Sick Fish Please help.

[Fishboy-from-NY]

Hello everyone, I really need your help since It seems that I have treated my tank three times with Copper and still have Ich & Marine Velvet issues. 1st time I treated the tank for 1 month, the 2nd time-8 weeks & the 3rd-8 weeks. I can't seem to understand why it still is happening. Oh to make it sound even wierd, I have a 120W sterilizer at only a 400GPH Rate and still no hope. My problem now is that I have inverts in the tank like shrimp, stars & urchins. I don't want to lose my fish again. How can I treat this tank and make sure all the parasites are gone for good and never ever arrive back. here is more info on my tank just to make sure everything is covered.

1~What type of fish is afflicted? All my fish are affected, except the eels and my goby, they all have either ich or marine Velvet since they scratch on the rocks and have spots around their fins and body.

2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia 0PPM, nitrites 0PPM, nitrates 0PPM, temp 75 Degrees, pH 8.32

3~ How large is the tank? 150G

4~How long has the tank been set up? 2 Years.

5~What type of filtration are you using?
160lbs of live rock, 4inch sand bed, 40G refugium, Nitrate Filter, Wet/Dry Sump 30G, 120 Watt sterilizer.

6~How many fish are in the tank?
Green Bird Wrassse-6 inches, Regal Angel-4inches, Passer Angel-4inches, Niger Trigger-4inches, Ghost Eel-12", Snowflake Eel-12".

7~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel?
I don't do water changes since my parameters are always kept at 0PPM with my Nitrate/Phosphate filter.

8~How long have you had the fish? Green Bird Wrassse-1 yr, Regal Angel-4 months, Passer Angel-4 month's, Niger Trigger-1yr, Ghost Ee-1yr, Snowflake Eel-1yr. If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
I drip acclimate all my inverts and fish.

9~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? Only inverts cleaner shrimp in hopes of them to help.

Now that you know what my tank is all about, I shall let you know what I have in stock that can be used to fix this outbreak:

1-30G Long tank cycled,
2-Bottles of Cupramine, but I can't use it since I have inverts now.
2-Bottles of Green-ex
1-Bottle of Kick Ich
1-Bottle of RXP Marine

PLEASE PLEASE HELP.

 

[Fishboy-from-NY]

Please help!

 

[Fishboy-from-NY]

Please help!

 

[dralarms]

Wow that's a lot of information. , I would QT them in the 30, and maybe try hypo this time. And make sure you leave the tank empty for 5 weeks. Just your inverts, & such. Ich can't survive with out a host. Or try coppersafe, it worked for me, but you still have to QT all the fish. Leave the eels in the main, they will be fine.

 

[austinsdad]

Not sure what you did when you treated 3x w/copper. Was that in the 30g? Doesn't sound like it since you said you've now got inverts and can't treat any more. If you treated w/copper in the main tank and now have inverts, I hope they'll be OK.

Assuming, I'm right, sounds like you've gotta consider using the 30g for copper treatment and having the main fishless for the long run. I think the fallow period is 6 - 8 wks. There's info all over this place about that.

When I had velvet, I treated with a product called Revive twice in the main - w/inverts and all. Of course, 8 fish died, but 3 lived thru it and haven't had a problem since. You might also search for a reason for the velvet outbreak. I think fluctuating water quality is a big reason, but you say your water stays on an even keel, so it must have been something else.

Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[Fishboy-from-NY]

Who makes this product Revive?

 

[austinsdad]

Check this list of reef safe products. Revive is in there. When I used it, the water got yellow for hours. Then, 2 days later, I did it again and turned off the skimmer for 2 days. Like I said, maybe I got lucky because there are those who say you can't treat effectively with inverts and coral, but something worked for me. 2 b/g chromis, a yellow tang, and watchman goby survived. Of course they are some very hardy creatures, but 3 weeks after the outbreak and treatment, I began adding fish again (a lot more slowly and QTing or course). Now, 7 months later and fully stocked again, there have be no problems.

http://aquariumpros.com/aquaprostore/MDre.shtml

 

[austinsdad]

Howdja make out Fishboy?

 

[Fishboy-from-NY]

Well, none of my fish died yet, I am treating the tank with Chem Marin-Stop Parasite and also added 3 cleaner wrasses which seem to be cleanng the fish. Lets see if that works.