Marine Velvet

[duc]

Anyone ever have it? If so what product do you recommend to cure it? Based on several different sites descriptions of it this is what we think is killing our tank. Problem is we have inverts so the stuff I have read about cannot be used on the tank and I do not have a QT. I will look into the cost of the stuff I need to get a QT up and running today but currently am without. It also says a 3-10 fresh water dip works, anyone know?
Thanks

[GaryP]

The only thing I could find in my reference books suggests FW dips too.

Gary

[duc]

The only thing I could find in my reference books suggests FW dips too.

Gary
I was told not to do them unless you have perfect water, dechlorinated water and the right temp doesn't mean you wont harm them with bad PH. etc.
Opinion?
I want to treat/help Oreo (Cardinal) but don't want to traumatize/harm him more than he/she already is.
Opinion?
Thanks
Clif

[GaryP]

Yes, the temp and pH should be the same. You can float the dip water in the tank to get the temp right and use some buffer for the pH. The only stress should be from the salinity.

Gary

[JimD]

I did a Google search using "marie velvet" as the title and it came up with loads of info. Most requiring a Q tank and specific medications and procedures, might be worth the time to do some reading.

[duc]

I did a Google search using "marie velvet" as the title and it came up with loads of info. Most requiring a Q tank and specific medications and procedures, might be worth the time to do some reading.
I did the same but most was fresh water not a lot of marine, yo have luck finding marine? Marine said dip.

[duc]

Yes, the temp and pH should be the same. You can float the dip water in the tank to get the temp right and use some buffer for the pH. The only stress should be from the salinity.

Gary
I have some buffer so I will give it a shot plus I did find some more info about it and how to cure it (thanks JimD).
Clif

[matt]

This is a tough one to cure. Unfortunately, the only way I know of to really deal with it is to get ALL fish out of your tank for a period of several weeks, at which point virtually all of the parasites will have died from not having a host. Really unfortunately, if all your fish are badly infected, you'll probably be heading in that direction despite your best efforts. But, if you can find someone to hang on to your fish in a quarantine environment; first I would try the store you bought them from, you might save them. This parasite hit my first reef tank when I bought one infected fish; 4 days later every fish in my tank was dead.

The fresh water dip will only kill parasites on the fish, not the ones in your tank. And, even if done perfectly, it stresses out the fish and depletes it's protective slime coat. Sooooo... you then put it back in the infected tank while it's much more vulnerable to the parasites.

You could try buying/borrowing a UV sterilizer and get it cranking on your tank. It will reduce the free swimming parasites, and you can hope that the fish can fight off the parasites naturally. It's a long shot at best. Good luck!

[duc]

This is a tough one to cure. Unfortunately, the only way I know of to really deal with it is to get ALL fish out of your tank for a period of several weeks, at which point virtually all of the parasites will have died from not having a host. Really unfortunately, if all your fish are badly infected, you'll probably be heading in that direction despite your best efforts. But, if you can find someone to hang on to your fish in a quarantine environment; first I would try the store you bought them from, you might save them. This parasite hit my first reef tank when I bought one infected fish; 4 days later every fish in my tank was dead.

The fresh water dip will only kill parasites on the fish, not the ones in your tank. And, even if done perfectly, it stresses out the fish and depletes it's protective slime coat. Sooooo... you then put it back in the infected tank while it's much more vulnerable to the parasites.

You could try buying/borrowing a UV sterilizer and get it cranking on your tank. It will reduce the free swimming parasites, and you can hope that the fish can fight off the parasites naturally. It's a long shot at best. Good luck!
I have a UV sterilizer and will fire it up within minutes, thanks for the info/help. I can QT my fish (in my old 55) once I do should I run the UV in the QT tank or the regular tank? I am suppose to sell my 55 but can hold onto it a bit longer or buy a smaller tank.
Clif

[Richard]

I would recommend you do not do FW dips for marine velvet. Marine Velvet (Amlyoodinium) imbeds itself pretty deeply in the tissue so FW dip are not all that effective on it. I would treat with ionic copper which requires that you get a copper test kit (FasTest works well) and of course treat in a QT tank. Formalin will also kill velvet but is very harse and can easily kill your fish as well. Seacure from Aquarium Systems is ionic copper or we can mix up a batch and provide you with an excel spreadsheet for calculating the exact dosage for $10. Some fish are more sensitive to copper so let me know what type of fish you have if you choose to use copper. Ionic copper will not ruin the 55 for future use as a reef tank.