7weeks falloq

[tmkx3]

Hi Steve,
My tank has been fallow now 7weeks and I am getting a little concerned about my fish. My powder blue tang has been picking on my foxface. The foxface was hanging at the surface a little yesterday. I think the small qt is starting to get to them. I am considering putting them back in the main. Is it to early? I also have a uv on the main. What do you think?


Tinia

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

As long as you treated your fish and they are free of parasites now, 7 weeks should be long enough....I would put them back

 

[tmkx3]

The fish have been free of ick since about the third day of treatment. I treated them with coppersafe.

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

How long did you treat?
How long has it been since you treated?

I believe Coppersafe says you can treat for 4 weeks, 2 weeks in Copper is USUALLY enough..You should observe the fish for at least 2 weeks after you end the treatment to make sure they are ich free

 

[tmkx3]

I treated them for 4 weeks. They have been without copper 3 weeks.

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Sould be fine to put them back!

 

[steve-s]

Agreed, as long as the tank has fallowed for a minimum of 6 weeks without any hosts available, you should be good to go.

Cheers
Steve

 

[tmkx3]

Okay, Do I nedd to add them back a few at a time or can I acclimate them all together in a five gallon bucket, That is how I added them to the qt. All at once Was that a no no

 

[steve-s]

How large is the main tank and what fish other than the two mentioned above?

Generally speaking, adding fish quickly to a Qt set up can sometimes be unavoidable. Adding them back to the display should be done in a more controlled method.

Cheers
Steve

 

[tmkx3]

I have 2 percula's, 2 green chromis, a coral beauty, a powdre blue tang and a foxface. I have moved them all back about 24 hrs apart. I returned the powder and the perculas first and I was gonna wait for the other 4 but the foxface still was looking stressed. They are in a 125 gallon long tank, with 125lbs of lr. They all seem to be fine so far. They are eating and acting normal. I guess I need to keep an eye on my water quality? Shouldn't there still be enough bacteria to support them? My water quality was fine when I removed them.

 

[steve-s]

Depends on what you did with the main while they where out. If little or no food was introduced, the bacteria would have died back some. So you will most likely have some higher readings on nitrate for sure. Ammonia and nitrite should be short lived. Be prepared by making extra SW. If the tank was fed even marginally, you should have little problems.

Ideally I would add back the clowns and chromis, then the angel and lastly the two largest. Since the Fox is the one that is worrisome, it may need to be the first but watch it when the tang is re introduced. Do you know what species of fox?

Cheers
Steve

 

[tmkx3]

I got bumped. I will post again

 

[tmkx3]

I did feed the tank every two or three days because of the inverts in the tank. I will keep a close eye on my water quality.The foxface is according to live aquaria a foxface Lo. The powder is no longer picking on him now that there in the main. I am assuming that crowding was the issue.

I do have another problem. My green chromis seem to be blind since the move. They are staying on the bottom of the tank and are bumping into things. They have always been top to mid dwellers in the tank. The wouldn't even pick food off the bottom. They also pace the tank when the tank is dark which is totally out of charactor for them. They usually make a mad dash for the rock when the lights are out. When I feed they only snatch the food that drops right in front of them. They seem to not know that its there unless it touches them. Is this a permanent condition? I think that this is a result of the copper treatment. I don't believe that it has anything to do with the stress of the move because I was very careful not to over stress the fish while catching them and I drip acclimate them for 3 hours.


Sorry for the long post

Tinia

 

[steve-s]

Please post your water parameters, especially the pH. A few more questions though...

Is this only one Chromis or more? Are any other fish showing even remotely the same behavior?
What level was the coppersafe maintained at? What duration did the treatment last?
Were the fish acclimated back to the main, if so how/how long?
How long after returning to the main was this noticed?
Please describe the color, condition of the eyes or any other anomalies no matter how minor? Including the overall body appearance.
Has there been any aggression from other fish?

Cheers
Steve

 

[tmkx3]

parms
ph 8.2
ammonia 40
nitrite 0
nitrate 60

there are 2 chromis and the other fish aren't showing these signs,
The coppersafe was maintained at 1,5 for 1 mon
Yes, they were acclimated by the drip method for 2 hrs
They started acting this way within a day or two.
There doesn't seem to be any discolotation of their bodies or eyes. The other fish are acting aggressive towards them and there are some nicks where they have been bitten

I have an ammonia spike!!! I will start water changes today. I still have the qt set-up should I put some of the fish back until the water is stable? I also have an hob on the qt should I maybe put it back on the main due to the bacteria in the filter or does the bio-wheel need to be replaced before I put the hob on the main due to copper.

 

[steve-s]

Do not put any equipment that has been used in a QT back on the display tank. Apparatus should never be shared.

From the sounds of it the problem is two fold. The high ammonia and coming from a long term exposure to copper has not helped. The best you can do is keep up with large water changes to eliminate the ammonia and also watch for signs of nitrites. The nitrates will lower with the ammonai as you do water changes but try to keep them down as well. Low stress, excellent water parameters and proper foods is about all you can do at this point.

If the larger fish are making the problem worse, moving the chromis back to the QT will improve their odds as long as the water parameters there are good and the copper has been removed. Please be sure you do not use a net when you transfer the chromis and ensure they are acclimated properly. Once done, begin lowering the salinity some down to about 18-20 ppt. This will ease some of their stress and aid in the healing process. If there is damage from the prolonged copper exposure there's not much you can do about it.

For future reference, copper treatments should not last longer than two weeks. The Coppersafe was at the lower end of the recommended dosage but there's no telling if permenant damage will result. Impossisble really to determine if this was a factor or not. More commonly proper digestion is interupted but it can affect other organs/systems as well.

Cheers
Steve

 

[tmkx3]

I haven't heard back from you yet so I thought I would give you an update. The chromis are eating a little more and occasionally will swim at the top buy mostly stay on the bottom.

 

[steve-s]

The only thing you can do is keep up the water quality and feedings. It wouldn't hurt to step up the water changes wether it's needed or not. It can sometimes help.

Basically it's a wait and see situation. :doubt:

Cheers
Steve