puffer w/ ich .. REAL BAD .. please advise

[ronnieroach]

i told my tattoo artist that his puffer had ich a month ago & when i went back for more work last week, i saw that he never treated or anything cuz the little guy got much worse .. thennn last night he calls me begging that i come out tomorrow & save his puffer

basically, hes COVERED & i'm not sure i'll even be able to help .... buuuuut

maybe you guys could give me some good medicine names or treatments?? i have the QuickCure medicine but i dont know if its saltwater safe or "saltwater smart" to use a chemical like that .. the package says 'for marine use' which i assume is SW but again, i'm clueless

ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

his puffer is AMAZING w/ a purple body, yellow spikes & the coolest eyes i've ever seen on any living thing .. PLEASE HELP our little homie

 

[hiltymj]

If there is no corals or inverts then use copper

 

[cmor1701d]

Any type of treatment is best done in a seperate QT (quartantine tank). Most Ich cures don't do very much. You either need to use a copper based medication or Hyposalinity treatment.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part I by Steven Pro

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro


Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[ronnieroach]

i know he doesnt have a QT tank since its in a tattoo shop

i'm going to read the articles now but when you say copper, what exactly do you mean? like a pipe?

again, i am beyond a newb at SW so please explain as if talking to a child or moron lol

AND THANKS FOR THE HELP!!!!

 

[mwilliams]

It is called Cupramine. I hope you get the little guy better. Ich is no fun to deal with. Only use this if there is no Corals or inverts in the tank also once used in the tank nothing can ever go in there other then fish. Also if there is live rock in there it to cannot be used for any other tanks.

Aquarium Fish Medications: Cupramine

 

[Terrance]

After treating for ich, he better treat for IP. This particular type of puffer is susceptible to internal worms regularly for the first few months, so he better get those meds too.

 

[cmor1701d]

You now have a bit of reading ahead of you. If you decide to go with a copper based treatment be sure to also buy a test kit for it so you can maintain the proper amount of copper in the tank.

Again, using copper medication means no snails, shrimp, crabs, corals, etc. in the tank, now or ever.

 

[ronnieroach]

thanks so much for the help guys

but after reading the articles, i'm more confused now than i was before lol

i totally understand the diseases but the treatment is a little too scientific for a dude like me .. this is why i havent tried a SW tank yet

i grabbed some 'coppersafe' meds at the lfs .. he's clear of inverts & live corals / rock; just has some dead corals for decoration .. i'm hoping the meds work but i'm pretty sure he's too far gone

he told me that he now has stringy things on his eyes, which i believe are worms / parasites .. the coppersafe says it treats those, ick & protozoan velvet (which i also think he has)

as far as test kits for his parameters & copper levels, thats gonna be on him .. i can barely afford my own stuff with the job i have lol but if he buys them, i'll go
out daily & take care of the testing, etc.

& just FYI, i HIGHLY doubt they've done any pwc's or cleanings since they redid the tank .. it's a shame too cuz my tattoo artist buys BEAUTIFUL fish!!

anything else you guys can tell me would help very much but THANK YOU for all you guys have done already!! i will def be getting a free tatt because of you guys

 

[ronnieroach]

the all salt shop in my area said not to use the coppersafe .. they told me they have their own concoction that works great so i'm gonna grab that tomorrow & return the coppersafe

 

[Terrance]

Well if he's not doing any pwc, then your job is done. The fish's fate is sealed. Fresh water helps a lot, especially for a sick puffer.

 

[cmor1701d]

STOP! DO NOT buy anything that the lfs made unless they tell you exactly what is in it. Coppersafe or Cupramine will work as will Hyposalinity. Some magic formula made in the back room will probably only inflate the pocket of the lfs.

STOP and tell the tattoo artist that the fish is a goner. It will either die of Ich now, or later possibly of some other disease if they do not do regular partial water changes. There are companies that service tanks in commercial establishments (most of them poorly) that he should hire if he is not willing to do the work himself.

That is the simple, but harsh reality. For you to spend money on someone else's tank when they don't care of it is just ridiculous. Some people should not have a fish tank. He sounds like one of them.

And yes, it sounds like this fish may already be too far gone to save.

 

[ronnieroach]

STOP! DO NOT buy anything that the lfs made unless they tell you exactly what is in it. Coppersafe or Cupramine will work as will Hyposalinity. Some magic formula made in the back room will probably only inflate the pocket of the lfs.

STOP and tell the tattoo artist that the fish is a goner. It will either die of Ich now, or later possibly of some other disease if they do not do regular partial water changes. There are companies that service tanks in commercial establishments (most of them poorly) that he should hire if he is not willing to do the work himself.

That is the simple, but harsh reality. For you to spend money on someone else's tank when they don't care of it is just ridiculous. Some people should not have a fish tank. He sounds like one of them.

And yes, it sounds like this fish may already be too far gone to save.

THANKS CMOR!!

now will his lion fish, goby & few other fish be ok w/ the coppersafe? i didnt see any ick or disease on the others last time. should i definitely treat the tank if only for the others' sakes?

& it was only 10 bucks so i didnt mind buying the coppersafe but you're right. he does dig his fish but doesnt have time to do it himself. he tattoo's 6-7 days a week though so he CAN however afford to pay someone & i agree he should

i talked to the guys who set up his tank & they're the ones w/ the concoction. but i'll probably just try the coppersafe today since you guys & my local lfs said it was what to use

he definitely cant rely on me since i know nothing about salt

thanks for all the help homies .. i dont have high hopes but i guess we'll see

 

[cmor1701d]

Once Ich is in the tank it may affect all fish, especially if water quality is allowed to deteriorate. So, as long as this will be a Fish Only tank treating all the fish with a copper medication would be a good thing.

However, water quality needs to be brought up to standards and kept there. That is done by weekly partial water changes. I would start with a few 10% - 20% daily pwc's for a week to get water quality back to where it should be. That will dilute the copper and more will need to be added. That's one of the reasons you need a quality copper test kit to help maintain therapeutic levels in the tank.

You should have a serious conversation with the owner and let him know what he needs to do to maintain a tank in the store. If he's unwilling to do that, let him know that he just sell the tank and buy some pictures or artwork for the store.

Most of the tank maintenance companies I know of don't do a very good job. Maybe that's because they only come once a month instead of every other week. Maybe it's because proper maintenance is too expensive.

One place I worked at had a great looking tank for 1 week of the month. The company would come in and do a 50% water change, remove the dead fish, corals, etc. Add new fish and corals, etc. The lights were standard T8 bulbs so the corals started to die immediately. The company paid a monthly fee for this service and insisted the maintenance company knew what they were doing...

 

[ronnieroach]

went to the tattoo shop today .. the puffer didn't look any worse than the last time i saw him & didn't have any stringy things that i saw (he said the puff shook them off)

IMO it just seemed like a bad case of ick .. i couldn't tell if the lion fish had it or if he just had bubbles on him .. their outputs are making tiny bubbles where the water comes back in (they said because it needs more water .. i'm guessing for the filtration underneath?)

i called the lfs that set up their tank & they said they'd call him back .. i told them to let those dudes do it cuz my head is spinning & i was terrified i'd kill his fish .. HOWEVER, i gave them my number & i never got a call back .. but i did give my artist their number so hopefully he got in touch with them

the guys at the shop said they'd done PWC's since it was set up but not as often as they should've & not recently at all.. i told him to buy the testing kit & i'll let him know whenever he's not doin good ..

i'm also gonna throw his tank in my AquaPlanner app when its back in order & i'll keep track of when he's gotta do all his changes, etc. ..

THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP!!!! even though i didnt really use it lol its amazing to me how much you guys know

 

[cmor1701d]

If read the articles I linked then you know that what you are witnessing is the normal life cycle of the Ich parasite. After the adult feeds for a few days (3-7) they drop off and reproduce for a week or two. When they hatch the look for a fish to attach to, normally at night when the fish are resting on the bottom. Now the fish has many more parasites. If the pattern is not broken they will consume the fish (weaken it to the point it dies).

It sounds like they may have a sump under the tank, possibly with a protein skimmer. The micro bubbles could be from the skimmer or from low water level in the sump if they are not topping off with RODI water between water changes,

If you are going to take this tank on, you have a lot to learn in a short period of time. Unless they are compensating you in some way I suggest you leave them to their devices.

 

[ronnieroach]

thanks again

& yeah i thought i said it but i will NOT be working on the tank ... i referred them to the guy who set it up since i was terrified that i'd kill the fishies lol

i will strictly be a FW dude for all my days lol