Good advice. From what I can tell with my poor eyes, I would think is was ich (cryptocaryon irritans). Remember that ich will exist in multiple stages concurrently, so do not vary from the recommended treatment above.

 

[Big Blue]

R.i.p.

R.i.p.

What a frustrating week:furious:, seven fish wiped out by a boom of Ich. It all happened so fast my life schedule didn't allow for me to tare my tank apart and catch them for treatment. Twelve years in this hobby I have never seen anything like it. I lost some longtime take mates and my four year old daughter has been very upset watching this all take place.

Finally, it looks like it has run its course. The remaining fish show no signs of it and are most likely immune.

Will two months time be long enough before adding new fish without the chance for reinfection?

 

[sandwi54]

Im sorry about your loss. Did you add new fish without QT? How was ich brought into the DT?

 

[sandwi54]

What a frustrating week:furious:, seven fish wiped out by a boom of Ich. It all happened so fast my life schedule didn't allow for me to tare my tank apart and catch them for treatment. Twelve years in this hobby I have never seen anything like it. I lost some longtime take mates and my four year old daughter has been very upset watching this all take place.

Finally, it looks like it has run its course. The remaining fish show no signs of it and are most likely immune.

Will two months time be long enough before adding new fish without the chance for reinfection?

The two months is for a "fallow" DT. You will have to pull the remaining fish out of the DT and put into QT for ich treatment, and leave the DT fishless for two months.

 

[MrTuskfish]

The two months is for a "fallow" DT. You will have to pull the remaining fish out of the DT and put into QT for ich treatment, and leave the DT fishless for two months.

Yeah, immunity to ich is not permanent. You'll almost certainly see your other fish develop ich when something happens that stress them or otherwise weakens their immune system. Just a power failure could do it; as could countless other things.

 

[sandwi54]

Yeah, immunity to ich is not permanent. You'll almost certainly see your other fish develop ich when something happens that stress them or otherwise weakens their immune system. Just a power failure could do it; as could countless other things.

Right! and also just because a fish doesn't show symptoms of ich, it doesn't mean it's not infected. the ich could be in the gills which are not visible to human eyes.