Well it looks like monte has the dreaded shell disease and even with persistant water changes (33G cube with 5G every two weeks) it seems to be spreading pretty fast, is there anything else i can do to get it to stop or to reverse it? i feed her only snails and live shrimp that are gutloaded with selcon soaked food
Survival rate for O. Scyllarus with shel disease
- Thread starter mattyice
- Start date
Pea-brain
In Memoriam
supplementing with iodine can be harmful. The only thing I can recommend is turn down the lights, feed as often as possible with soaked in selcon every time (trying to induce a molt here) and get a UV sterilizer. Dr. Roy once mentioned that in extreme cases a malachite green soak may help, but that it has only been used to slow down the fungal disease that occurs in H. californiensis in captivity, and may not work or even cause more damage to the animal. How long ago was the last molt? The closer it is to molting again the more likely you can beat it.
Dan
Dan
imo, even 5gal a week is on the lesser side. I would actually do more like 10gal a week.
the diet is fine, cut down or cut off the light. UV might help but i think it would only help keep shell disease from reoccuring. i personally think malachite green would be too risky but that's just me.
the diet is fine, cut down or cut off the light. UV might help but i think it would only help keep shell disease from reoccuring. i personally think malachite green would be too risky but that's just me.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
By UV is assume you mean as a sterilizer. Using a UV filter will slow the secondary infections and seems to reduce the chance of the disease spreading to other animals housed in the same tank. The darkest possible burrow also seems to help.
I have used malachite green dips with Hemsquilla and to my surprise were not fatal. One animal that I treated over a year ago just died. Holding an adult Hemisquilla for 16 months is a record for me, so I don't think that there is extreme toxicity here. On the other hand, I doubt that shell disease in O. scyllarus is the same as it is in H. c. The Hemisquilla pathology nearly always is black. I guess if it were me and the situation looked terminal, I would try it - not so much to cure this animal but more to gain experience that might be useful at the first signs of it occurring in another beast.
Roy
I have used malachite green dips with Hemsquilla and to my surprise were not fatal. One animal that I treated over a year ago just died. Holding an adult Hemisquilla for 16 months is a record for me, so I don't think that there is extreme toxicity here. On the other hand, I doubt that shell disease in O. scyllarus is the same as it is in H. c. The Hemisquilla pathology nearly always is black. I guess if it were me and the situation looked terminal, I would try it - not so much to cure this animal but more to gain experience that might be useful at the first signs of it occurring in another beast.
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
By UV is assume you mean as a sterilizer. Using a UV filter will slow the secondary infections and seems to reduce the chance of the disease spreading to other animals housed in the same tank. The darkest possible burrow also seems to help.
I have used malachite green dips with Hemisquilla and to my surprise were not fatal. One animal that I treated over a year ago just died. Holding an adult Hemisquilla for 16 months is a record for me, so I don't think that there is extreme toxicity here. On the other hand, I doubt that shell disease in O. scyllarus is the same as it is in H. c. The Hemisquilla pathology nearly always is black. I guess if it were me and the situation looked terminal, I would try it - not so much to cure this animal but more to gain experience that might be useful at the first signs of it occurring in another beast.
Roy
I have used malachite green dips with Hemisquilla and to my surprise were not fatal. One animal that I treated over a year ago just died. Holding an adult Hemisquilla for 16 months is a record for me, so I don't think that there is extreme toxicity here. On the other hand, I doubt that shell disease in O. scyllarus is the same as it is in H. c. The Hemisquilla pathology nearly always is black. I guess if it were me and the situation looked terminal, I would try it - not so much to cure this animal but more to gain experience that might be useful at the first signs of it occurring in another beast.
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
I would not play around with mud or sand to decrease the light. I would temporarily go with a good, long black pvc burrow.
Roy
Roy
