I may have Velvet

[robocop]

I've notice splotches on the fins of my Triggers for about 2-3 weeks now. First it showed on my Huma and now it's on my Clown Trigger. My Bird Wasse seems to have those little white spots resembeling Velvet but it is very hard to tell. The Huma, Bird Wasse and Blue Damsel are scratching them selfs on the sand and power head. The Clown Trigger seems to have the spots on his eyes...but I can't tell if he has it on his body. The Huma Triggers fins seems to have cleard up....but the Clown has it on his fins. I can't tell if it's velvet or not because they are eating fine and considering the time this has been going on I thought it would have been a massive break out by now if it was Velvet or ich. Other then the scratching and fine spot...the behavior is normal and they look ok. I don't want to start treatment, but I feel there has to be something wrong. Any suggestions. Also, considering the 4 fish I have (Huma, Clown Trigger, Orange Tail Damsel and Green Bird Wasse) I only have a 10gal qt. Would I be able to treat them in it even if I had a 100gal filter and a 100 protine skimmer on it? If it is velvet how long do I treat for it with the Cupramine? I checked my levels and they are fine.

 

[robocop]

Ok...just looked at all the fish again....I can't see the specks on the body...the Bird Wasse is the only one scratching. The Clown still has specks or something on his eyes...not sure what it is. It's at the top, but does not cover the entire eye. This is really confusing because I don't know if to treat or not treat because I can't really tell what's going on. If Velve is anything like ich then all my fish would have spots all over them by now. I don't know what to do

 

[quarryshark]

I would say you definitely have one or the other, velvet or ich.
To cover both, I would use the cupramine treatment and a larger tank than a 10 gallon is definitely needed. what are the sizes of the fish?
Perhaps a LFS would have a used 40 or 50 gallon tank you could pickup.
Hard to give you a tank size estimate without knowing the size of your fish.
I have treated a large stock in a 40 gallon before, it can be done, but I wouldn't ever suggest this treatment in your main for multiple reasons.
Also, if it is velvet, I would make a decision pretty fast. Once it hits the advanced stages, it can kill your fish very rapidly. I lost 3 fish to velvet in a 24 hour period. Not trying to scare you, just want to emphasize the need for action.

 

[quarryshark]

as an afterthought. If you don't want to purchase a large qt tank (understandable) you could also use a large tupperware container to treat. A PH, filter and heater would still be needed, but it would work in a pinch.
You could use water from you main for a fast start (will be treating it with copper anyway) and some PVC elbows for the fish to hide. To keep ammonia under control, you would rely on daily water changes . We can cover all that in detail, but it sound like the fish really need to be moved and treated soon.

 

[robocop]

Well if that's your recommendation to go ahead and treat I will becuase I have no Idea because it's been 2-3 weeks I've noticed this and it clears up and comes back and now it's gone again and I can't really tell what it is. How long to treat with the Cupramine?

Also, the fish are not too big...I say the Trigers are about 3-4inc, the Bird Wasse is about 4-5inc and the Damsel is about 1-2inc. I think I'll bit the bullet and get a larger qt.

Can't I use the bio filter minuse the carbon on the QT? To keep down the Amonia? And a Skimer?

 

[quarryshark]

Parasites seem to come and got. This is them going through their life cycle. The problem is the next generation comes in higher numbers and eventually will overwhelm the fish.
Cupramine is used for a period of (I believe) 3 weeks. Instructions are on the bottle. Make sure you get sechems multitest kit for copper to go with it. Its the only test kit that accurately works wth cupramine. You need to keep the level right at.5 for the treatment period. Not enough copper will not kill the parasite and too much can kill the fish.
Definately do not use carbon, this will absorb the copper from the water. Also no skimmer for the treatment period.
Ammonia should be monitored daily. Water changes will be your best weapon for holding down ammonia.
You can use water from your main, it will be medicated anyway, so transference of the parasite is not an issue.
The other important issue is to leave your main tank fishless for at least 6 weeks. This will allow the parasite to go through its life cycle and die off with the lack of fish hosts.