Velvet / ick outbreak in 220 15 fish left

[enjetek]

For the questions about if you treat them immediately and what meds to use...

If you want you can give them a couple of days to acclimate and start eating before you begin to treat them.

I always treat with cupramine and prazi pro at a minimum. I also have quick cure, furan 2, and metro on hand for anything that can pop up. There are other medications you can keep on hand but at a minimum I feel others need to have cupramine and prazi pro.

Good luck!

 

[Gangous]

Ok I plan on keeping wrasses so a sand bed is ok in qt tank?

 

[Gangous]

Also would like to hear more thoughts from ppl on weather to medicate 100% the time or just when u see issue

 

[Deinonych]

Ok I plan on keeping wrasses so a sand bed is ok in qt tank?

For QT, a small Tupperware container filled with sand is sufficient. If you medicate with copper, the medication will adsorb to the sand making dosing difficult. So, the less sand, the better.

Not all wrasses require a sand bed. Which species are you planning to keep?

 

[HumbleFish]

Also would like to hear more thoughts from ppl on weather to medicate 100% the time or just when u see issue

It really comes down to knowing what kind of person you are and how much free time you have to spend watching your fish in QT. Are you the kind that notices the little things and pays close attention to detail? You may want to ask your significant other for an honest assessment. If this is you, then you should at least be able to tell that something is "off" or "not right" about a fish in QT. Experience identifying & treating fish diseases then comes into play.

But if this doesn't sound like you, then I would advise just assuming every fish you buy is diseased and prophylactically treat. A lot of people treat with Cupramine and then Prazipro (or vice versa) to accomplish this. However, there are other all-encompassing treatment methods.

 

[Gangous]

I'm gonna be setting up qt so keeping close eye on the fish won't be issue and now I have much better idea what I'm looking for !

Is it true that some fish don't respond well to these meds?

Are angel fish treatable?

 

[GroktheCube]

Also would like to hear more thoughts from ppl on weather to medicate 100% the time or just when u see issue

I always use TTM on new arrivals as prophylaxis against ich, and then treat with praziopro during an observation QT a few weeks long.

TTM works flawlessly for ich (if executed correctly), and is much less stressful on the fish and much easier for you than using copper. If they have velvet or brook, it will definitely show up over the course of QT, and that's when I'd use copper.

Just my .02

 

[Gangous]

Thanks for ur help

What is TTM?

have u lost any fish using this method ?

How big is ur qt ??
Pics??

Thanks again

 

[Gangous]

Also what does prazi pro treat?

 

[GroktheCube]

Thanks for ur help

What is TTM?

have u lost any fish using this method ?

How big is ur qt ??
Pics??

Thanks again

TTM stands for Tank Transfer Method.

It involves transferring the fish from one QT to a new clean QT after 3 days. After transferring to the second QT, the first QT tank is emptied and sterilized to prepare for the next transfer. This process is repeated 4 times. The process takes advantage of ich's life cycle to remove fish from the old QT after the parasite has dropped off of them, but before it can hatch to re-infect.

I don't have my QT set up at the moment, but I have a new fish (Magnificent Foxface) coming in on Tuesday, so I'll be setting it up over the weekend. I just use two 20G high tanks on a simple iron stand, each with a small heater, small powerhead, bubbler, and an identical set of PVC fittings in each. I generally use a perforated plastic container to transfer fish. I put it in the tank, wait for them to swim out into it, scoop them out, and pop them in the clean QT.

Also what does prazi pro treat?

Diseases caused by worms, such as flukes. It has only limited effectiveness against intestinal parasites though.

 

[Gangous]

Grok thank you its starting to make sense too me !!

Hoping to hear from lg tank owners who have 30-40 fish ppl who medicate all new fish or just observe in qt and why.

for the ones that medicate all fish how and what do u use to treat fish??

Also I think my biggest mistake was adding 2 lg angels to a fully stocked tank IMO it stressed the whole tank out and it was dominos from there....
Any thoughts about order of introductions I would definitely figure out exactly what lg fish I want and they would be some of first additions!!
Anyone agree??

Btw my velvet / ick seems to be slowing if I'm lucky ill have 7-8 fish left any one think I should leave them in tank for few months and if all is well add new in few months ??
Would this be same as just watching fish in qt to make sure no apparent disease ??

Sorry I ask alot of questions !!

 

[GroktheCube]

Generally when adding fish to a tank you want the least aggressive fish first, and the most aggressive fish last.

Definitely do not just leave them and see. The disease naturally comes in cycles, and it's not uncommon for it to get worse with each passing cycle. It's not the same as watching fish in QT because you already know for a fact that the disease is present. If things are looking a bit better, that's a GREAT time to start treatment. It means the numbers of parasites currently in the fish themselves are at a low point, which makes their odds of pulling through treatment much better.

 

[Gangous]

Bump

 

[Gangous]

Any one out there with lg tank that QT but does not medicate unless obvious issue??

 

[snorvich]

Btw my velvet / ick seems to be slowing if I'm lucky ill have 7-8 fish left any one think I should leave them in tank for few months and if all is well add new in few months ??
Would this be same as just watching fish in qt to make sure no apparent disease ??

Sorry I ask alot of questions !!

Some fish (perhaps 5%?) develop a temporary (six months) immunity to velvet but they are still carriers and will infect other fish introduced, and allow the life cycle to proceed. Only parasite eradication through medication or elimination through a fallow tank will clean up the problem.

 

[snorvich]

Any one out there with lg tank that QT but does not medicate unless obvious issue??

My suggested protocol is to use tank transfer for all new specimens to insure against cryptocaryon irritans. 12 days and two 20 gallon tanks is all it takes.

The initial receiving tank is temp and SG adjusted to the bag water( SG a few points couple of points lower than the bagwater is ok but not higher) This obviates the need for drip acclimation and prolonged stays in bag water where pH can rise and ammonia toxicity can increase once the bag is opened. This is particularly important after prolonged stays in the bag.

During the 12 day tank transfer process ( 3 day stays 4 transfers, move fish on the morning of days 4,7,10,13) observe for other maladies. Since there are no meds to interact with in the transfer tanks which contain freshly mixed salt water aged and aerated overnight , use an ammonia detoxifier during each 3 day period. Bound copper products for example can't be safely used with ammonia detoxifiers as more toxic free copper occurs with lethal copper toxicity,even though total copper measures the same.

If there is reason to suspect infestation with brooklynellosis, velvet or flukes , do a formalin bath before starting treatment with copper for velvet, formalin for brooklynellosis or prazi pro for flukes. In general, it is wise to treat all incoming fish for flukes.

Since not all maladies will present symptoms in the 12 days( flukes can easily be missed, velvet can take up to 30 days to present), use a larger cycled QT tank for an additional 2 to 4 weeks of observation depending on the condition of the fish with treatment as necessary.

Most fish receive no medications yet all are effectively prophylactically treated for ich,the most common killer

Ammonia is monitored and has never been an issue during the 3 day stay but a detoxifier is added just in case, The cycled tank takes care of itself.

BTW there is no need to worry about nitrite or nitrate.

 

[Gangous]

How do u transfer fish from tank too tank net or catch in a container?

All the moving of fish doesn't stress them out?

So after all of that a fish could still bring in velvet of something if u don't observe it during the qt??

Does the tank transfer method eliminate ick from the fish or fish can still get it down the road??

Thanks again for all ur help!!!

 

[Gangous]

Bump

 

[HumbleFish]

TT (if done correctly) eliminates ich but you still have to worry about other diseases. I observe for one month after TT and watch for symptoms of velvet, bacterial infections, intestinal parasites, etc.

I use something similar to this to move my fish during TT:

 

[snorvich]

How do u transfer fish from tank too tank net or catch in a container?

All the moving of fish doesn't stress them out?

So after all of that a fish could still bring in velvet of something if u don't observe it during the qt??

Does the tank transfer method eliminate ick from the fish or fish can still get it down the road??

Thanks again for all ur help!!!

Tank transfer eliminates any existing ich (cryptocaryon irritans) but does not provide immunity. Assume any incoming fish has ich and you will be better off.