Blue Hippo's Chart

[ronj]

Yellow Belly Hippo "LRG"...1...has been in hypo since 6-28-06.....
2...today it is still in hypo 7-30-06


Regular Hippo "SML".........1. has been in hypo since 6-12-06 (est)
2. today it is still in hypo 7-30-06


this chart is a reference for you Steve...this way we will not have to search through threads to find dates of the treatments!!!!

 

[ronj]

ok, just for the record, today both fish have "ich like" spots on them....

yellow belly...spots seem to have disappeared around 7-18-06...hard to tell because of depigmentation...they have returned around 7-25-06....don't know when they first appeared...this is when i noticed them.they are still there today 7-30-06...they don't appear to have changed in size..the large one on its head appears kind of fuzzy...also, its fins are pretty frayed.. they have been this way since i got it..don't know if i mentioned that

regular hippo...spots disappeared and came back 2 weeks after starting treatment....so that is about 6-23-06 ...they disappeared again and have returned about 5 weeks later, which is 7-30-06...there are 3 spots today visible..one on the head that is a tad bit smaller than the ones on its body..the two on the body are very small..the one on its head seems smaller today


sorry about the "ich like" desription Steve...easiest way to picture them

 

[steve-s]

yellow belly...spots seem to have disappeared around 7-18-06...hard to tell because of depigmentation...they have returned around 7-25-06....don't know when they first appeared...this is when i noticed them.they are still there today 7-30-06...they don't appear to have changed in size..the large one on its head appears kind of fuzzy...also, its fins are pretty frayed.. they have been this way since i got it..don't know if i mentioned that

The more you describe this, the more and more it's not seeming like C. irritans. It's either a secondary bacterial infection, Lymhpocystis or least likely, fungal. The frayed fins would also support that via water quality/stress. Since the trophonts where last seen on 07/18, you should really leave this fish at treatment level until mid August minimum. That is assuming the spots on 07/28 are simpley depigmentation scars.

regular hippo...spots disappeared and came back 2 weeks after starting treatment....so that is about 6-23-06 ...they disappeared again and have returned about 5 weeks later, which is 7-30-06...there are 3 spots today visible..one on the head that is a tad bit smaller than the ones on its body..the two on the body are very small..the one on its head seems smaller today

Similar scenario here. The trophonts returning after 2 weeks is not all that uncommon. How your describing the spots actually helps to some degree determine this is not crypt but rather bacterial or the like. Trophonts don't shrimk. Leave the fish a few more days at hypo levels to see if it continues to shrink. By weeks end if it's gone completely, start gradually raising the salinity slowly each day over the next week. By the end of next week you should be able to get a better assessment of the tangs condition. It should remain in the QT for a mimimum 14 days after the salinity is back to full strength (35 ppt) seawater. This will help ensure there is no reoccurance. It will also allow any bacterial problems (or the like) to show up more rapidly/pronounced and be treated as/if needed.

Cheers
Steve

 

[ronj]

ok, i am going to be doing some very regular water changes for these tanks.. i did each one 3? days ago...i will do another tomorrow or the next day

 

[steve-s]

If what I suspect is correct, daily water changes will see this clear up much faster.

Cheers
Steve

 

[ronj]

daily???? what percentage???? i was going to do like 20-30% every 3-4 days

 

[steve-s]

Preferabley 20%.

Cheers
Steve

 

[ronj]

ok...i will try that

 

[ronj]

update: yellow belly- spot on its head is still there...2 more on its body are much more visible today(larger)
regular hippo- spot on head is completely gone...one very tiny spot by its tail remains( barely visible)...you have to look very close to se it..

i am going to do a water change today.. i already have some mixed for tomorrow also

 

[steve-s]

Let's be optimistic for the time being and assume that it is not the parsite. Continue as planned with the water chnages and lets see what happens in another few days.

Cheers
Steve

 

[ronj]

oh, i agree w/ you.. the spot on the yellow belly is much bigger now than it was.. it doesn't look just like a trophont anymore..it also has a spot on its "nose"...it looks kind of fuzzy, like the one on its head...i will keep posting updates...i will be out of town thur- sun.. i will not be able to do water changes...i don't trust anyone to do them for me...i will do a large one for each before i go

 

[ronj]

yellow belly- looks like a few more spots today...there are a total of 5 spots or bumps that i can see, plus the one on its nose..the one on the nose looks kinda fuzzy..also, all of the spots are on the same side.. that probably doesn't mean anything, but i thought i would tell you..

regular hippo- the one spot is still there today and is the same size..

i didn't get to do the water changes yesterday because i mixed the salt wrong and had to add more... i am about to do some large ones today before i go out of town tomorrow

 

[ronj]

ok..i just returned from florida...
yellowbelly- has more of the spots on him(7-8 total)...they are big..all fins are frayed..it also has a new dark spot on it near the tail..it is about the size of this( o ).......it is either brown or red.

regular hippo- the spot near its tail is still there and larger..the other 2 are also larger...

i did a 50% water change on the yellowbelly tank before i left..25% water change on the regular hippo tank...i plan on doing more water changes today..the saltwater is already prepared...should i start raising the salinity for the regular hippo????

 

[ronj]

bump.bump.bump.bump bump

 

[ronj]

Steve, i need to change the filter on the tank of the yellowbelly..if i remove this, will it affect my bacteria colonies???? there is only a huge pipe in the tank... i do have a biowheel..is that enough bacteria...also, did you read my post yesterday??? everything is still the same today... they both have spots on them and they are larger than when i left for Florida...should i go ahead and raise the salinity for the regular hippo?????

 

[steve-s]

Ron,

Been away since Thursday last week, just got back.

The biowheel is all you need for nitrification. Anything else will merely trap waste and add to water quality issues. If anything, use just the biowheel and some carbon and/or a polyfilter. Just be sure the polyfilter/carbon is rinsed every other day or so in fresh RO.

By the sounds of things, you really need to step up the water changes again. When you started before your trip, things where improving. The lack of water changes has allowed the problem to progress again. Do at least 20% water changes daily for the next 10-14 days. DOC/nitrates feed opportunistic bacterial/viral infections. Combine that with a little stress and you have an ailing fish. If you lower the DOC/nitrate, you've reduced a potential food source for these pathogens and allowed the fish's own immune response to beat it. Providing the fish is well fed and looked after. I think timely water changes is the only thing your lacking.

If by Monday you do not see an abatement or it continues to worsen by the weekend, you'll need to take a trip to the LFS for anti's. You have to make sure daily water changes are being done for this to work otherwise.

Cheers
Steve

 

[ronj]

ok...so i should leave the salinity where it is???? also, i was about to put out an APB on you

 

[ronj]

steve, i think i found a big part of the problem in the regular hippo tank...the filter was absolutely full of green waste...i took it out completely...i will do a water change tomorrow after it mixes...i can do a water change on the yellow belly tank tonight... i have some mixed for that one already

 

[steve-s]

That would explain things a bit better, take it out and leave it out. Keep the salinity as it is for now. It will actually help the healing process. If you try raising the salinity before this has a chance to heal, it will make it that much harder on the tang and the process much longer. It would also increase the likelyhood of meds.

Cheers
Steve

 

[ronj]

steve, would it help to run carbon in these 2 tanks for a couple days????