Crushing Velvet...(Amyloodinium)
Dear Crew of WWM,
<Scott F. at the helm tonight, Captain>
Thanks for the invaluable advice from the individual FAQs!  They're fantastic!
<We have as much fun bringing this to you as I hope you have reading it!>
Here's a question regarding fish disease.  I flipped through the disease section of WWM and several other books and couldn't find any pictures like the one I attached. The Emperor belongs to my friend.  He claims that in the morning, his Emperor had these whitish blotches and by evening, it was lying on its side. He claims that the fish was desperately gasping till its death.
<Well, this sounds (and looks, from your picture) like the symptoms of Marine Velvet (Amyloodinium). The gasping, blemished skin, and listlessness are classic symptoms. The blotched appearance of the fish's skin is essentially the spots on this fish where the tissue has been liquefied by the parasites...You don't always see the "dusting" of the parasites themselves (They are really too small to see individually). Most of the time, you only see the collateral damage...>
I am particularly concerned, as I have had a French Angel, unquarantined (my bad, my bad) that had similar symptoms - pale skin (as though the skin was peeling off) and gasping.  The French died and its tank mates - Multicolour angel, flame hawk etc... died within the next 2 days of the same symptoms.
<Yep...that sounds a lot like Amyloodinium...It presents all of the symptoms that you described, and kills with horrifying rapidity if left unchecked...A nasty disease...>
Question: What is what is this strange disease that acts so quickly and fatally?  I thought it was velvet initially, but I did not see discrete nodules on the fish, neither did it seem like a light dusting... it was just blotches of whiteness all over the fish.  Fins were slightly tattered at the edges
too.
<Again- it sounds like Amyloodinium to me...Just think "collateral damage"...>
Is there any cure for this disease?  As a desperate attempt, I advised that my friend isolate the fish and give it a pH adjusted FW dip as there was no time to get medications of any sort.  It didn't help apparently... Thank you very much!
<Well, the FW dip may provide some relief, but once the disease advances, and the damage really starts to become evident, you need to get aggressive...Copper sulphate is really the best way to treat this disease, IMO. And- the display tank just HAS to be left fallow for a month or so...This disease is SO contagious, and so virulent, that you need to follow through on this technique...Action must be taken immediately upon diagnosing the illness...Hours can literally mean the difference between life and death...No garlic, no hyposalinity (at least, not as a "stand alone" remedy)...this is one disease where I am confident in the use of copper sulphate as the way to go. I'd always keep a supply on hand, along with a good copper test kit...Best of luck to you in your counter-attack efforts...Regards, Scott F>

Attacking Amyloodinium!
I wanted to let you know that today I noticed something different -
erosion of his gills. I did some more searching around and found that he might be suffering from Oodinium. The description seemed to fit - loss of appetite, uncoordinated movements, darting movements, respiratory distress as the gills are targeted.
<Sounds like it...>
I inspected him again at night with a flashlight (as recommended to be the best viewing time of these parasites), and did not see any white spots. Although, I suppose it's a good thing considering this is a more progressed stage of the disease.
<Usually, you'll see lots of mucous, and obvious tissue damage caused by the parasites as they liquefy the infected fish's tissues...Seeing the actual parasites themselves is unlikely...You're looking for the "collateral damage">
I have CopperSafe, but am leery of using it after learning of the side effects. I thought I would use Metronidazole or quinine hydrochloride. What about Revive? Additionally, should I use Maracyn-two? Please advise. Thank you so much!   
<Frankly, I'd use the CopperSafe. If you follow the directions to the letter (as you should with any medication), and test for copper concentration, you should enjoy success. Metronidazole may also work...but I favor copper.  The Maracyn is an antibiotic, and really should only be used if you experience a secondary infection after defeating the Amyloodinium. Alas, be sure to run the main system fallow for a month or so, just as you would for Cryptocaryon...This is a much more virulent and contagious disease than Cryptocaryon, but it can be effectively treated if you act quickly...Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Crushing Velvet!
Hi Guys
<Hi there! Scott F. with you today!>
Writing to you from South Africa
<Glad to hear from you!>
This is the first time that I am actually writing to you, I have been visiting the website everyday and I have gained a world of knowledge from the questions and answers.
<Glad to hear that you enjoy the site! It's a lot of fun for all of us!>
I am not new to the hobby and have been keeping marine's (fish & inverts) for 10 years, Here is my problem. I have a 1000 Gallon Reef tank, this tank is my pride and joy and I almost love it as much as I love my wife (I'm lying- "maybe a bit more")
<Hope she doesn't read that! LOL>
It contains various inverts, too many to mention and various fish species. All has been going well, water parameters excellent "I have a filter system that friend at Sea World - South Africa designed and that most aquarist only dream of, but this morning I noticed that some of the clown fish and angels have what looks to me like marine velvet , I have no idea what to do as their is no way in hell that I would be able to catch these fish in the reef, I have no idea what caused the sudden illness. These are the symptoms please confirm if you agree with me on the type of disease as well as what possibilities there are in curing them without having to rip apart a reef that has been like this for a good couple of years:  Rapid gill movement
<Yep>
Cloudy eyes
<Possibly>
Body looks slimy
<Yep>
Eyes bulging
<Could be a secondary infection>
Scratching on rock and coral sand
<Yep>
I would really appreciate your help , I have never had to deal with sick fish in this reef before, I did it the good old way Let mother nature take its coarse and up to now I have been really successful and have not lost a lot of fish, I hate medication but I have had these guys for a few years and they are like part of the family I do not want to loose them "HELP"
<Okay- here is my thinking: It really does sound a lot like Amyloodinium ("Velvet"), which is an incredibly contagious and lethal disease...It can and will kill rapidly if left unchecked. Regrettably, I cannot, in all honesty, recommend a course of action that does not involve removing all of the fish to a separate tank for treatment. Even the so-called "reef safe" medications are dangerous and unreliable here...The best course of action (in terms of success, IMO) is to remove all fishes to a separate aquarium for treatment with a legitimate over-the-counter medication. Meanwhile, the main tank would run fallow, without fishes, for a month or so. This disease is much more difficult to attack than ich, and it is very tough to eradicate without letting the system run without host fishes...As much as it pains me to recommend tearing apart the tank to get to the fishes, I just don't see another way that is more reliable. Medicating the tank would be an absolute mistake, IMO...I know this sucks, but I really believe it to be the way to go here...>
P.S.  I would recommend your site to anybody interested the hobby, They need not look further for good advice.  Regards, Robert
<Well, Robert. I hope that things take a turn for the better. This is an agonizing problem...You can prevail, but it won't be fun for a while...  Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

More Velvet Blues
>Hey Bob,
>>Wrong Bob, you've got Marina tonight.
>Hope the holidays were parasite free for you.
>>Indeed.
>I myself on the other hand believe I have some nasty parasites in my tank.
>>Not good.
>Clowns and Damsels appear to be coated with little spots that look like sugar.
-rapid breathing
-scratching
-hanging out near top of tank
>>You sure make it sound like velvet - you'll need to act FAST.
>I have my 20 QT tank running a cycle ( I cycled with live sand, bacteria, and the old filter pads from main tank)
>>Cycling is a moot point when medicating, especially for something such a velvet.  Handle nitrogenous wastes by water changes.
>-Ammonia is .5 ppm and nitrates are 15ppm (On way down.  Was at  1 for ammonia and 20 ppm for
nitrates).  I am waiting for the levels to go down before I quarantine.  Do not want to take the fish from parasite tank to ammonia tank.
>>You wait they die.  The bacteria are going to die during medicating anyway.  Search our site on "velvet" for treatment options - they would include hyposalinity and freshwater dipping, copper and/or formalin treatments.
>Anything to speed up this process???
>>Treat your fish ASAP!
>Or in theory could I just do a water change from main tank to QT tank.  
>>No.  You're re-infecting the q/t with the velvet parasites.  This creature is VIRULENT, and not at all easy to eradicate.
>I think this would defeat the process of a QT tank though in this case considering
the disease is in the main tank.
>>You think correctly.
>My plan for you to comment on (Once QT tank is ready)
-Remove all fish from main tank
>>Check..
-Freshwater bathe fish
>>Check..
-Add fish to QT tank
>>Check..
-Add copper treatment to QT tank (SeaCure)
>>Cupramine is my choice, otherwise, check..
-Continue to perform routine maintenance (water changes) on both tanks
>>You left out the hyposalinity for the treatment tank.  Otherwise, check..
-After 60 Days return bathe fish (freshwater) and return to main tank.
>>Check.
Questions: Background
- In main 55 gallon tank I will have
-Live Rock
-Cleaner, Blood, Coral Shrimp
>>If coral banded, do watch these for aggression towards the Lysmata spp.
-Emerald Crabs
-Sifter Starfish
-Arrow Crab
-Snails
-Colony Polyp, mushroom coral, yellow polyp (Fiji Coral)
>>You sure you're comfy with an arrow AND an emerald?  Search on Mithrax/emerald crabs as well as arrows to be sure you want these in a reef system.  Both known troublemakers.
1.  From what I read I can increase temp to say 80 degrees to speed up life cycle of parasites.  Is this bad for main tank inhabitants?
>>They should be fine.  Don't use hypo in any system with the inverts.  (Hypo for the fish would be 1.010 - 1.007.)
2.  Do I apply copper just once to QT tank?
>>Follow the manufacturer's directions and test to ensure maintenance of proper levels.  You WILL need to correct dosage post water change!  The easiest way to do this for some folks is to add copper to the make up water, test and match levels.
>My assumption is my water changes to QT tank will dilute copper treatment
>>Yep.
>3.  Should I add some Amquel to QT tank to help control levels?  
>>I wouldn't.  I strongly advocate using water changes to eliminate nitrogenous wastes.
>Thanks for your help.  Hope this works. Or please stop me if I am making big error in plan.  Cheers -CPN
>>See above, and do search our site ASAP to work out your plan of attack, it needs to be quick, my friend.  Marina

Possible Velvet Problem
Bob, I think I may be having a problem and I think it is marine velvet. I have a six line wrasse, a dragon wrasse, a blue angel, a tomato clown, and a Foxface. All have been doing fine and all my parameters for water quality are good. What I have been noticing though for a while is very small white spots on my blue angel and tomato clown. When I first noticed this I thought it might be ich but I thought the spots looked too small and they had disappeared by the end of the day. This went on for some time. I would notice the fish would have spots in the morning but they would be gone by the time I came home from work in the afternoon. I initially thought that the white spots in the morning might just be sand sticking to the fish when they slept at night. They all lay on the bottom at night so this seemed to make sense especially when the spots were gone by the afternoon. It has been about a month now though and I have noticed that my blue angel has started scratching himself against the rocks and seems to be breathing a little faster. He occasionally has fits where he seems to spaz out as if something is really bothering him. My tomato clown has started to get cloudy eyes and he skin is started to look gray as if his color has faded or been rubbed off. At this point I figured something must really be wrong so I took the blue angel and the tomato clown out of my main tank, gave them a freshwater dip, and put them in my hospital tank. I have since treated them with CopperSafe. They both seem to be doing fine although I occasionally see the angel scratching himself. The clown doesn't seem to have that gray color anymore. His eyes seem to have cleared up too. The rest of my fish in my main tank seem to be unaffected. All the fish have been eating well and the angel and the clown have always eaten well and still continue to have good appetites. This morning however, both the angel and the clown had a lot of white spots on the similar to the ones they used to get in my main tank except there is no sand bottom in my hospital tank and they didn't have the spots yesterday. Are the having some sort of outbreak of ich or something in the hospital tank? 
<Maybe... the report you render did/does sound like velvet/Amyloodiniumiasis in the first... but you may well have both parasites here>
Are they having some reaction to the copper? 
<Doubtful that this is the cause of the latter white spots...>
The copper level is good. What else can I do to treat these fish and is there anything I can do to make sure that my main tank is clear of all remaining parasites if there are any. 
<Environmental manipulation in the main and quarantine/hospital systems for sure... and the use of purposeful non-obligate cleaners when the copper is no longer in use... See the marine parasite pieces, FAQs and links posted on the www.wetwebmedia.com site... there's a bunch there, so do take your time>
I am worried that the only reason my wrasses aren't affected is because they may be more resistant or something. 
<Yes, very astute>
My main tank is 125 gallons with plenty of live rock and a couple of mushrooms and polyps. I would appreciate any help or advice you can give me on this. Thanks,
Gianluca
<Do read over the WWM site my friend. And don't despair. Your fishes salvation is in your hands and you have the ability to reason this through and cure your system. Bob Fenner>

Possible Oodinium
Hello again Robert,
Thank you for your last e-mail concerning lighting. I decided to get the 130 watt fixture for my 80 gallon tank and add it to the 70 watts I already have. The lights should be here on Tuesday! Once I get it I am going to add some macro algae from my smaller tank.
<Sounds like a plan>
Now I have another concern / problem. When I first set up my 80 gallon tank, I had a bad case of Oodinium which killed most of my fish. I have not had any problems with it for several months now (since March). Well, yesterday I noticed some of the fish breathing kind of heavy, and one of my Sharpnose puffers scratched a few times. I have not seen him scratch since, and he is not breathing heavily, but the other Sharpnose puffer does seem to be breathing heavy, and my gobies look like they are breathing a little bit heavier than usual as well. Is there something else other than Oodinium that would cause them to breath heavy? What should I do?
<A few things... maybe "biological" as in infectious, parasitic... but maybe just dissolved gas related... do increase water movement if you can... perhaps add an airstone... execute a water change, removing some water from the surface (the little aerosol, oils from cooking, what have you inside homes/offices can play the devil here...>
The water parameters are great (ammo 0, nitrites 0, pH 8.1, nitrates about 15, I don't have a phosphate or calcium test kit). The temperature in the tank has been pretty high lately (84 or 85). 
<Ah hah! A likely clue... elevated temperatures reduce gas solubility, and increase metabolic rates...>
The tankmates are two Sharpnose puffers, 3 gobies (1 scissor tail, and 2 of the one that have the yellow heads and blue cheeks and sift sand), 2 blue damsels, a maroon clown, a yellow tang, a mono, a chocolate chip star fish, and one huge turbo snail (that only comes out at night). There is 60 lbs of live rock in the tank.
<Look to reducing temperature in the meanwhile... turn lights off, float a bag of ice... set up a fan to blow across the tank surface (careful here those gobies can/will jump out)... and add an airstone, pump...>
Thanks again for all of your help!
Jim Moss
<You're welcome my friend. Bob Fenner>

Re: Possible Oodinium
Robert,
Thanks for the advice on the heavy breathing. I followed your suggestions and it took care of the problem.
<Very good news. Congratulations on your success. Bob Fenner>
Thanks,
Jim

Marine velvet?
Bob,
Sorry to keep pestering you, but a couple of months ago I wrote to you about a problem I was having with a new reef tank: 75 gal with 100# of Fiji LR. I had lost all of my fish: mandarin goby, 2 Firefish gobies, Kole eye tank, bicolor blenny. At first I thought it was due to gas bubble disease, but have ruled this out.
I now think it was caused by Amyloodinium - velvet. The symptoms were: light white powdery dusting (not the 'salt grain' ich - I've seen that), with occasional 'bursts and dashing' and rapid breathing by the afflicted fish.
Then, at the end, a sudden loss of body mass (in a day) with an almost fuzzy white dust covering of the fish and lethargic behavior (sit at bottom panting). The disease just 'appeared' two mo.s after initial tank set up (all fish were fresh water dipped with methyl blue for 10 min, but alas, no quarantine prior to being added to the main tank).
<Does sound like Velvet... good description>
Anyway, all my SPS, leather, LPS corals are doing fine, and so are my 2 bubble anemones. And I have one fish - an Australian clown - that was never affected. Is it possible that this fish was immune, or have I misdiagnosed my problem? 
<It is possible the clown was unaffected. Again, I do agree with your diagnosis>
Could the anemone have given it immunity by eating the velvet before it could attach/damage the clown's gills/scales?
<Hmm, yes... in a manner of speaking.>
The clown is completely invisible 90% of the time due to the anemone's tentacles - it truly buries itself, but does come out to feed and peek out occasionally.
Anyway, my tank has been fish-free for 2 mo.s (except for the unaffected clown). Would it be wise to start adding fish (after FW dip with Methyl blue, and 2 wk quarantine) if I also put a 25 watt CSL U2 UV sterilizer on the main tank (for 2 wks prior to adding the new fish)?
<After this period of time, you will have gotten about as much benefit as you're going to get from not having other fish/hosts present... I would definitely quarantine or at least dip/bathe new fish livestock... and do assure me you have biological cleaners in place already.>
I'm not sure if the UV is enough to give the fish a chance, or if the 2 months of being fish-free (except for my 'unharmed' clown) would have allowed the velvet to die out.
<Both definitely "help">
Should I remove the clown from the main tank, and let the tank stay fish-free and on a UV for a couple of months before trying to add new fish?
<This would help as well...> 
Any other recommendations?
<The dips and cleaners: http://wetwebmedia.com/clnrfaqs.htm>
Thanks!
<Thank you for the follow-up... Be chatting my friend. Bob Fenner>

Velvet pics
hello again bob,
I have a 5inch imperator and I'm suspecting that it has velvet.
its eyes are beginning to cloud a bit but now much, skin has white smudges( not visible sideways, like painted on) on the other side...
its not scratching, is eating very well. it seems that its the only fish affected in the aquarium.
my emperor killed my bicolor and keyhole. I never really see some serious aggression when I'm viewing the tank but I think he's the suspect.
what I really want to make sure is
1 how to diagnose velvet
<See our site re Marine Diseases (www.WetWebMedia.com)>
2 do you have pics?
<yes, there>
3 is it fatal?
<Can be, easily>
4 treatment
1,2,3 I seem to have not found these on your website... can you fill me in on these? thanks bob
<Time to go back... perhaps use the "Google Search" tool there. Bob Fenner>

Re: Possible Oodinium
Hello again Robert,
<Howdy>
My fish have been having problems again lately. Several of them have been scratching (a Toby, the tang, and one of the gobies) quite a bit today. There are breathing a little bit heavy, and they look annoyed by something (jerking their bodies, more irritated with each other). The temperature is still running a little bit high, but it hasn't gone above 84 (that may still be too high though). I have powerheads circulating the water, and an airstone. I did a 15 gallon water change (80 gallon tank) making sure that the temperature and salinity matched. The water quality is fine (although the nitrates have been around 20 lately).
My question: If I do have a parasitic infection, how do I know and what can I do to treat / stop it (without destroying the live rock / fish's health etc)?
<Best is to learn to do a simple skin/slime scrape test... with a microscope, a glass slide... a less than willing fish... No staining necessary... but maybe helpful. Are you using cleaner organisms? Bob Fenner>
Thank you again for all of your help in the past!
Jim Moss

Marine velvet
Hi Bob,
Great web site, it's very informative and ideal for a newbie to keeping a reef aquarium. 
<Ahh, great to hear, thank you.>
My tank has been up and running for 8 weeks and all water parameters are spot on. I have been gradually introducing some live rock, no fish so far but I have added some turbo snails, bumble bee snails and a blue legged hermit. Recently I have begun to notice some white spots on the aquarium glass, they seem to be oval shaped with a small tails, they are less than 1mm in size. I'm just a little concerned that these are velvet parasites as they seem to fit the description on your website although I have no fish in the tank. What do you think? Could they be velvet parasites and will they die off without a fish for a host or I'm I worrying about something harmless.
<Nothing to worry about... very likely a transient form of worms, possibly crustaceans or mollusks... will pass with the aging, development of your system... not a problem>
Any advice much appreciated
Regards, Chris Young
<Be chatting my friend. Bob Fenner>