velvet

[hollie1979]

help. my tank has velvet. pretty bad...my fish have the extra slime coating, rust yellow brown patches,some are aggressive now..scratching themselves on bottom, clamped fin on goldfish.slow loss appetite in all. i have removed all plants, have the tank in complete darkness now and i am dosing with cupramine - buffered active copper at a slightly weaker dose than recommended. i had up until a few weeks ago a 450 aqua one which was in my lounge room...the water was always at a comfortable temp...almost slightly warm. my fish were very happy and growing quite big and colourful very quickly. i have mostly cichlids...about 7 (all different) my largest being about 16 cm. i also have a black shark, a couple of neons and a goldfish. my tank WAS lovely. my aqua one cracked from top to bottom one night (out of the blue) and in a frenzied panic my poor fish were moved and had to spend the night in the bath..which was a lot colder than my fish are used too. the very next day i bought a metre long second hand fishtank for $85 which i dont think had been used for a long time ( it was in the sun, completly dry with gravel still in bottom.) i bought it home, cleaned and set it up in the kitchen on my table next to the window ( it is the only place long enough for the tank at this moment) now two weeks later my fish have velvet and it was everywhere growing all over everything. i am trying to work out how they got this parasite...could it have been from an infected fish i bought a long time ago and the cold water change, distress from the bath bought this on? i know these things are dormant sometimes until a sudden change or could this parasite have possibly lived in this second hand tank for so long...while the old gravel and tank was dry? i feed my fish spirulina flakes but also frozen beef heart, shrimp and bloodworm..i have also heard this parasite can occasionally be found in bloodworms..not often but sometimes. i would really appreciate imput from anybody that has dealt with this horrible disease......