QT/Hospital Advice

[Razor Blade]

I recently purchased two Ocellaris clownfish and unfortunately they seem to have what appears to be Ich. After very close inspection over the past few weeks this is what I see:

• Small (very few) white spots
• Some torn fins (although they were housed with many other clowns, could be caused by aggressive clowns in LFS)
• Flashing against objects regularly
• Stringy white Poop day 1 and 2, but now normal
• A few times have swam towards bottom of tank and looked nearly lifeless, while other times appear perfectly healthy (very sporadic)

This is my action plan to help combat Ich and whatever else they may have:

Day 1: Add fish to QT, let rest for the day and make sure they are eating normal
Day 2: Treat with PraziPro for 1 week as per directions
1 week later
Day 8: Perform 50% water change then begin Cupramine treatment as per directions
48 hours later
Day 10: Complete second dose of Cupramine to reach level of 0.05mg/L and observe/monitor levels closely for next two weeks.
2 weeks later
Day 24: Perform 50%-100 water change and run carbon for next 24-48 hours.
Test for copper, making sure no traces are present to continue, then remove carbon
Day 26:Treat ParaGuard as per directions every 24 hours for the next 7 days
Have fish in QT/Hospital tank total of 6 weeks while maintaining good water quality, proper medication dosages and making sure fish aren't too stressed and are eating.
Day 42: Fish free to live in the Display!


I plan to incorporate this type of QT/Hospital tank as preventative with all future fish purchases, as my sources definitely aren't trustworthy.

Okay so onto the question - How does this look?

The Paraguard may be overkill, but from my readings, it appears to treat a wider array of issues including fungal, bacterial and viral that PraziPro and Cupramine may miss. I am no expert in diagnosing 100% accurately, but rather be safe than sorry.

 

[Spar]

Couple recommendations:
1-do some research on Brook (there is a good sticky on it in this forum) to make sure this isn't actually what you are dealing with --- Brook is much more common (unfortunately) in Clowns than Ich is --- also look at Lympho just in case as just 'a few' white spots could likely be this

2-if it is Ich, start your treatment for that sooner than later (prior to PraziPro even)

3-PraziPro needs 2 doses that are at least 5-7 days apart, this is necessary to kill any eggs (they will hatch within 5 days and be killed by the next dose). You can dose this concurrently with Copper, but if you don't want to dose together, then just wait for after the copper treatment, unless you start noticing specific Fluke symptoms.

4-Cupramine needs to be dosed at .5ppm (mg/l), not .05ppm.... may have just been a typo in your post though

5-Cupramine/copper needs to be at full dose (.5ppm) for 4 weeks to ensure it works

6-agreed that Paraguard is overkill, and really pointless IMO/E

Consider TTM (Tank Transfer Method) for routine Ich treatment on fish in the future; it is by far the easiest and most reliable method, and is low stress on the fish.

 

[Deinonych]

Consider TTM (Tank Transfer Method) for routine Ich treatment on fish in the future; it is by far the easiest and most reliable method, and is low stress on the fish.

+1

Agree that the OP should confirm the fish in fact have ich and not brook.

 

[Razor Blade]

Couple recommendations:
1-do some research on Brook (there is a good sticky on it in this forum) to make sure this isn't actually what you are dealing with --- Brook is much more common (unfortunately) in Clowns than Ich is --- also look at Lympho just in case as just 'a few' white spots could likely be this

2-if it is Ich, start your treatment for that sooner than later (prior to PraziPro even)

3-PraziPro needs 2 doses that are at least 5-7 days apart, this is necessary to kill any eggs (they will hatch within 5 days and be killed by the next dose). You can dose this concurrently with Copper, but if you don't want to dose together, then just wait for after the copper treatment, unless you start noticing specific Fluke symptoms.

4-Cupramine needs to be dosed at .5ppm (mg/l), not .05ppm.... may have just been a typo in your post though

5-Cupramine/copper needs to be at full dose (.5ppm) for 4 weeks to ensure it works

6-agreed that Paraguard is overkill, and really pointless IMO/E

Consider TTM (Tank Transfer Method) for routine Ich treatment on fish in the future; it is by far the easiest and most reliable method, and is low stress on the fish.

+1

Agree that the OP should confirm the fish in fact have ich and not brook.

Thanks guys.

The only reason I don't think it's Brook is their is no slime coat, and gills appear perfectly healthy. It's very tough though, as both clowns are actually eating well and don't appear to be under stress (other than the few times they swam to the bottom of the tank)

Also from my readings, Brooklynella seems to be a 'fast hitter' and will affect clowns negatively very fast. My clowns were captive bred if that matters?

So Formalin seems to be the only proven treatment for Brooklynella. Any specific brand I should be looking for just in case?

I will continue observation until my biological filter is ready to set up QT, but will set it up sooner if things get worse.

 

[Deinonych]

Post pics if you can - they can help with diagnosis. Unfortunately, captive bred fish are just as susceptible to brook as wild caught, although the likelihood is smaller. Formalin is the "tried and true" treatment, but there have been some anecdotal reports that chloroquine phosphate is also effective at high doses (20mg/L). As far as brands go, I keep FishVet Formalin-MS on hand, but fortunately have not had to use it yet (knock on wood).