Might have to eat my own words re: quarantine

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by daniella3d

Did your vet id the culprit?

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Did adding Prime not help at all for ammonia?

I have my new fish in quarantine for 5 weeks and half now and due to this sad story I am going to keep them in quarantine another 2 weeks, just to be safe.

Yes, the vet said it was velvet, but I'm not sure what he's basing that on, probably photos under the scope.
No, prime did nothing for NH3 at all. The only thing that really works is a fully mature filter; once I got one, NH3 is now 0 (after a large water change).

I'll be building my fish list over the next couple of months, and I will buy them all at once, Q and treat, then into the tank.

[lngrhaul]

so sorry that you were not able to save them Brad. Certainly you did everything that you could possibly try.

I know it will be a while before you are ready to proceed with the fish but I'm wondering how you are planning to handle the big swing in the water chemistry when you add all the fish at one time?

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by lngrhaul

so sorry that you were not able to save them Brad. Certainly you did everything that you could possibly try.

I know it will be a while before you are ready to proceed with the fish but I'm wondering how you are planning to handle the big swing in the water chemistry when you add all the fish at one time?

That's part of the plan I haven't quite figured out yet Tim T had suggested an ammonia salt added to the tank (NH4CL I think?), and this would keep the filter going. I do still have lots of snails, hermits and shrimp, which will contribute.
I suspect that the filter media from the treatment tank will be as disease free as the fish, so I imagine adding that to the sump with the addition of the fish should balance things out. I think. I can also transfer one or two every other day, they don't all need to go into the display the same day, they just need to be treated and quarantined together.

I haven't really got to that part yet though, at this point I still have half a dozen fish in treatment, 2 fish in the 180 to extract somehow, and then build a fish list. Once I've done that, I need to figure out how to pay for them.
In addition to sick fish, I've had a sick dog for 3 months that has cost me a couple grand so far....sigh

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

In addition to sick fish, I've had a sick dog for 3 months that has cost me a couple grand so far....sigh

whats wrong with your dog??

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by reefwars

whats wrong with your dog??

No idea. Best we can tell, a fungal infection. Lost a ton of weight, neurological issues, one eye messed up.

A specialist suggested a new medication that seems to be helping. We went with fungal even though the tests were negative. Twice. But this stuff seems to be helping, she's actually starting to play, after laying in the corner for 3 months...

[Borderjumper]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

No idea. Best we can tell, a fungal infection. Lost a ton of weight, neurological issues, one eye messed up.

A specialist suggested a new medication that seems to be helping. We went with fungal even though the tests were negative. Twice. But this stuff seems to be helping, she's actually starting to play, after laying in the corner for 3 months...

well thats good news!

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Borderjumper

well thats good news!

ya, she bit my arm and tried to drag me off the bed, looks like she's coming around -lol

[Myka]

Oh Brad!! This is awful. Sorry I'm so late on the bandwagon here...

I didn't read it all, just the first few page, and last few pages. It sounds like you're not sure if it is velvet or not?

Personally, I won't use copper medication for any reason (I'm sure you've seen me say this before). I really like to use Formalin instead. It is very broad-spectrum...and my go to when I have no idea what is ailing the fish. I have never had it fail me yet. The only thing that is a pain in the butt about Formalin is that you have to dip the fish rather than treating the water in the hospital tank. I don't mind doing this because I'm not a fan of treating the water column anyway...I haven't had a whole lot of luck doing that. Even for antibiotics I prefer to put those into the food.

You said you were having troubles with Prime not working? How are you determining it is not working? Test kits? Which ones? Most test kits are not compatible with Prime. FWIW, AmQuel is half the price and 2x the concentration. BTW, these products need to be dosed daily - just enough to keep the ammonia low - don't go by the dosing instructions. Doing 25% waterchanges 1-2x weekly helps flush all the chems out too and make a big difference. You don't need a cycled filter or water. I've kept dozens of fish in fresh saltwater with nothing but an airstone and/or powerhead for weeks on end. You do have to use a lot of AmQuel or (even more) Prime though.

HTH

[Aquattro]

Thanks Mindy. Pretty sure it's velvet, but the stress may have also triggered some ich. It's all fish, 2 tanks.
Not a fan of copper either, but formalin scares me, I killed a $500 pair of discus once and swore I'd never use it again. This chloroquine sounds promising, and I'm trying that. Lots of references to it's success, so here's hoping.
I know you "can" setup a fresh tank, but it's just too much work with everything else I've got to deal with. The prime didn't work solely based on fish response. Once I got a mature foam block and did a nearly full water change, they settled down a bit. Unfortunately I helped them on their way to dead with ammonia levels first.
I still have a goby in the display that so far seems unaffected and too smart to go into the trap, so until he dies or jumps, the timer for fallow tank doesn't start. Overall, it's been a **** week....

[Borderjumper]

well.. you will be ready for fish about April.. April is the next scheduled frag swap and sale you may have to charge a slight cover charge at the door!