:( feel beaten

[levischilz]

I posted a week back I had a blue tang not doing well, he's still around but still lethargic and not eating much and keeps just laying on its side. I was treating with copper for 3 weeks with about .40 level.

I finally at the end of 3 weeks removed the copper with 2 loads of carbon. After 2 days of carbon I dosed a single dose of seachem sulfathiazole which is for fungus and bacteria and protozan infections.

IMO my blue tang seems like it has more color today and the sulfathiazole has only been in for 1 day but I came home to find my 6 line wrasse dead. Yesterday my six line was eating and completely normal to me. Even dead i didnt see any marking or spots or discolor except his rear fin looked mangled not like decay or rot but like bit off almost.

I still have 3 fish left in the QT 1 naso 1 blue tang and 1 chromie

The blue tang still looks terrible but the naso still looks 100% normal.

Looking for help

ammonia 0
ph and salinity both good idk where to go

Do I retreat with another medication I cant see any symptoms visually like spots or bacteria etc.

I may start tomorrow with water changes over and over slowly.

[Dr Colliebreath]

If the fish look healthy other than the blue, I would do a water change and put some carbon back in for a couple of days to clear the water, and see if you can get the blue tang eating properly.

I have forgotten, how big is the QT?

[levischilz]

29g

[levischilz]

[Drew707]

Try using garlic with feeding to keep up his strength..herd it helps

[Dr Colliebreath]

Is the fish still hanging in there and did you do water changes? How are the other fish?

I like the idea of water changes to make sure you are dealing with good water. Try feeding small amounts of different meaty foods, including mysis and chopped shrimp and scallop from the grocery store. Soaking the food in garlic extract sometimes entices a fish to eat.

When you say blue tang, you mean hippo tang, right?

[hollister]

Water quality not so important for fish as with coral. The #1 cause is low oxygen levels. You need good water flow and no lid on the tank for normal levels.
Whats used for water flow?

[levischilz]

I have 1 emperor 280 hob and 1 pretty large airstore with air pump and also a big korilla power head the water flow is almost too much lol

The blue hippo passed last night idk why, i tried to inspect him well even when he passed and didnt see anything so had to be something internal.

The naso still looks good and normal also the chromie and yellow goby look ok

I added 1 bag of carbon and a carbon insert in the hob to remove everything yesterday morning when i posted, was gone most of yesterday working and came home to find him gone

[levischilz]

I dont know where to go from here, so I treated with copper for 1 week then removed w 3 weeks. Then I treated with antibiotics for 2 days and the blue hippo actually regained color but then i lost him.

Where do I go from here? No more treatment and monitor these last 3 fish for a couple more weeks?

[Dr Colliebreath]

Originally Posted by levischilz

Where do I go from here? No more treatment and monitor these last 3 fish for a couple more weeks?

Yes.

It is very possible your fish was damaged in collection or during transport until it reached you and thus doomed to die no matter what. Unfortunately, it happens.

Good luck with the others.

[Andrew]

I would do regular water changes since you're not dosing copper anymore. Ammonia levels can raise up just over a days time. I do a 25% water change every 4 days in my Hypo tanks.

[aleonn]

Sorry to hear of your fish loss. If you still have the body, try dipping it in fresh water to see if flukes come off.

[Dr Colliebreath]

And hang in there. We all go through periods when this hobby beats on us.

[hollister]

Air stones do very little for adding oxygen. This is done through a gas exchange at the surface. Draws in oxygen and blows out bad gas.
The HOB filter works great for collecting fish waste and uneatin food as well as breaking surface tension.
You want a circular motion created with two powerheads , one on each end. And 10 to 15 times gph times the tank size.
Loose the airstone and remove any lid then increase water flow. I promise this will make a fast and noticable differance.

[levischilz]

Thanks guys, it's just been hard since I've had a 65g reef for about 7 years then saved and remodeled to setup my new 210g. I've had the 210 and have basically yet to stock it with a streak of bad luck.

To reply to a previous post about the hippo damaged its possible. He was definitely infected with ich when I got him about 1 year ago which makes me feel like his passing in the qt was my fault and I'm sure it was. When I got him about 10 months ago he caused my whole tank to get ich. I tried the method some listed because of the size of the tank to just feed well etc low stress and lost most of the fish except 4. He showed no signs of ich for 6 months and I never added fish. I decided before I purchased more fish to do the right thing and qt everything and anything new etc.

During the qt he got some small signs of spots and then they were gone when I started the copper treatment. 6 months seems sooo long to carry ich and maybe the copper and at stress over took him idk.

Hopefully here going forward ill not be in a position to need to qt so many at a time and can do things in a better manner since I won't be as rushed to treat the fish but more proactively monitor them before they get to the dt.

I just got home tonight after being gone all day, qt looks nice and clear and the naso ate and the remaining 3 fish look good.

How long do you guys suggest I watch them since they have already been treated with copper for 3 weeks and antibiotics for 2 days before I move them to dt?

I'm thinking maybe I should grab some prazipro from my local fish store and treat with it to be safe? Would it be needed after the other 2 treatments I've already used? I know that copper is stressful to the fish how stressful is prazipro?


Thanks for everything guys

[hollister]

Also many times fish might have an exsiting desease that may never be seen unless they stress out. Heres a little article.

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/aqu...e-Aquarium.htm

[levischilz]

Duplicate post

[Dr Colliebreath]

Originally Posted by levischilz

I'm thinking maybe I should grab some prazipro from my local fish store and treat with it to be safe? Would it be needed after the other 2 treatments I've already used? I know that copper is stressful to the fish how stressful is prazipro?


Thanks for everything guys

I think you are saying you move to the 210 and are now starting to stock it. You had ich in your 65, so if you brought ANYTHING over from your 65 you should let the 210 set without any fish for 10 weeks so you know it is clear of parasites.

The first couple of fish in a new tank are hard because you have no action and it is tempting to push things to get a couple of fish there. It is great that you are committed to doing it right with quarantine now.

I like to dose Cupramine for 4-6 weeks if I see signs of disease, and 3-4 weeks if there were no signs. Given you went through 3 weeks, I would watch the fish for another 2-3 weeks just to be sure. 4 weeks wouldn't hurt as you don't want to get the tank set up, quarantine a dozen fish, and then find in 9 months that you still have ich cropping up.

PraziPro treats flukes that your other treatments won't get, so you should get it and treat the fish. 2 treatments will take you 10 days or so. It is not hard on fish at all.

FWIW, I quarantine all fish, get them eating, treat with PraziPro, and then treat with Cupramine. If the fish show no signs of flukes and are eating well, I will start the Cupramine 2 days after starting the second dose of PraziPro (i.e., they overlap a couple of days).

[spieszak]

Originally Posted by aleonn

Sorry to hear of your fish loss. If you still have the body, try dipping it in fresh water to see if flukes come off.

Not to hijack, but its kind of pertinent to the thread...
The flukes don't die with the fish? They would still "fall off" with a fresh water dip with a dead fish? (Is there a time table to how long after the fish died that this would work?)

[aleonn]

Originally Posted by spieszak

Not to hijack, but its kind of pertinent to the thread...
The flukes don't die with the fish? They would still "fall off" with a fresh water dip with a dead fish? (Is there a time table to how long after the fish died that this would work?)

I had a butterfly fish die in QT overnight. I didn't have time to remove the body in the morning since I was late for work, but when I came back in the evening I did the freshwater dip. I saw some round sesame seed like objects floating, which indicated flukes.

I'd assume that the parasitic external flukes would continue to feed on the dead fish as long as the body is in saltwater. If true and for how long, I can't say.

[spieszak]

Originally Posted by aleonn

I had a butterfly fish die in QT overnight. I didn't have time to remove the body in the morning since I was late for work, but when I came back in the evening I did the freshwater dip. I saw some round sesame seed like objects floating, which indicated flukes.

I'd assume that the parasitic external flukes would continue to feed on the dead fish as long as the body is in saltwater. If true and for how long, I can't say.

Thanks for the follow up. I asked and was advised a while ago that a fish that died from/secondary from ich that couldn't be found in a tank didn't increase fallow time, since ich can't survive on a dead fish... I always made the assumption that that would probably apply to other parasitic life in the tank. Good to know there is at least some experience to say otherwise.