3 fish dead in 2 weeks and it does not look good for the rest

[sitandwatch]

So I have lost 3 fish in the last two weeks and not sure I can stop the loss of the others.

So far I have lost blond naso, yellow eye kole and yesterday Mr lips(red lip blenny)

Out of the fish remaining
Pink Tail Trigger looks the worst
Clowns second worst
Yellow tang looks ok - some spots
Fairy Wrasse looks ok - some spots
Niger - looks ok but starting to see some issues
Mystery Wrasse - looks great some how

nitrates=0
nitrites=0
phosphate=0
ph = 7.8ish

I am running carbon, and n/p pellets

Since the weekend I have reduced feedings, done a water change, increased flow, did two days and nights of no light.

Added garlic and vitamins to food and directly to the tank

The fish are all still eating mysis, pellets and flakes. Piggy fish(pink tail) loves to eat.

Here are some photos, If you have any suggestions please let me know.

Note quarantine tank is out as I don't have the time and funds to set it up and I think that catching the 7 fish and putting them in a small tank would cause a lot of stress.

Thanks Brian

[kien]

If it appears as tho they are getting a velvetty texture they could have marine velvet. The early stages of preceicable velvet infestation can appear like ich.. Sort of small white spots. If this is the case you may not have any choice but to treat your display tank with copper. Maybe take out most of your live rock and store them in Tupperware while you are treating the fish. If you do use copper whatever live rock and sand you have will have to be thrown out later. A QT tank would be best but you said that's out of the question. If left untreated you will likely lose the rest of the fish, just a matter of time

[The Grizz]

for your sake I hope it is not velet but it does look like it might be. I lost 4 fish to it awhile ago including my sweet large lion fish.

[kien]

Also, you did not post the most important parameter, Ammonia. I assume and hope it is zero.

[sitandwatch]

Yup Ammonia is at 0.

And really hoping that its not velet also

[Chaloupa]

I hate to say, but I also agree...it does sound like and look like Marine Velvet. I lost a tankful to it once....sorry...

[kien]

Sadly, hoping that it isn't velvet isn't going to make it go away. If it looks like velvet and acts like velvet (killing your fish quickly, laboured breathing, etc), I would assume the worst and act quickly and accordingly. Time is probably not on your side with this one.

[fishoholic]

Marine velvet is awful I lost 26 out of 34 fish to it last summer. I wouldn't of lost as many if I had acted quicker and sucked it up and set up the qt tank and did the copper treatment earlier. It was a HUGE PITA to catch that many fish out of two three feet tall 230g tanks, then QT them all and treat them in a 120g with copper for 2 weeks (doing 50% water changes every other day, so ammonia wouldn't spike) then let the displays sit empty for another 6 weeks but If I hadn't did it I would not of saved the eight fish that did make it, one of them being my prized king angel. My only regret is being to lazy not to have done it sooner and have had the possibility to save more of them.

Sorry to be blunt, but as I see it, you either try to treat your fish with copper or watch them all die. Keep in mind your rock and corals will be useless if you treat the display and the fish need the copper treatment for 2 weeks and be out of the display for another 6 weeks (if you didn't treat in the display) before the velvet is gone from the system. If it's not worth it to QT and save what fish you have left & if it's not to late for them already (MV kills fast) then know that you will need to wait 8 weeks after the last fish has died before adding any new fish to the display, this needs to be done in order to not infect the new fish with MV.

FYI even when you start copper treatment fish will still die during the 1st week. It wasn't until the 2 week of treatment before fish stopped dying on me.
Here's a link to my thread when my fish had marine velvet. Lots of good info in it and some graphic pic.'s http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...=marine+velvet

+1 fishoholic I would believe her just read post on MV it is moving... and I sympathies with her for what she went through.

It looks like velvet and the only thing to treat it with is Copper nothing else works freshwater baths while you QT all fish and then the DT has to remain dark and fallow for 3 months to be rid of it. I would QT each fish separately in 10g tanks then the least affected fish have a better chance of making it with out any stress from other fish the QT also has to remain dark. Ambient light from a room for feeding and remember to feed food that has been soaked with garlic and selcon to help with the fish's metabolism and immune system the copper will most likely affect their livers any tangs or angle fish their stomachs bacteria will be killed so they may not do so well.
I wish you all the best with this as you have to be dedicated to help these fish FW dips every day helps a bit. lower the salinity and raise the temp treat with copper. As posted while I was typing water changes. Thats all I can offer you the way of help, other than if they are not going to make it clove oil will put them down. I would dip them first and find out if they have flukes but that would be the worst case of flukes I have seen in a long time.
Bill

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by bvlester

It looks like velvet and the only thing to treat it with is Copper nothing else works freshwater baths while you QT all fish and then the DT has to remain dark and fallow for 3 months to be rid of it. I would QT each fish separately in 10g tanks then the least affected fish have a better chance of making it with out any stress from other fish the QT also has to remain dark. Ambient light from a room for feeding and remember to feed food that has been soaked with garlic and selcon to help with the fish's metabolism and immune system the copper will most likely affect their livers any tangs or angle fish their stomachs bacteria will be killed so they may not do so well.
I wish you all the best with this as you have to be dedicated to help these fish FW dips every day helps a bit. lower the salinity and raise the temp. Thats all I can offer you the way of help, other than if they are not going to make it clove oil will put them down. I would dip them first and find out if they have flukes but that would be the worst case of flukes I have seen in a long time.
Bill

Agreed about the FW dips. It wasn't until close to the 2nd week of treatment and I got brave enough to do FW dips that I noticed huge improvements with the fish's ability to breathe better.