Really need some help!!

dviper150

dviper150

New member
I can't take any pictures but this is the second fish I have lost the same way.
It seems though the fish is being devoured from inside out. The flesh of the fish just peels off and it looks like the fish is decomposing while its still alive. Right now its happening to my clown trigger and last time it happened to a harlequin tusk. I have no idea whats going on and I think my annularis angel is next. I really hope I can save the rest of the fish but right now it only looks like the annularis might be next. The clown trigger is about to pass but I can't seem to figure out what is going on. Someone please help! I will try to post pics tomorrow or something if I can.

Water parameters:

Ammonia : 0
Nitrites : 0
nitrates : around 80ppm

Tank size is 150 gallons.
 
perhaps its a parasite in your DT. i'd certainly remove the CT into a QT tank for right now and get some suggestions on what to treat it with.
 
It is definitely a parasite but I don't know what it is. If I can find out, i can buy the medication accordingly and start treating the tank ASAP.

I don't know of any parasites that cause a fish to decompose while still alive and the flesh to start peeling. To me, that is just the worst way to go.
 
this is FOWLR right?

i'd just go ahead and get him into a QT now and wait for suggestions to treat him there instead.
 
This is a FOWLR setup. Unfortunately, I don't have a QT tank so I will need to treat the entire tank. The clown looks like its going to pass tonight :( . Had him since he was a tiny 2 inch fish. He is about 6" now. I want to treat the entire tank incase another gets the same thing soon.

Forgot to add, the eyes are cloudy too.
 
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Just did some research and found out that its something called Uronema disease. The CT has the exact same signs and symptoms as that disease. What is the best way to treat the tank with this? Would prazi pro take care of it or do I need something else?
 
hypo only treats ich and nothing else. I would do cupramine and prazipro, which can be done concurrently and treat many types of parasites+worms.

are you okay with dosing copper in your DT? the only thing that it ruins is your LR which would become unusable for reef tank purposes. a good vinegar wipe down and the tank can be use for any purpose.

if you are hesitant about copper, then maybe you should just do 2 Prazipro treatments for now since it is easy and wont ruin anything.

for cloudy eyes, i would certainly jump on prazipro ASAP.

is the CT eating fine?
 
The CT has passed. Now I am focusing on the rest of my fish. I don't want to dose my tank with copper. I would rather do hyp. If i was to do hypo in my DT, would it kill my live rock? I don't want an ammonia spike if that is the case.
 
sorry to see that man.

hypo only treats ich and no other parasite. hypo will kill whatever live thats on your LR, but the beneficial bacteria will still remain. you might get an initial ammonia spike, but that can be controlled with prime/amquel. after which, your beneficial bacteria will get use to hypo water and retain its function of processing ammonia.

i just got thru with hypo a powder brown tang for 6 weeks in a 29g. i had about 15lbs of LR(w/just beneficial bacteria) in there. i didnt have to screw around with WC at all, just make sure to top off with water to keep a steady salinity of 1.008-.009.

at minimum, i think you should do 2 treatments of prazipro.

thread about cloudy eyes and flukes, treating with prazipro.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1260067
 
I am planning on doing hypo in the main tank. I am going to bring down to about 1.013 and see how the fish tolerate that for a few days and then bring it down more slowly. Also going to treat with formalin dips for whatever fish in my tank I think have uronema. I will also dose the tank with prazi pro.
 
yeah hypo+prazi is fine to do together. i did 2 treatments of prazi on my powder brown while it was in hypo too. i have 4 anthias that is in hypo and i added prazi too.

just wait til you have your water at 1.008-.009, then add the prazipro. if not you will dilute it out when getting your water down to hypo.

i dont know how angels typically respond to hypo. most people i know prefer cupramine treatments for large angels. i have an adult blue face and a emperor juvie on its 3rd week of cupramine at .5ppm in a 40g breeder right now.

Copps is about close to an expert as it gets in this hobby, and he copper treat his angels 30-45days as a QT regimen.
 
That is why I wanted to bring it down to 1.013 for a week while the first treatment of prazi is going on and see how my angels react to it. If they don't like it, i can bring it back up after the first treatment is over.
 
i dont think you can determine much at 1.013. i know some LFS that keep their water at about 1.018. 1.013 isnt much off from that. Fish handle the dropping of salinity very well.

Just make sure Hypo is what you want to do. As hypo treats only ich and nothing else.
 
I read an article that said hypo is effective in helping with uronema and other parasitic infections as well. Not sure if its 100% but thought I'd give it a shot.
 
the preferred copper treatment by most is Cupramine.

heres the FAQ from Seachem Cupramine.
http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Cupramine.html

first dose get you to .25ppm, then do a 2nd dose at 48hrs to get you to .5ppm. your LR will absorb some of the copper, so you might have to add more over time. Toxic levels are .8+ppm. therapeutic range is .3-.5ppm. it is suggested by most to do 21days rather than 14 days as indicated on the bottle. even if you call support, they will suggest 21days to be certain that all parasites are eradicated.

a lot of people do "low dose" copper .3-.4 for the more sensitive fish, but drag it out for more days. some drag out a few extra days to get to therapeutic range too, so the copper doesnt hit the fish as hard. if the fish are eating fine and you dont see anything alarming, go ahead and do the 2nd dose in 48hrs. or you can also do the 2nd dose in 2 parts....

the life forms on your LR will die, but the beneficial bacteria will remain. their ammonia processing functioning might get retarded for a few days, but after the beneficial bacteria will start doing their job.

use an ammonia badge and monitor your copper level daily. don't use prime/amquel or any water conditioner during cupramine. dont use carbon as well.

i use the salifert test kit, but some use Seachem's kit. those are the 2 recommended kits.
for my test kit, take 2mls(syringe included in kit) of tank water and drop 5 drops of this copper solution. read it in 10mins and match up the color to determine the copper amount.
the salifert test kit can do about 50test. $15-20

if you are concern about your copper levels and unsure of what level you are at, you can also take some tank water to your LFS and ask them to run it for you. i'm sure all LFS has treated their some of their fish with copper. also you can get the same copper test kit that they use, which most likely will either be Seachem's kit or the Salifert kit.
 
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heres a thread on Cupramine treatment in a DT that might help you out some.

http://web1.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1907562

Stuart60611 said:
Also, I have not seen even the slightest hint of ich (either visually or behaviorily) since I have completed the treatment. Fish are all eating and growing well and seem very healthy. My bigest problem now is the system is so stable and runing so well that I really have little that I have to do to maintain it. I do a water change once per month just because I think I should and not necessarily because I need to. I also change out the activated carbon once per month. Otherwise, all I have to do is feed the tank daily, fill the top off container with water once per week, and clean the skimmer cup every few days. I only clean the glass at most once per week. Because I really do not have an interest in another tank and want another animal related hobby, I am now geting a dog.:fun4:
Click to expand...
 
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