Total Tank Wipeout

[sfgiants]

I just experienced a T/T/W. After removal of fish, do I treat water and for how long. No copper I have L/R and L/S. Wipeout was caused from a fish I bought from PetCo.(I know) never again. It had Marine Velvet. I'm new at this and by the time I realized what it was, it was to late. Everyone PLEASE be careful and stay with a shop you trust. T/I/A Vince

 

[kenor33]

dang, sorry to hear that sfgiants 8O I take it you skipped the QT step ?

 

[blorkiemom]

I'm so sorry to hear about your tank. I'm way too new to have any advice, but take some comfort, if you can, in knowing that your experience will help others--like when I'm staring at empty display tank and one little fish in the QT tank and wishing it could all go faster. I'll remember what you went through and learn from it!

 

[luntiz]

I believe you should wait about 6 weeks to be safe.

 

[austinsdad]

I had a Velvet/Oodinium attack - also after I stopped using my QT tank. I too was new and excited and moved too fast. Water quality fluctuated badly and I didn't diagnose the problem early enuf. Killed 8 fish. everything from a bristletooth tang, dottybacks, clowns, a Scotts Wrasse, & a blenny. A yellow tang, watchman goby, and a b/g chromis survived.

I used a product called Revive twice within 8 days. My shrimp, starfish, and corals did fine thru it too. After 2 weeks without removing the remaining fish, I began adding fish SLOWLY and after QTing them only. Everything has been fine for the last 5 months. Maybe I was lucky, but the Revive did seem to work for me. I keep it on hand now since it's supposed to used right away.

Good luck. I learned valuable lessons thru the pain. Sounds like you have too.

 

[Atari]

Sorry to hear about all your losses

I learned valuable lessons thru the pain. Sounds like you have too.

It hurts but it's usually the only real way to learn - and make it stick. :?

Hopefully the lesson learned here is not about the store but about QT'ing all fish.

 

[Foible]

Prophylactic treatment with melafix and pimafix both for the fish in quarantine and the display tank once the new fish is added seem to help stop those breakouts. Maybe it's just the quarantine but it never hurts to be safe. Also, if you don't already have a cleaner shrimp, the lysimata variety, get one, or more. They are worth their weight in platinum. They don't just pick off parasites they physically clean anything foreign including fungus off the fish. And it's really cool to watch them grooming everyone.

 

[dicjones]

sorry to hear it

I'm a newbie and also had a breakout of marine velvet. I was able to stock my tank with 6 green chromis, two false perculas, a blue hippo, a bicolor angel, over a 7 month period without a hitch. Then along came the disease bearing royal gramma...probably the last fish I would have put in that tank. I am left with the two clownfish and the bicolor...so far so good back in the display tank after a 6 week absence.

After dropping all that money on my setup I was trying to cut corners running without the QT. Let this be a lesson to all newbies...the QT can be cheap...much cheaper than replacing all your fish. Never again will a fish enter that tank without quarantine.

 

[electrikat]

Deja vu! Same thing with green chromis from Petco also. Never again from there. lost several hundreds of dollars in fish because of 12 dollars worth of crap fish. I used Kick-ich because it's good with coral and inverts. Takes two weeks but I went ahead and waited a couple extra just in case. Went to new Petco here in Waco when it opened, very bad ich in all their tanks. New store, new tanks, no time to cycle apparently. What a shame. What a waste.

 

[Nitrate]

Went to new Petco here in Waco when it opened, very bad ich in all their tanks

I went to the new Petco in Waco right after it opened, lots of floaters and ich spots when I was in there. I buy all my fish from Bridgemans, havent had any real trouble in 3 years.

 

[electrikat]

ich

I go to Bridgeman's alot but also use North Waco Tropical alot. But for my corals I drive to Irving to Saltwater Paradise on O'connor. They have the biggest selection of corals and alot of their beginner corals are 3 for 100 and they aren't the little 2" kind either. Most are 4 to 6 inch rocks covered in whatever it is you want.

 

[Fishboy-from-NY]

Dude, ,it happens to everyone. it just of matter of learning from your mistakes. we are humans. . QT tanks are preached all the time. 90 % of the fish I have in my tank were sick when I purchased, but since I knew how to cure them, I negotiated better prices for them and show the fishies the proper care. QT QT QT man, it's the best thing since slice bread. lol

 

[electrikat]

ich

Yes I know that now. I just set up a 20 gallon last night for a QT. Just an aquaclear 300 filter and a heater. I put media from one of my other filters and a 4 pound live rock in it to cycle it. Should be able to start buying some fish next week. Plan on leaving them in it for two weeks and not getting anything new till each batch is proven healthy. From now on I will err on the side of extreme measures and patience.