My fish are dying!

[blennyluv]

help!!
so far i have lost my royal gramma, i think my hi fin
my star fish is missing two legs, like they are rotting off, its still alive, but sheesh. my little clown goby, i can't believe he is still alive. looks like he got a sunburn and his skin is peeling off. my clown now has the spotty cloudiness over his eyes, and so does my blue tang and my wrasse. they seem to get a weird coating over thier scales and well, they just sorta look different, not like a fungus how it hangs off them. my decorated goby is doing great. thinking of moving him to the other tank
should i hyposalinitate the whole tank?? i have the other tank i could put all my rock and inverts in. i am so scared of losing any more fish, the ones left are my blue tang. my clown, my clown goby (not sure why) my bi color, my wrasse and my decorated goby. so far i have lost my gramma, my green clown goby (never saw any symptoms, hid in the coral) my hi fin (just cant' find him)
ammonia is not the problem, just tested the water.

[Brock Fluharty]

Could be marine velvet. It killed all of my fish except for 1. You may need to put all of your fish into QT and treat them with some kind of medication. Usually, medications for ich will treat marine velvet as well. You cannot put your corals, inverts, or rock into another tank then medicate the display tank, because some of the medication will most likely hang around, and get stuck on the sealants. Move all of your fish into QT for about a month, then see how they do. It may be too late for them by now though...


Brock

[Sugar Magnolia]

Dani, if it is Marine Velvet, it's a fast killer. Your best bet is to pull whoever is still alive and treat them in a QT tank. The main tank will need to remain fishless for about 30-45 days. Here's a couple of articles about velvet and one about Brooklynellosis - it could be that if it isn't bvelvet.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/amylloodiniumart.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brooklynellosisart.htm

[blennyluv]

my gobys skin is coming off in chunks, does marine velvet do this??

[Doctor_Reef]

Can you get any pictures of your fish??? Are all your water parameters in line??? Is there any chance that there is some contaminate that has been introduced to the tank???

[blennyluv]

well, i am really careful with my tank, it looks like HILLE? i got a pic, not really good. and my clown and tang have like cloudy spts on their eyes and i have tried to get a pic and its not working so i will retrieve a pic and post. my parameters are good. will check trates this afternoon. only thing that i haven't checked. i did add iodine, not as much as it said to. but have done 2 or 3 water changes since. thats the only thing i have done different. haven't added fish andit was a coral, since may 14.

[blennyluv]

my goby, blurry, but you can seehow he is losing his skin

[FishinInTheDark]

It's unlikesly HLLE, because that is a very slow sickness seen mostly in tangs and angelfish. My guess is velvet also. Try and get that QT going fast!

Also, could you please click on the link in my signature and complete any and all tank information for us? That could help now and in the future.

Good luck!

[Doctor_Reef]

The picture is not very clear but I would be agreeing with FITD and SM...Looks like it could be Velvet... Ditto's on the cure...you will need to move quickly!!!

[blennyluv]

treat withwhat?

[Doctor_Reef]

Dani, if it is Marine Velvet, it's a fast killer. Your best bet is to pull whoever is still alive and treat them in a QT tank. The main tank will need to remain fishless for about 30-45 days. Here's a couple of articles about velvet and one about Brooklynellosis - it could be that if it isn't bvelvet.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/amylloodiniumart.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brooklynellosisart.htm

See these sites that SM gave you....they give some ideas in treating this!!!

[blennyluv]

so if i take the fish out i have, and treat them, leave the tank empty for 6 weeks it should be gone?? i have a 5 gallon qt, cycled and a 10 gallon i am picking up today. looks i have like 5 fish left and my shrimp, stars and corals. i think i need a bigger qt. had one and my sons clock fell onit, i just haven't set another up @$#$#!! i have a friend with an empty 29, maybe she would let me borrow it. now, this tank is going to cycle, how do i make it easier on my fish, what do i do with my rock, leave it in the tank?

[blennyluv]

they dont seem to have the symptoms of brooklynellosis. no gasping, not white mucas. its so hard to tell with these fishes. its the cloudy eyes, now the clown and the tang look better today, havent found little yellow yet, maybe he finally gave up. need to find him and get him out, i usually look for the hermits, they seem to know where the dead uns are

[bigfoot]

yes medications will kill inverts!
only the fish need to be treated use prime or amquel to help stablize the qt go bare bottom with pvc pieces to give them some where to hide

[bigfoot]

pull the starfish also its probably a gonner im sorry to say but keep an eye on it as it will really foult the water upif you can get that 29 it would be awsome but remember the star will have to qt alone as meds kill usually all inverts

[blennyluv]

well the 3rd leg on the star is starting to go. i think its best if i flush him, do you

[blennyluv]

so velvet does this to stars?? going to get the 29 gallon, i meant does velvet get inverts?? all my shrimp and brittle stars, snails and hermits do not seem to be affected. my decorater goby seems fine, should i leave him in the tank or medicate him just in case?

[blennyluv]

i got some stuff that says it is for marine velvet, coppersafe. is this what i need. what about myacyn?

[Brock Fluharty]

That would be tehe right meds. I'm not 100%, but I don't think that marine velvet can get inverts. At least, when my fish had marine velvet, the inverts didn't get it.

[blennyluv]

well all, this is my plan, i have 5 fish left and they look really well, but i am going to fill up the 29 today, and all my inverts and rock are going in it. i am going to treat the main tank. remove carbon etc........ i think i don't want to add to the stress of my fish by moving them. then, before i put all the inverts and stuff back in, i will remove the substrate, which i had planned on doing anyway and changing it to sand, let the decorations dry out for a week or two and put the thing back together again. how long should i leave the stuff out? the the inverts and rock need to be out of there for 6 weeks? are the iverts going to act as a host and bring it back in (if they live through all this). they do not seem to be affected (except the linkia, whom i had to flush, so sad) my bicolor bit the dust last n ight, hadnt seen him for 2 days, thought he was toast before that. but my goby, my wrasse, my tang, my clown and my angel all seem to be fairing well. need some professional guidance!!!

[bigfoot]

no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


dont treat your display the medicines will get into your sand and what ever else it can leech into if you treat your main tank its gonna be like starting over and if you use a copper based med it will cause you to redo the entire tank new sand new silicone new filters etc treat the 29 not you display tank and you will start at square 1 new cycle as the meds will destroy your bacteria

[Doctor_Reef]

blennyluv -- I personally wouldn't put copper in my display tank...even if you change the substrate! Copper has a way of holding on to the silicone and glass, acrylic or plumbing... I would personally move the fish and not introduce the copper to the display...I know that this will add stress to the fish but they are already sick! Copper residue will be left in the display – you will have major issues with all the inverts from now on….Your inverts can’t be a host for velvet ….let the tank remain with out fish up to 6 weeks and you should be fine….

[blennyluv]

ok all, i have 4 fish left. they are in the qt tank now. dory looks really good, havent seen her cleared up from ich since i got her. nemo died in the qt tank, this is what i see, coral beauty, she looks like she has spots on her, all over, and her eyes , her fins looked like they were being ate off, but the white stuff that was on them is gone andit seems to have stopped (i have treated with coppersafe) the wrasse also has these same spots. the decorated goby seems unaffected still. this really stinks. so how long should i keep them in the qt tank?? the display has to stay fishless for 6 weeks? would i be safe to move my colt coral to my other tank? or could it bringit in? i really do not understand how my fish got sick. i take great care of my tanks. but, lesson learned, will have a qt tank from now on.

[blennyluv]

i put the hob filter from my display tank on the qt tank. when this is done, how do i make sure the thing is free and clear of copper before i put it back? i have a uv sterilizer coming in 2 days. will this speed up t he process in the main tank?

[FishinInTheDark]

If you put the colt coral into the copper-treated QT, it will die. Copper kills marine invertebrate animals, which corals are.

Honestly, if I were you, I would never put that HOB filter back on my display tank. Copper leaches into plastic, silicone, rock, etc. You would not be able to guarantee that it was clean, because it goes into the "fiber" of the filter itself. "Drying" won't remove copper either. Copper is a mineral that will not evaporate like a few chemicals do. You can, of course, do whatever you choose, and there may not be enough copper in the filter to kill your corals and inverts, but you may see that they are never as healthy as they could be.

The UV will kill what parasites pass through it, but it cannot help what is living in the substrate. The tank still needs to lie fallow for six weeks as a minimum.

I wish you luck!

[blennyluv]

oh, not in the qt tank, i have 2 55 tanks. one is really healthy, and i am trying to leave the lights off in the sick tank to try and kill some algae. so i was thinking on moviing the corals to the healthy 55, but i have a really awesome tomatoe clown that i would not want to sick. so if the coral could transfer this, i would just leaveit until it is safe
i think i am going to remove the substrate. but the parasites can live in the rock to i am sure. i want sand in the bottom instead of cc. i guess now is the time to do that, that is another reason i thought of putting the colt in the other tank (the other 55) so he would not be in my way.
my wrasse looks wonderful today! dory too. the goby still unaffected, my coral beauty is covered in spots. they look more noticable today. but she seems as ornery as ever. i want to put the goby in the other 55, cuz he would like the sand. should i wait a month to put him in there?? or how long should i wait?, what about the other fish, they could go in there too, all i have that i am keeping is the clown in that tank, she is huge. so after they are well for a couple of weeks that is an option. they seem so scared in that tank qt tank. they are all eating well. so i am sure thats a good thing.

[Doctor_Reef]

FITD is dead right with the hob...imho I wouldn't use it on the display either....I would get a new one and put on the display....and the uv will kill the free swimmers but not all of them will go through the uv.... six weeks is a safe time and you won't be disappointed when you add your fish back in...it would be terrible if you put fish in to early and you had to go through this again....

[blennyluv]

you got that right, what a pain in the !#@$%$#! no, really, i love my fish, i am so glad i haven't lost them all. i really thought nemo was ok, but it looks as tho the other 4 will live. the coral beauty looks much better this afternoon. still has some spots, but not as many. speedy (fairy wrasse) looks wonderful, not a mark on him that i can see. looks like we could be on the road to recovery. is there anything else i need to add to the tank, if this tank goes through a cycle, what do i do? hate to lose them because of that. should i add some enzymes or something? water changes? i used stuff from the main tank, the hob filter, the power head and filter, the water to add to this tank. used over half of already good water, so maybe it will hold. thanks for all the help everyone!