Salty150
Active member
Go get a QT tank and set it up and take care of your fish.
You will certainly need one anyway - since by not QT(ing) your Flame Angel (and other fish) - this happened.
What is killing my fish?
- Thread starter elweshomayor
- Start date
Go get a QT tank and set it up and take care of your fish.
You will certainly need one anyway - since by not QT(ing) your Flame Angel (and other fish) - this happened.
Deinonych
New member
I agree. A sound quarantine practice is critical to long-term success in this hobby.
gone fishin
New member
I agree that it looks like Brook. Without a QT then there really is not much you can do for treating in the DT.
ThRoewer
New member
If it is Brooklynella then 6 weeks, better 2 full months are required to get rid of it.
Copper is ineffective against Brooklynella. The only the only effective treatment are daily formalin baths followed by a tank transfer for a minimum of 5 days. Bassleer also recommends to dose the hospital tanks could with a formalin/malachite green mix (Rid-Ich Plus).
With a well advanced infection like this I would also treat with antibiotics (in the hospital tank) to fight secondary bacterial infections.
It could also be another protozoan parasite like Costia (or its saltwater equivalent) or Trichodina. Treatment against those is the same as against Brooklynella.
The complication with Costia is that it can survive completely drying out for long periods, so equipment needs to be bleached to be sterilized. I'm also not sure if there is a fallow period for Costia.
In general I would strongly advise to give every new fish a formalin bath before even adding it to the quarantine tank. It catches a lot of parasites before they become a problem and then may be difficult to get rid of - most notably Brooklynella, Trichodina and Uronema (this one has no fallow period and you would need to bleach your DT to get rid of it).
elweshomayor
New member
I have a 150G tank... I dont have space for anything bigger than a 40G breeder. MAYBE a 50G, but thats REALLY pushing it and probably wont happen.
I could put those 3 fish there, but once theyre better,how do i go into putting them back into the display? wont they catch it again?
Deinonych
New member
You don't need a large tank to treat the remaining fish. A 20gal tank will do just fine. As noted above, leaving the tank fallow (fishless) for a minimum o f6 weeks will allow the parasite to die off.
elweshomayor
New member
I have 6 chromis and a few batfish remaining. I still also have the puffer that is still hanging in there.
a 20 might be too small for 12 fish isnt it?
I have a tank that had freshwater fish that I took down a while ago that I could also use as temporary. However, I do not now how long I can keep these fish on plastic/styrofoam and a 20g tank.. I COULD buy a 40 and id have a total of about 100Gs MAYBE.
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elweshomayor
New member
From what I understand, I can set up the tank, I was thinking a 40G breeder.
Bare, and maybe a few plants for fish to hide.
I read that its ok to have salinity be 1.015 to help with the recovery. Unless its better to have normal salinity at this point?
My yellow tank is currently in a temporary QT tank. Hopefully he will make it.
Its about 10-12 gallon plastic tote. He had a fresh water dip right before going into the QT.
I suppose I could have multiple QT as i have a few of these boxes?
Do you guys think it wise to fresh water DIP the porcupine puffer fish?
Deinonych
New member
Yes, too small for 12 fish...I thought you only had 3 remaining.
Honestly you don't even need tanks - you could even get plastic totes for QT because yes - 12 fish would be too many for one 20G tank. I would go pick up some storage totes from WalMart (or somewhere else for cheap), a heater for each tank, and a bubbler to help keep water oxygenated. Keep some Prime on had to keep ammonia in check, and do frequent water changes. After you formalin dip each fish they should go into NEW saltwater - not back into the tub you just pulled them from, so you'll have to have empty tubs of new saltwater ready after you do each dip.
Word of caution on bubblers (air stones) - I had a foxface, damsel, and clowfish all in a 20G QT with airstones and my healthy foxface and damsel died overnight (from what I'm guessing was lax of oxygen??). I don't use airstones anymore and use powerheads to be sure I have enough oxygen getting into the water. But - powerheads can be more expensive than airstones.
Also - given the trouble your about to go through I would leave the tank fallow for 90 days. Depends on how risky you want to be - if your worried at all about the possibility of ich - I would do 72 days min (or 90 to be safe.
Word of caution on bubblers (air stones) - I had a foxface, damsel, and clowfish all in a 20G QT with airstones and my healthy foxface and damsel died overnight (from what I'm guessing was lax of oxygen??). I don't use airstones anymore and use powerheads to be sure I have enough oxygen getting into the water. But - powerheads can be more expensive than airstones.
Also - given the trouble your about to go through I would leave the tank fallow for 90 days. Depends on how risky you want to be - if your worried at all about the possibility of ich - I would do 72 days min (or 90 to be safe.
elweshomayor
New member
Are we sure this is Brooklyna though? My LFS says that it looks more like velvet. He says that the latter would have killed everything in a day. My puffer was the first to show signs but he outlived 3 fish and he is going onto his 2 week with symptoms. ( first few days he had spots, but would eat normally. Last 4 days he has barely ate any, mainly because he couldnt see the food as his eyes were cloudy, but if i hand fed it he would eat. Today he wouldnt take bite.)
Is a formalin drip good to treat both illnesses? The remaining fish seem like they are healthy. They might not be however. The tank that is currently on the QT tank is on its side breathing heavy after the fresh water dip. Did I do this wrong? He was swimming around in the tank before the dip.
I set up the freshwater dip, matched the PH and the temperature of my Display and placed the fish in there for about 10 minutes, maybe a bit less. Then I set up the QT to 1.015 salinity, matched PH and temp and placed the fish there soon after the dip.
He went sideways almost instantly after touching the fresh water and has yet to perk back up however. Is this normal and he'll come back somewhat after, or did the dip kill him?
Also, where does one get formaline to use in this case?
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You must lower the salinity SLOWELY! Keep it there for 1-2 weeks then gradually raise it back. Use some of the water out of your DT so the QT is instantly established and doesn't shock the fish. You have to get all the fish out of the DT for it to clear. Parasites need fish to cycle and live. 2-3 week MIN process.
I've never done fresh water dips, but some fish take it worse than others from what I've read. Also - the drop in salinity isn't helping - as steveviv said - you should drop the salinity slowly over a few days.
For me - I have Formalin MS - and I dip all new fish as a precautionary measure during QT. For me - I put a new fish into QT, wait until they settle in and start eating. Then, I'll do a formalin dip and put them into a new tank (which acts as my first tank transfer for TTM). Then I proceed with TTM over the 12 days, treating intermittently with prazipro in between transfers.
Given that it's not a 100% guaranty what is affecting the fish, I would treat proactively for everything. From what I remember Chloroquine diphosphate is what is used to treat velvet. I've never treated for it - so I can't give any recommendation there.
For me - I have Formalin MS - and I dip all new fish as a precautionary measure during QT. For me - I put a new fish into QT, wait until they settle in and start eating. Then, I'll do a formalin dip and put them into a new tank (which acts as my first tank transfer for TTM). Then I proceed with TTM over the 12 days, treating intermittently with prazipro in between transfers.
Given that it's not a 100% guaranty what is affecting the fish, I would treat proactively for everything. From what I remember Chloroquine diphosphate is what is used to treat velvet. I've never treated for it - so I can't give any recommendation there.
Deinonych
New member
It doesn't look like velvet. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, sloughing mucous from the slime coat is a characteristic symptom of Brook. Velvet usually looks like a fine dusting of powdered sugar on the fish, with a golden sheen when viewing the fish head on. And yes, velvet is extremely virulent and usually wipes out a tank in days. Of course, the only way to be 100% sure (or close to it) is to do a skin scrape and examine under a microscope.
+1
Salty150
Active member
elweshomayor
New member
So, deathcount so far..
Flame angel
Garibaldi
Sailfin tang
Yellow tang
Foxface is missing so im just going to assume he is dead. Only Chromis and Batfish left, Puffer is hanging in there but no longer eats. I wouldnt be surprised if he is dead by tomorrow
Flame angel
Garibaldi
Sailfin tang
Yellow tang
Foxface is missing so im just going to assume he is dead. Only Chromis and Batfish left, Puffer is hanging in there but no longer eats. I wouldnt be surprised if he is dead by tomorrow
