Extinction Event

[Wolfy]

I've had a 50-gallon tank for 2 years now, nicely matured, planted, fairly well maintained and serviced. Wednesday evening, I checked on the tank and everybody was fine, with no unusual activity or signs of trouble. When I woke up Thursday morning, 12 of my 14 red phantom tetras were dead, as was my last remaining platy. The two remaining tetras looked bad - like they were encrusted in salt - but I was unable to catch them and isolate them in a hospital tank. This morning, both of them were dead. That's 15 fish in a bit more than 24 hours due to something that looks like Ick, but is apparently far more deadly.

The remaining fish (two angels, two gouramis, a parrot fish, and 4 sterbai corydoras) look fine (one angel does have a fleck of white on his tail fin, but no other signs of ick). The angles and gouramis are hanging near the top of the tank - not that unusual, but they also seem to be doing so more than usual.

Water conditions are fine: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 20 nitrate, 6.8 pH, temperature 78F (currently raising it to 84+ slowly). I don't have the means to measure oxygenation at the moment, but I've got 2 bubblers and the filter outflow is set to stir up the surface.

Is it possible that this is ick, or is it something else that looks a lot like it and is far more deadly? What else can I do at this point?

 

[snazy]

Could be ick, because corydoras can't get ick and yours are alive too but dying so quick, I don't know.
They must have had it for a while though as it takes a few days to a couple of weeks, even three for the spots to come out in some cases and since you didn't see any the day before, then the parasites coming out through the skin must have done a fatal damage to the fish, probably internal too.

 

[Wolfy]

Just finishing out the FAQ-request info:

1. Hardness unknown - water in this city is generally very soft
3. Typically once every 5-7 days, about 25% each time
4. Prime
5. What tank mates are in the tank.
7. The blood parrot is new (about 2 weeks). He's very peaceful, though it's possibly the source of whatever this is.

 

[creeker]

We used to get occasional cases like this at the fish warehouse I worked at. We figured it was ick (or related pathogen) that for some reason concentrated itself in the gills of the fish. Huge wipeouts really fast. It was a rare occurrence, but always devastating and it was hard to cure the survivors.

 

[DrRob]

A photo, if you do get any more, might help in diagnosis. It certainly does sound like ick, which can beset off by a stressed fish, like a new arrival.

 

[Wolfy]

Thanks, folks. I'm not able to get a decent photo, but I think I am dealing with velvet - it is clearly visible on the parrot fish (in good light) and the remaining angel (with a bright flashlight), though I still can't see anything on the gouramis or corydoras. (The corys, in fact, seem perfectly fine.) Turned the lights off in the tank as a result, in addition to the salt and temperature changes. Going to try to get some copper sulphate, and put quarantine the cories for their safety. I hope I can save the 4 remaining fish.

 

[snazy]

Hope they all recover. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[WILDER]

Does it look like sand, or grit on the fish.

Scroll down to e on the link.
http/www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseases/skin_disorders.html

 

[Wolfy]

It's more like a dense whitish-yellow fuzz (though not quite so fine as a fuzz) on the parrot fish, where it's most visible. The 2 tetras that were still alive when I discovered things looked like they had been dipped in very salty water and then allowed to air-dry. It looked like that salty coating you get on your car in the winter after the roads have been treated with salt. You couldn't see individual grains - it was more of an uneven coating, perhaps concentrated on the edges of the scales (tetra scales are pretty small).

 

[WILDER]

The whitish-yellow fuzz. Does it look like cotton wool..
Columanris can present itself in white, yellow, brown, pink cotton wool.
White edging to scales can also be columnaris,

Are any of your fish darting around the tank?
Flicking and rubbing against objects in the tank?
Whar do the fish gills look like?

 

[Wolfy]

There's one gourami that is occasionally darting about, but he's always done that. The parrot fish isn't exactly rubbing against anything, but he is leaning up against stuff (without much movement).

With the parrot fish, the fuzz seems to be gone now - it's granularized (very fine grains) and now seems to cover him entirely (all around the scale edges).

The gills on the parrot fish look a little swollen, but not enormously so, and they aren't discolored. The gills on the gouramis and angel fish all look normal, with no discoloration.

I'm going to try again to get a picture.

 

[WILDER]

OK.
I think I would just carry on with treating the fish for velvet. If any changes don't hesitate getting back to your thread.

Good Luck.

 

[Wolfy]

Okay, here's a good picture of the parrot. (I can't get a good side view of him)

 

[WILDER]

It looks like a severe case of whitespot to me.

 

[WILDER]

A pic of whitespot.