Treating very large tanks--2000 gallons FO

[eljefe3]

I've got some sort of disease in my tank that is affecting all the fish. When they are not scratching, they are just being still. Now looking at some of the fish, they have some red marks on them ( angel, butterfly). Other fish have what looks like popeye with some white spots on their skin as well as on their eyes (angels, groupers). I have the culprit down to three different possibilities. 1) the NSW that I pumped up and changed recently or 2) new fish that were added 2.5 weeks ago or 3) A huge tang that I have had for 4 years who had turned blind, stopped eating and just lingered around. Perhaps he could have passed something along.

Facts, fish that were in the tank prior to new arrivals had been in there for 2 years, quite a few large angels, and a 4 foot tesslata eel.

1) I have changed about 600 gallons of water in the past two weeks. AFter I pump the NSW, I skim all excess crap out of the water befpre putting into the aquarium. This for sure isn't the cleanest or best water, but the only water available. I do end up skimming off quite a bit of dark murky looking stuff from the water.

2) I ordered quite a few fish from a wholesaler who had told me that all fish had been quarantined for3 weeks. For the first two weeks into my tank, all fish were happy and swimming around. Just 3 or 4 days ago I noticed that now they were scratching and then not moving.

I don't have access to treatments that you can get in most aquarium shops as saltwater tanks are technically illegal where I am, so all aquarium shops only carry supplies for freshwater. Would a local vet perhaps have something that could work?

There is no way I can take fish out of the aquarium due to size, big heavy rocks etc.

So what exactly are my options for treatment? Is hypo the only option I really have? If so what level should I take the salinity down to?

<added> I just started to lower the salinty so hopefully that will help. I plan on taking it down to about 1.009, currently at 1.015 from 1.022 as of 24 hours ago.

The first fish to go have been the powder blue tang, tomini tang, blue tang and a butterfly. Angel fish hanging tough but not eating, heniochus are eating just fine, as is the batfish and the two polenni groupers.

 

[LargeAngels]

First is to determine what you have. Velvet, ich or flukes. A FW dip in a clear container on an infected fish should tell you that. If you see small dust size particles on the bottom of the container then it is velvet. Small "jelly" like things at the bottom would be flukes. Nothing would indicate ich. Ich is not affected by FW dips.

Since you see white spots then it is most likely ich or velvet.

Hypo is only affective against ich. Won't do anything for velvet or flukes. Coppers like Cupramine are treatments for ich and velvet, not flukes. Flukes can be treated with Prazipro, which is sold for Freshwater ponds also.

 

[eljefe3]

Sure looks like velvet I and managed to find some copper. So copper treatment it is. Thanks LargeAngels.

 

[Runfrumu]

Jeez man, a 2000 gallon tank is bigger that most of us have here, and your in a place where it's illegal? Well I guess if your gonna break the law, might as well go all out!

 

[wooden_reefer]

Sounds like you may have more than one disease condition. Red marks may be bacterial, white spots is ich, popeye can be fluke plus bacterial, blindness I suppose is cloudy eyes, also bacterial.

I don't know what setup you have. Is it fish only with little invertebrates?

For a fish only tank, ich is not difficult to treat. You can use Cu to 0.2 ppm metallic (0.8 ppm by weight of CuSO4.5H2O), test and repeat dose. or you can use hyposalinity to sg of 1.009.

You will likely lose all fish that is already suffering from bacterial infection unless you have access to a lot of antibiotics. Kanamycin , Neomycin or Erthromycin would not completely destroy your nitrification bacteria and any of them can be used directly in a fish only tank. Some other antibiotics will wipe out your nitrification bacteria and cannot be used in a show tank. Dose for neomycin is 100mg/gallon of water. For 2,000 gal you will need 200 grams for each treatment. Repeat every three days. You must also remove all chemical filters and stop your protein skimmer if you are using one. Go to a vet for the drug.

I am sorry to tell you that your quarantine procedure was questionable. I never rely on any commercial person to quarantine my fish. What is his knowledge, ability and motivation? Always at least 6 weeks of active treatment to eradicate ich by myself or some one I absolutely trust.

In the future, you will need a very large UV for a 2000 gal tank. At least 200 Watts. UV will cut down on the incidents of external bacterial infection like what you are having. UV now is counter-productive as UV degrades antibiotics. Too late this time for UV.

 

[eljefe3]

Copper seems to be working. Fish are active again.

Thanks for the input wooden_reefer. I had an ozone generator, but it shorted out and my electician says he can't fix it. I can't buy an ozone generator nor a uv steriizer in country, and to have one shipped in is not financially practical either with a lot of tax etc.

So how would you quarantine 37 fish wooden_reefer? Would you recommend I have 40 different quarantine tanks, or how would you do it in a practical manner?

Due to the high tax for importing fish, plus a huge $800 fee for using someone's license to bring in fish, I can't do traditional methods of buying 1 fish at a time and quarantining for 6 weeks.

Next trip to the states is time to stock up on various meds.

Anyone care to start a list of must have meds available at all times?

 

[T Man]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10727133#post10727133 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eljefe3
Copper seems to be working. Fish are active again.

Did you add the copper directly to your tank?

 

[wooden_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10727133#post10727133 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eljefe3
Copper seems to be working. Fish are active again.

Thanks for the input wooden_reefer. I had an ozone generator, but it shorted out and my electician says he can't fix it. I can't buy an ozone generator nor a uv steriizer in country, and to have one shipped in is not financially practical either with a lot of tax etc.

So how would you quarantine 37 fish wooden_reefer? Would you recommend I have 40 different quarantine tanks, or how would you do it in a practical manner?

Due to the high tax for importing fish, plus a huge $800 fee for using someone's license to bring in fish, I can't do traditional methods of buying 1 fish at a time and quarantining for 6 weeks.

Next trip to the states is time to stock up on various meds.

Anyone care to start a list of must have meds available at all times?

Delete

 

[wooden_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10727133#post10727133 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eljefe3
Copper seems to be working. Fish are active again.

Thanks for the input wooden_reefer. I had an ozone generator, but it shorted out and my electician says he can't fix it. I can't buy an ozone generator nor a uv steriizer in country, and to have one shipped in is not financially practical either with a lot of tax etc.

So how would you quarantine 37 fish wooden_reefer? Would you recommend I have 40 different quarantine tanks, or how would you do it in a practical manner?

Due to the high tax for importing fish, plus a huge $800 fee for using someone's license to bring in fish, I can't do traditional methods of buying 1 fish at a time and quarantining for 6 weeks.

Next trip to the states is time to stock up on various meds.

Anyone care to start a list of must have meds available at all times?

If the 37 fish average about 4 inches each (some five inches some three inches say), it is entirely possible to quarantine them. I have done so a few times to get wholesale prices. If they averaged 7-8 inches then it would be tough.

For 37 4 inch fish, one can split into two groups, about 18 each. You get two 40 or so gal plastic rectangular plastic containers and two largest hang-on-tank power box filters designed for 50-60 gal or so tanks each. These will hang on the plastic container well.

I use crushed coral tightly enclosed in well-stretched nylon sacks (pantyhose). Place sacks in the power filter. Enough so that the filter is full. An easy way to add additional filter medium is to use a long net. Place a corrosion resistant net with handle long enough to span the width of the container across the container. The water from the filter falls onto the net. Additional crushed coral is placed into the net.

Fill water to about a couple of inches less than full. I very thoroughly cycle with fish food decay and bacteria seed. Repeat adding fish food a few times to make sure that the cycle is very thorough Takes about five weeks. When so thoroughly cycled such filter, especially with the added material in the net, will handle 18 4" fish each.

Use UV for the prevention of external bacterial infeaction and copper to eradicate ich in QT plastic containers for a min of 5 weeks.

As I have said, UV will not help you this time. UV will only reduce the chances of external bacterial infection, but once infection is establish UV is no longer useful. UV would even degrade antibiotics that you add to treat bacterial infection.

Remember, no chemical filters such as Poly-filter or activated carbon when antibiotics is used in water.

 

[T Man]

What's your point wooden_reefer?

 

[wooden_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10727370#post10727370 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by T Man
What's your point wooden_reefer?

Next time he can quarantine

 

[eljefe3]

Ok wooden_reefer. Sounds like a serious undertaking, but better that the having probs later.

 

[T Man]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10727417#post10727417 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wooden_reefer
Next time he can quarantine

You gotta Love that edit option huh? Good evening to you...........unsubscribed

 

[wooden_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10727444#post10727444 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eljefe3
Ok wooden_reefer. Sounds like a serious undertaking, but better that the having probs later.

Yes, adding 30 some fish to a large tank is not a routine task.

It requires a lot of planning and forethoughts

Quarantine is not a lot of work when one plans ahead and when one gets into a mindset of prevention. It is a matter of acceptance of the need.

Hope you weather this storm to the greatest extent.