Death and Destruction

[shamrock]

Hi,
I am not sure what we have but it is killing everything in my tank. We have lost 11 fish in the last 2 weeks, and I dont want to loose all of them. The fish are breathing fast, they are not eating, they are covered in whittish spots (powdered sugar appearance), some of them have lesions, and are loosing scales. I am not sure if it is MV or MI but whatever it is I want to kill it. We have 3 very large eels, star fish, 4 remaining fish and an anenome and I dont want to loose them.
Our eels appear fine, they so far do not have any signs of being sick. They have been eating, their skin is good and they are very active. We have a large snowflake, a zebra, and a golden moray and I dont want to loose them. Are they carriers of the parasite? Can they be dipped in Methelyne blue, freashwater, formalin, or????? Please advise.
We have used Chem Marin for a few days and have emptied our tank, scrubbed it, done about a 80-90% water change and we dipped the fish in both freashwater and Formalin dips. We treated the tank with Formalin (180 gallon tank with a 60 gallon sump with about 1 tablespoon ish of Formalin).
We dont really no what else to do and we want to get rid of the parasite and dont want to have our eels get sick.
Any help or suggestions would be great!!!
Thank you in advance.

[leebca]

Sounds more like the parasite you are dealing with is Marine Velvet, Amyloodinium ocellatum. From you posting this in the Marine Velvet thread (I've moved it into its own thread), I suspect that you suspect it is Marine Velvet, too.

So why aren't you treating them for Marine Velvet. Everything you've done so far doesn't kill Marine Velvet.

Follow the Marine Velvet post. Move all fish (including eels) into quarantine tanks. Treat with Cupramine and only Cupramine. The eels won't handle other copper treatments. Just follow the directions that come on the medication. Let tank go fishless for 8 weeks at least.

Leaving invertebrates in tank is okay. Keep feeding them and performing normal maintenance on the display system. Change nothing else. Add nothing else to the display system.

Quarantine all new specimens/marine life coming into the display system after this is all dealt with.

A Quarantine Process (step-by-step)

[shamrock]

Thank you so very much for all the information.
We are relatively new the the hobby and I appreciate all the assistance.

We were told by the fish store owner to use Formalin for our sick fish and to treat our main tank every week with this product so that is why we were using it. But I should have trusted my gut and did the copper in the first place, and I will in the future if needed.
Should we do routine water changes on our display tank while our fish are in quarantine or is that unnecessary? Also we buy our saltwater from the fish store (ocean water), should we be doing this or should we buy the RO water and add the artificial salt and make our own salt water?

Sorry for so many questions. Also can we add sand to the QT or should the QT be completely bare with nothing but fish? Or can we put sand at the bottom of the QT from our display tank (understanding that the sand can never go back into our display tank)?

Once this is all cured do we use the Formalin or Cupramine for the new fish (as a preventative dip) or do we just do a freshwater bath and quarantine them for 6wks?

Thanks for all of your advise

[leebca]

Most of your questions are addressed and answered in the post I linked above. The time has come to read, read and then, do more reading.

Read through this post:
Curing Fish of Marine Ich

What you are doing is exactly what the above post tells you about except:
1) You've already determined it is MV; and
2) You've already determined you will treat by Cupramine.

The quarantine process is not to treat every fish you get, but to hold fish to determine IF they need treatment. Many hobbyists are 'bitten by the disease leopard' and then they 'see spots everywhere.' Don't over react. In this hobby, you take time, have patience and do what is needed.

Natural sea water is fine to use when dealing with small systems. It can get to be problematic as the system grows. You should read this post for more perspectives on that question: WATER - Source and NSW

Don't be too worried about being misled by your LFS. It is far too common. Just try and be better informed by asking around to a variety of sources, reading, and Internet searching before assuming they are giving the best advice.

[shamrock]

I have read thru everything that you have suggested. It feels like I have been reading all about this non-stop for days trying to help my fish, but I guess that is what it takes to be an informed hobbyist. I thank you for the time and all the info.
I have my QT set up and active should I wait to add the Cupramine? I would assume that since they have all been infected and that Cupramine kills both MI and MV it wouldnt hurt to start the treatment tonight or tomorrow morning. I have lost too many due to this and I dont want to loose any more of my little fishy friends.
Thanks again

[leebca]

Begin treatment immediately. Be sure you follow the directions on the medication. Be sure you monitor the copper concentration. I know that the Salifert Copper Test Kit is easy to use and measures copper concentration accurately when it is Cupramine.