More problems..I just can't win!

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Whiteface ate a little tonight! He actually swam up to get a piece of mysis at dinner time. I cheered for him! Okay...maybe I am a little 'obsessed ' with my fish!!

 

[steve-s]

Since there are SPS obsessed reefers, why not fish obsessed?

Cheers
Steve

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Steve,

I have been thinking about the fish in my main. The Clowns skin is looking much better. The Raccoon also looks better. As I stated before, they seem to be able to fight off whatever it is in the main tank that comes and goes. BUT, I do NOT want this to follow my fish to my 240 !!. I honestly think I have more than one parasite here. One thats in my main and seems to not cause a lot of problems unless I stir things up. Both times my Clown was affected I had just did a water change and pulled out the rock for scrubbing. It sent sand flying. I did notice, however, before I cleaned the tank that the Clown still had the dark abrasion in front of his tail. I noticed this before the last episode with her..http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12617
The only thing I did that time was a few large water change and I believe I did soak there food in Bifuran. Her skin cleared up.
The Raccoon has the specks that come and go. Most of which are on her face..This may have affected the Tangs also but the White face obviously still had issues when I placed her in the main.
Anyway, my 240 is ready. Its been ready but I wanted to allow it to 'age' a little more before placing fish in it and I am looking into having a dedicated outlet put in for my tank. I wanted to get that done before moving the fish. So, since they seem to be dealing with whatever it is, I am still deciding on how to treat them. Since I have a 30 gallon available, I thought about taking them out one at a time, placing them in the 30, give them the dips and possibly treating with Prazipro also and then moving them into the 240 from there. I will be treating the Clowns together as well as the Argi Angels so that I don't have a war when they meet up again. I am wondering though if the Iridis Wrasse and Hogfish will need more than one dip. Both are more resistant and neither have had any signs of this condition. I would love to only have to dip them once as they are JUMPERS!! Anyway, your thoughts?

 

[steve-s]

It is possible that you may be dealing with more than one ectoparasite. Since the clowns in the previous post received no treatment, whatever they had may still be present but are/have become non invasive.

Considering the Prazipro was not completely affective, I would follow two different treatment suggestions. For the fish that appear to have no issues (mainly the wrasses), treat with Prazi in the food (23 mg/pound of fish body weight) while they are still in the display tank but not until the 240 is closer to being ready. How long is that anyway? Once they are ready for transfer, give them the formalin bath and then into a QT for three days another formalin bath and then into the 240. With the fish still in the old display that are symptomatic, treat as you are now with the Fromalin dips/Furan 2 and skip the Prazi until just before they are ready to place in the 240. Then do as before and add the prazi to the food to be sure they have been dewormed internally.

Cheers
Steve

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

The 240 has been cycled for a couple of months. I have been waiting to get the electrical work done. Things are a little tight right now. So I am hoping to do this in the next few weeks

 

[steve-s]

You might be able to wait that long for the wrasses since they do not show any sign of problems. What fish are remaining in the display other than the clowns and the racoon?

Cheers
Steve

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Funny you say that..I was just thinking that the Iridis Wrasse may end up being the last one out, he dives in the sand so I may have to dig through the sand bend to get him out.
The only other fish in the tank are the two Argi Angels. Niether of them have had issues, Seems to be just the Clown and the Raccoon. Both Clowns were effected this time but not near as bad as what the Female went trough a couple months ago. I just turned on the lights to feed them and the Raccoon and Clowns are looking great. Very strange. I read about another critter in one of my disease books that sometimes shows up in our aquariums. This critter doesn't actually feed on the fish but is mearly 'catching a ride' so to speak. Can't think of the name but I will get that info posted later, I am off to my parents house for Sunday dinner!
Chat with you later!

 

[steve-s]

Have a great dinner!!

As for the fish, I would treat the clowns and the Racoon as soon as possible using the 30 gal. By the time the 240 is ready and the others are done with their treatment, you will have two QT tanks again for the wrasses and the angels. That is providing they do not become symptomatic. You can then prophillactically treat them before they go in the 240.

Cheers
Steve

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Wanted to update
The Whiteface Tang is back to its normal self!! Up and swimming around and eating too. The Hippo is still doing well...I am keeping my fingers crossed that its gone for good this time!
They are due their next dip tomorrow night

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Hello!

My fish recieved their last formalin dip last night. The Tangs look great! The Whiteface has come back from near death and is back to his active self.
I am concerned , however, about the reproduction cycle of this parasite [whatever it is] If it falls to the bottom to reproduce, is their still a chance the Tangs can become infested again? I was thinking of treating again with Prazipro in 3 days..wanted to get opinions
Thanks, Kim

 

[NaH2O]

That's great to hear!!!

I'll let Steve field the question on life cycle...

 

[Willy]

Glad things have turned around for you

 

[steve-s]

I am concerned , however, about the reproduction cycle of this parasite [whatever it is] If it falls to the bottom to reproduce, is their still a chance the Tangs can become infested again?

Impossible to say without knowing the exact parasite. It could be one to two weeks or longer. Some need intermediate hosts, some have direct life cycles/from fish to fish. The only thing you can do is keep the fish there for a few more weeks to be sure. The "eggs" if present will not be affected by meds while encycted so you can use the Prazi in the water but there's no guarantee it will do the job. You have the time since the main is still a long way off from being fallowed (still has fish?) and the new tank is a few weeks off from being ready.

The best means of "protection" would be to transfer the fish to a new QT after the last dip. This would ensure no eggs to re infect.

Cheers
Steve

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Thanks Steve
I will continue to keep an eye on them. Its amazing how the Whiteface has improved! He is back to his old self!
I have not removed the other fish yet The Clowns are back to normal and the Raccoon gets a couple of specks on his nose sometimes but other than that they are doing great. I wanted to wait until my 240 is ready so that I won't have to leave the fish in qt, or move them back to the 125.



Thanks Nikki and Willy! I am pretty relieved the Tang pulled through

 

[steve-s]

How's everybody doing now? Are you getting closer to being able to treat the remaining fish in the 125?

Cheers
Steve

 

[NaH2O]

Steve - I hope Kim posts the update. In speaking with her today, she did notice a couple of white spots on the tang, however, she isn't convinced that it is the same thing again. Kim was going to keep an eye on it. Hopefully, she'll have some other information to report, or correct any inaccuracies on my part .

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

Hello!
A couple of days ago, I noticed two white spots on the Whitefaces fin. They were gone yesterday afternoon Both Tangs are eating well. I will hopefully be getting the electrical work done on my 240 in the next couple of weeks. Then I can start treating the others...It is wierd, the Raccoon had a few specks on her yesterday. I don't think its the same thing the Tangs had. The spots are so tiny. They will be there one day and then gone without effecting the fish much at all [it will visit the cleaner shrimp more often] So hopefully soon! I can't wait to get them all in my 240, hopefully healthy!

Oh and the other night, my Argi's were mating:shock: First time I've seen them do that

Now I'm off to clean fish tanks!

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

I changed 50% of the water today. I also decided to do another treatment of Prazipro, as a precaution.. Hopefully this will be the last treatment ! Last week I cut back on water changes, only doing them every other day..I was so happy not to have to buy my box of 200 gallon salt mix this week!:lol: I was having to buy this weekly when I was treating the tanks:eek2:

 

[steve-s]

How many formalin dips where done in total/how far apart?

Cheers
Steve

 

[BTTRFLYGRL]

3 dips, 3 days apart