Pictures of my sick fish, please help

[Paranoiattack91]

This has started over the last week and the fish are losing their appetite. mostly on my purple, chevron and sailfin tang (and symptoms on some other fish) I'm afraid they don't have much time left if it continues. Is it brook or ich. I thought it was ich and started treating with a mix metroplex, focus, reef plus vitamins and garlic as recommended by a few people. I don't have a hospital/ qt tank.. Any opinions, suggestions or ideas. Please help

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

lots of water changes, and feed Dr.Gs medicated caviar. have amazing results with that food when fish are sick. also if that tank is fish only drop your salinity to about 1.018-1.021

 

[Paranoiattack91]

lots of water changes, and feed Dr.Gs medicated caviar. have amazing results with that food when fish are sick. also if that tank is fish only drop your salinity to about 1.018-1.021

I'll check that food out. Not fish only, plenty of coral. I'm already doing a 30 gallon change per week.

 

[redfishbluefish]

You need to set up a hospital tank....even if it is simply a Rubbermaid Roughneck container, which could be had for a couple bucks, along with an HOB filter and heater and some flow.

Get those fish into a hospital tank and treat with copper.

 

[4FordFamily]

Sorry but the above is not going to help. This looks like velvet to me. At the very least, a horrible case and strain of ich.

You need to remove all of those fish and treat them in a quarantine tank with cupramine ASAP. They WILL NOT recover without treatment with something so advanced, it may already be too late.

Run your tank fallow for 72 days. keep cupramine @ .55-.6 ppm, testing regularly with either sailifert copper test kit or seachem copper test kit.

Buy an ammonia badge also by seachem and change at least 50% of the water if it is ever anything but yellow. With many fish, daily 75% water changes may be necessary (re-dose meds at this point).

Do NOT use prime or amquel or any ammonia detoxifiers as they will cause the meds to become poisonous. Don't over feed.

You should probably start with a dip as you transfer them. Some fish may not survive the dip but if that's the case it's because they were not going to make it anyway.

Humblefish would have been the guy for this, but in his absense maybe someone else from [HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] could suggest a good dip for velvet.

When I say act soon, I mean like tonight. You'll lose all of those fish if you don't act yesterday that's advanced, and velvet acts quicker than any other parasite.

 

[buzzword]

What your fish have is an extensive and most likely lethal infection of Ich. You must treat the fish immediately with Cupramine or copper. If you do not have a QT and you have corals in DT than you are very limited on treatment options. You could try hyposalinity but it would kill all of your corals. Treating the DT with Cupramine/copper if someone will hold your corals, will saturate your live rock and sand with copper, although it may be reduced after treatment with Cuprasorb, carbon and water changes.
I hate to say it but from the advanced infection of your fish the likelihood of any of the tangs surviving is doubtful. You have to get them out, get them treated and let your DT lay fallow i.e. without fish, for a minimum of 6 weeks.
Good luck.

 

[buzzword]

A good dip to start with if it is Ich or Velevet is a Formalin dip full strength for 5 minutes. Easiest to find would be Mardel quick Cure which has Malachite green in it. Use fresh R/O water mix and dip, then into QT for copper treatment.

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

I would not get them out, I would try the best i can to treat them in their tank. at that stage of the ick investation the fish will most likely die from the shock/stress of being transported to a new quarantine tank. transporting them will just finish them off. keep them well fed, make sure they remain eating. feed them the medicated caviar i posted above. lower temps, do frequent waters changes. every 2-3 days. and hope for the best. 90% of the time this works for me.

 

[Paranoiattack91]

Well this sucks, I have no option for a qt or a hospital tank and medicating my display is not an option. I guess I will have to ride it out and eventually go without fish for awhile.

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

Well this sucks, I have no option for a qt or a hospital tank and medicating my display is not an option. I guess I will have to ride it out and eventually go without fish for awhile.

You dont have to medicate the display, there are also some ick medications out there that are reef safe. keep researching.

 

[buzzword]

I will respectfully have to disagree with Reef a holiks, there are no reef safe medications that actually work to eradicate Ich. They are at best a band-aid to minimize symptoms. If these "reef safe" medications worked everyone would use them and no one would ever have to worry about Ich. These fishes only hope is treatment with Copper or hypo-salinity, although the infection is probably to advanced for the fish to last to get the spec gravity down.

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

I will respectfully have to disagree with Reef a holiks, there are no reef safe medications that actually work to eradicate Ich. They are at best a band-aid to minimize symptoms. If these "reef safe" medications worked everyone would use them and no one would ever have to worry about Ich. These fishes only hope is treatment with Copper or hypo-salinity, although the infection is probably to advanced for the fish to last to get the spec gravity down.

Really, weird ive seen those reef safe medications work not only with me, but with others as well.

 

[hybridazn]

Lowering salinity by that little will do nothing to the ich strain. To effectively rid yourself of the ich strain using lower salinity it needs to be lowered to no higher than 1.009. But even now I have read that there are certain strains that are pretty resistant to hypo. Also raising and lowering water temp is also a old wives tale. Raising temp in fresh water ich strains seem to help speed up the life cycle of the parasite but marine ice is completely different.

Your only option is setting up a qt tank and treating with copper and use quick cure since I believe it jas formalin in it. Formalin itself is no longer available since it has been found to cause cancer.

Best of luck, I really hope you change your mind on just "riding it out"

 

[Paranoiattack91]

Lowering salinity by that little will do nothing to the ich strain. To effectively rid yourself of the ich strain using lower salinity it needs to be lowered to no higher than 1.009. But even now I have read that there are certain strains that are pretty resistant to hypo. Also raising and lowering water temp is also a old wives tale. Raising temp in fresh water ich strains seem to help speed up the life cycle of the parasite but marine ice is completely different.

Your only option is setting up a qt tank and treating with copper and use quick cure since I believe it jas formalin in it. Formalin itself is no longer available since it has been found to cause cancer.

Best of luck, I really hope you change your mind on just "riding it out"

I don't have the option to set up a qt. It would cost me at least $1000. This time of year it gets so hot here that a chiller is a necessity. I have one on my tank and that chiller alone was over $700. I would need one on the qt as well. Unfortunately it seems like I am short on options.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I'm at a loss??? Why would you need a chiller on a hospital tank? You do have air conditioning in your house? No lights involved. Where's the heat coming from?

 

[jsker]

Cregs list, by a cheap under the counter fridge, drill a hole to sides and run a line through it with a pump to cycle the water. Cheap chiller with the rubber made, HOB and a heater you are in business

 

[hybridazn]

I don't have the option to set up a qt. It would cost me at least $1000. This time of year it gets so hot here that a chiller is a necessity. I have one on my tank and that chiller alone was over $700. I would need one on the qt as well. Unfortunately it seems like I am short on options.

Im not sure im following. A qt does not need the heat causing lights or anything of the sort. You can go pick up a 55 gallon at Petco or even find one used on Craig's list and set it up quickly for no more than $200 at the most. And im sure you can come down off that price a good bit.

If money is an issue setting up a qt like that look at it like this. It'll be cheaper than re buying the fish. That chevron tang alone is roughly 150-200 dollars.

 

[NeuroticAquatics]

Are there any reef clubs in your area? Maybe someone could take the fish and treat them? Maybe a LFS?

I live in Palm Springs and it is typically 113+ this time of year. I have four tanks running plus a 10g and a 35g QT... All with no chiller and AC set at 78. I've never had an issue with heat in my tanks.

Copper or hypo are the cures.

 

[Paranoiattack91]

I'm at a loss??? Why would you need a chiller on a hospital tank? You do have air conditioning in your house? No lights involved. Where's the heat coming from?

Im not sure im following. A qt does not need the heat causing lights or anything of the sort. You can go pick up a 55 gallon at Petco or even find one used on Craig's list and set it up quickly for no more than $200 at the most. And im sure you can come down off that price a good bit.

If money is an issue setting up a qt like that look at it like this. It'll be cheaper than re buying the fish. That chevron tang alone is roughly 150-200 dollars.

It is about 110 degrees during the day here. We don't run the ac during the day when no one is here. Keepin the house at a set 78, the ac runs all day, we've tried it for a month and our electric bill was just under $400. By only running the ac at night when we are home the bill is under $200. I'm thinking about setting up a hospital tank in my walk in closet and putting a small portable ac in there.

 

[NeuroticAquatics]

You must be out in my area if you are in CA and its 110+ ...where exactly are you?