Velvet (Oodiniasis)

[CFC]

I've noticed over the last couple of days some of my fish havn't been right and today when i got home from work several of them have a light dusting of gold spots,i've started a course of protozin to treat it but was wondering if there was anything else i could do as in turning the heat up like you do with white spot,also how likely is it to kill my fish,my ornate pim is the worst affected and since they are like rocking horse dung over here i would be gutted to lose him

 

[CFC]

Found some info on velvet so ive started raising the temp up to 30dgc but how long should i keep it this high?It also says to add salt but i presume i cant do this with pimeloids

 

[CFC]

Come on guys and girls a little advise here please,my fish are looking worse today and i doubt the ornate pim is going to make the night

 

[semper fi]

you cannot add salt to tanks with scaleless fish as it will burn the fish. salt does help with gill function which is how the fish get bacteria causing illness out of their bodies.

think that gibbo would be the most help with this one.

maggie

 

[Gibbo]

Increase airation whilst temperature is increased. Cover tank and turn off tank lights - the parasites free swimming stage photosynthesises much like a plant does, getting it's energy from light. The Protozin, in conjunction with darkness, increased temperature and a lot of extra airation (preferably from an airstone as opposed to turbulance caused by a power filter) should work (but remove carbon from filter), just give it time. Decrease feeding - It'll knock your filter bacteria despite what it says on the bottle.

What new fish have been introduced lately?

Good luck m8

 

[CFC]

Thanks alot Gibbo i understand that Alex has already replied to you but thought i should say thanks in person,i havn't introduced any new fish recently,the only new thing is i have tried to kill the hair algea by adding Interpet anti hair algea treatment.I have never had any diseases before so i presume that was the trigger but thanks to your advise it seems i might have bought my fish a little more time.

 

[CFC]

Hey Gibbo a really big THANKYOU!! The fish seem a hundred times better already and have stopped looking like they might drop dead any second,should you ever find yourself in London the beers are on me.

One other thing,can the parasite survive without a host?I'm trying to save some of my plants but wouldn't want to re-infect the tank when i put them back in

 

[Gibbo]

I would assume they could survive for a short period but they may be present anyway from the sounds of things. There is a big debate in fishkeeping about infections and parasites etc. Some believe that these things need introducing to an environment to cause trouble. The counter argument (the one I believe in) is that they are always present and attack the fish when the fish are run down and stressed. This hair algae treatment obviously disagreed with your fish and stressed them, causing their immune system to lower drastically, breaching their (usually strong and resiliant) defences. Your plants will be best bathed in a weak solution of malachite green and formalin (5ml of each in a 3 gal. bucket of water) for about half an hour and then rinsed if you think they pose a risk. This mixture is often used in the retail trade to disinfect nets.
Glad to hear they're perking up, keep us informed. Best of luck from us all

 

[CFC]

Well it seems that yesterday was just the calm before the storm,this morning i have woken to find my ornate pim and morgunda gobie both dead These fish were both rare and expensive and are irreplaceable i also have a synodontis soloni which looks like its on its way out and my shovel nose has started to go a funny pink colour,looks like there might be a rio 300 up for sale by the end of the week

If i am ever unfortunate enough to meet the person who decided that hair algea treatment was harmless to fish i'll be sorely tempted to force feed them a couple of gallons of the stuff