Fish with Velvet...

[Michael Lawford]

I am currently struggling with Velvet in my tank. I have been dosing with
something called 'heal all' but it does not seem to be working well enough.
My midas Blenny is civered and after dosing with Heal All he started to
clear a little at his gills and head but he has not made any progress for a
few days now. What can you guys suggest to get rid of this properly - I
have already lost 3 fish. Stop feeding for a while?

~m

[George Patterson]

Michael Lawford wrote:
> I am currently struggling with Velvet in my tank. I have been dosing with
> something called 'heal all' but it does not seem to be working well enough.
> My midas Blenny is civered and after dosing with Heal All he started to
> clear a little at his gills and head but he has not made any progress for a
> few days now. What can you guys suggest to get rid of this properly - I
> have already lost 3 fish. Stop feeding for a while?

CopperSafe. Use in conjunction with a good copper test kit. Use half the amount
specified on the bottle, wait 2 hours, test the level, and bring the level up to
..2 ppm. You will probably find that it takes less than the "xxx per gallon"
directions on the bottle. Keep the level up at least .15 ppm for at least a
week. If you have animals in the tank that are sensitive to copper, remove them

George Patterson
Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
Because she smells like a new truck.

[Pszemol]

"George Patterson" > wrote in message news:53zwe.15579$bz6.3968@trndny06...
[copper medicine]
> If you have animals in the tank that are sensitive to copper, remove them

Do not forget we are on the "*.reefs" newsgroup... be carefull with advises.
You cannot treat animals with copper in a reef tank at all.
You will kill your live rock inhabitants, all worms and other inverts with copper.

You can only treat some fish (not all species!) with copper in FO tank.
If you have reef tank there is a big problem with copper treatments.
The only way to do it is to move affected fish to the hospital tank and
treat them copper there.

[George Patterson]

Pszemol wrote:
>
> The only way to do it is to move affected fish to the hospital tank and
> treat them copper there.

And when you move them back, the velvet will recur.

George Patterson
Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
Because she smells like a new truck.

[Pszemol]

"George Patterson" > wrote in message
news:TPKwe.15742$bz6.13993@trndny06...
> Pszemol wrote:
>>
>> The only way to do it is to move affected fish to the hospital tank and
>> treat them copper there.
>
> And when you move them back, the velvet will recur.

This parasite attacks fish hosts only. If you keep the tank fishless for
long
enough (8 weeks) it will not survive in the reef tank. Keep the fish in
copper long
enough, feed them well and make sure they have room to hide in the hospital
tank to minimalize the stress and you will be fine...

If you use copper medication directly in your reef tank you will soon loose
the whole reef. Corals, inverts will die. What will be left is a bunch of
DEAD
rock and fish... All invertebrates will die from copper. It is deadly toxin,
that is why you use copper for the parasites in the first place...

And again - proper quarantine of your newly introduced fish is the key.

If you like to read more, here is the link about marine velvet disease:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/amylloodiniumart.htm

[Michael Lawford]

Ok so I cant use copper and I do not have a hospital tank.

On the advice of my LFS I have switched to a medicine called Myozin??
'
Let's see how this goes.....

"Michael Lawford" > wrote in message
...
>I am currently struggling with Velvet in my tank. I have been dosing with
>something called 'heal all' but it does not seem to be working well enough.
>My midas Blenny is civered and after dosing with Heal All he started to
>clear a little at his gills and head but he has not made any progress for a
>few days now. What can you guys suggest to get rid of this properly - I
>have already lost 3 fish. Stop feeding for a while?
>
> ~m
>

[Pszemol]

"Michael Lawford" > wrote in message ...
> Ok so I cant use copper and I do not have a hospital tank.

Go to any store and but 20 gallons tank to be your hospital tank.
Put some hiding places inside (depend on fish type) like ugly
pieces of PVC pipes or broken pieces of flower pots and you are
good to go...

Do not use any medicine in your reef if possible...
Fish parasites are specific in treatment this way that if they
do not have fish host to complete their life cycle they die on
their own. So simply by leaving the tank fishless for 2 months
you rid it of parasites. During this time you can work on your
fish health in a hospital/quarantine tank...

And if you seriously think about keeping a successful reef tank
you need to have a spare tank to make quarantine when needed.

[Michael Lawford]

Then do I need skimmers etc. for the tank?

"Pszemol" > wrote in message
...
> "Michael Lawford" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Ok so I cant use copper and I do not have a hospital tank.
>
> Go to any store and but 20 gallons tank to be your hospital tank.
> Put some hiding places inside (depend on fish type) like ugly
> pieces of PVC pipes or broken pieces of flower pots and you are
> good to go...
>
> Do not use any medicine in your reef if possible... Fish parasites are
> specific in treatment this way that if they
> do not have fish host to complete their life cycle they die on
> their own. So simply by leaving the tank fishless for 2 months
> you rid it of parasites. During this time you can work on your
> fish health in a hospital/quarantine tank...
>
> And if you seriously think about keeping a successful reef tank
> you need to have a spare tank to make quarantine when needed.

[Marc Levenson]

Mike, it sounds like your LFS is giving you some less-than-desirable advice.

Listen to the hobbyists in this ng (newsgroup) because they aren't here
to make a sale. The only way to treat a sick fish is OUT of your
display tank. You can set up a quarantine tank for $15 to $50 depending
on your tastes. Using an old tank you found at a garage sale or buying
one brand new is up to you. It needs a small filter, a heater, and a
light. If you'd like to read up on this topic more, take a look at the
bottom of our club's August 2004 Newsletter.

http://www.dfwmas.com/newsletters_html_format/2004Aug/DFWMAS_aug04.html

Stop dosing the medications your LFS is selling you in your main tank.

Marc


Michael Lawford wrote:
> Ok so I cant use copper and I do not have a hospital tank.
>
> On the advice of my LFS I have switched to a medicine called Myozin??
> '
> Let's see how this goes.....
>
> "Michael Lawford" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>I am currently struggling with Velvet in my tank. I have been dosing with
>>something called 'heal all' but it does not seem to be working well enough.
>>My midas Blenny is civered and after dosing with Heal All he started to
>>clear a little at his gills and head but he has not made any progress for a
>>few days now. What can you guys suggest to get rid of this properly - I
>>have already lost 3 fish. Stop feeding for a while?
>>
>>~m
>>
>
>
>

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Pszemol]

"Michael Lawford" > wrote in message ...
> Then do I need skimmers etc. for the tank?

No. This is temporary place to keep fish for month or two.
You do not use skimmer when you dose medications anyway...
A lot of them cause excessive foaming.

In the hospital tank you need just simple sponge filter,
a small heater and ambient light is more than enough...
Just cover the tank to prevent fish jumping out scared.
It does not have to be even a glass tank - you can use
a plastic tub/rubbermaid of proper size for that purpose.
Remember, this is NOT a display tank, it does not need to be pretty!

[RicSeyler]

You dose copper in your reef tank and you might as well just
throw it all away up front, it will taint your rock/sand for years
and years.


George Patterson wrote:

> Pszemol wrote:
>
>>
>> The only way to do it is to move affected fish to the hospital tank and
>> treat them copper there.
>
>
> And when you move them back, the velvet will recur.
>
> George Patterson
> Why do men's hearts beat faster, knees get weak, throats become dry,
> and they think irrationally when a woman wears leather clothing?
> Because she smells like a new truck.


--
Ric Seyler
Online Racing: RicSeyler
GPL Handicap 6.35

http://www.pcola.gulf.net/~ricseyler
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