Is this marine velvet?

[Anonymous]

I had a whole post on what I thought was ich...but, the white spots are sooo very small, and now there is a brownish gloss to my purple tang, which makes me think this marine velvet. I started my copper treatment today and did a freshwater dip on the purple tang, who I noticed also has a red streak/blotch forming on his tail. Upon closer inspection, I noticed my yellow tang is also getting some redness around his gills. I want to beat this so please, please, tell me what needs to be done.

Thanks

 

[Terry B]

Hi Soulfighter,

Amyloodinium or velvet causes the fish to scrach violently and breath rapidly like a dog panting. It usually does look like a fine biege dusting when in an advanced stage. When tangs hemorrage it is often caused by a low pH (sometimes in combination with a bacterial infection). Check your pH and make sure that it is at least 8.0. A range of 8.0 to 8.4 is best.
Check all water parameters including ammonia. If you have to use an antibiotic then do so in a quarantine tank.You can check for Amyloodinium using a FW dip with the same temperature and pH as the tank. Use a clear container and then look for something that looks like a fine sand at the bottom of the dip after you are finished.

HTH,
Terry B

 

[stilmas]

sounds like septicemia is setting in.

 

[Anonymous]

My purple tang seems to be doing better, and the others are all holding the same. The freshwater dip seemed to have helped a lot. After examining the water from the dip, I can see that I am in fact dealing with velvet. My copper is now at .4, and I would like to keep it at that instead of going higher. If i should go higher, please tell me. My ph did drop. I monitor it every day in my qt tank, and it went from 8.4-8.0 in one day. I added some kent marine super buffer to help stabilize things. Should i repeat the freshwater dip again if the fish has more trouble breathing? Do I need to medicate with copper for the standard 3 weeks when dealing with velvet? How long should my display sit fallow?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear about your problem...please keep us informed of the progress. I can't speak to the medication, but as velvet is a real challenge to eradicate, I wouldn't take any chances.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I've been treating this stuff for a little while now. Using cupramine and did a few freshwater dips when they fish were doing pretty bad. They are doing MUCH better now, though they aren't out of the woods yet. I saw the purple scratch a little bit yesterday, and he still has the brown dusty look on parts of him, but no new brown patches appearing. They have much healthier appetites now and swim around like normal. They purple tang has no more red blotches on it, but the yellow tang still does. Ammonia is 0, and the ph is 8.4, so i'm not sure what is causing this. Should I treat with anti-biotics? Is there anything I need to be doing?

I talked to the guys at SeaChem and they said i should treat with copper for 3-4 weeks, which I will. But how long should my display sit fallow before putting my fish back in without the risk of re-infection?

Thanks

 

[Terry B]

Soulfighter,

Bacterial infections often follow parasitic attack. You may have to treat with an antibiotic but I would wait a bit and see what happens. Did your pH fall because you are combining copper treatment with a low salinity? A low pH can cause a Yellow tang to turn a bit red or pink. This may resolve by just maintaining the pH. You need to check the copper level with a Seachem or Redsea copper test kit twice a day. Make sure the fish have plenty of PVC pipe for hiding places and keep a batch of saltwater ready along with a good antiobitic in case you need to use them. I would treat for a minimum of 4 weeks for amyloodinium. Your reef should probably remain fishless for 8 weeks. Amyloodinium is more difficult to get rid of than Cryptocaryon irritans (Ich). I would try to avoid more FW dips at this point.

HTH,
Terry B

 

[Anonymous]

Great answer, Terry.

 

[Anonymous]

Yup, I think my ph dropped becasue of hypo and copper together. Once I found out that I wasn't dealing with Ich, i stopped hypo and gradually returned everything back to normal. Now however, I'm dealing with the opposite problem. My ph likes to be 8.5-8.6 and I am having to constantly fight to keep it down. I do have some anti-biotics on hand, so if things get bad, I'll use them. I am also avoiding fresh water dips if at all possible. I don't think I will have to either, becasue the fish do seem to be on the mend. The purple tang still has some patches of brown on it, and he looks to be starting hlle. I think this tang is particularly sensitive to copper, because this has happened with him before when treated with copper. Though could it be attributed to the higher ph? Will the tang be able to put up with hlle for a few more weeks of copper treatment? They've been at theraputic levels for 2 weeks as of today, and I have been testing twice daily with the seachem copper test. I'm always between .4-.5, but it's kinda hard to tell exactly what color it is.

Thanks for the replies.