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FAQs on Marine Ich, Cryptocaryoniasis & Treating Sensitive Fishes: Sharks, Rays, Skates... 

FAQs on: Shark Diseases 1, Shark Disease/Health 2, Shark Health 3, Shark Health 4, Sharks/Rays & Crypt,
Shark Disease FAQs by Type: Environmental, Infectious (Virus, Bacteria, Fungus), Parasitic (see Sharks/Rays & Crypt, Flukes...), Nutritional (Goiter...), Trauma, SocialTreatments 

Related Articles: Marine Ich: Fighting The War On Two Fronts Cryptocaryoniasis, Parasitic Disease, Quarantine, Quarantine of Marine Fishes

Related FAQs: Best Crypt FAQs, Crypt FAQs 1, Crypt FAQs 2, Crypt FAQs 3, Crypt FAQs 4, Crypt FAQs 5Crypt FAQs 6, Crypt FAQs 7, Crypt FAQs 8, Crypt FAQs 9, Crypt FAQs 10, Crypt FAQs 11, Crypt FAQs 12, Crypt FAQs 13, Crypt FAQs 14, Crypt FAQs 15, Crypt FAQs 16, Crypt FAQs 17, Crypt FAQs 18, Crypt FAQs 19, Crypt FAQs 20, Crypt FAQs 21, Crypt FAQs 22, Crypt FAQs 23, Crypt FAQs 24, & FAQs on Crypt: Identification, Prevention, "Causes", Phony Cures That Don't Work, Cures That Do Work,  Products That Work By Name: Free Copper/Cupric Ion Compounds (e.g. SeaCure), Chelated Coppers (e.g. Copper Power, ), Formalin Containing: (e.g. Quick Cure),  About: Hyposalinity & Ich, Treating for Crypt & Sensitive Fishes:  By Group: Morays and other Eels, Mandarins/Blennies/Gobies, Wrasses, Angels and ButterflyfishesTangs/Rabbitfishes, Puffers & Kin...  &  Parasitic Marine Tanks, Parasitic Reef Tanks, Marine Velvet Disease, Biological Cleaners, Treating Parasitic Disease, Using Hyposalinity to Treat Parasitic Disease, Infectious Disease

Cartilaginous fishes do not tolerate copper exposure... often causes them go go anosmotic... lose their sense of "smell", stop feeding...

Sharks and Rays in Aquariums
Gaining an understanding of how to keep these fishes in captive saltwater systems   

New Print and eBook on Amazon
 

by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Display tank with Ich     7/30/15
Hi,
<Kate>
I have a display tank that has several tangs show size and have two young sharks, a coral cat and baby brown banded. I have a qt system setup but it cannot hold all of the fish at one time to treat. I want to treat the tank
with ParaGuard and I was informed by my LFS, I know not to use copper meds or any harsh meds with the sharks, but was unsure if I could use ParaGuard.
Any help or guidance is much appreciated!
Kate
<A tough case/scenario.... tangs and sharks....
http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/ParaGuard.html
the Malachite is of concern.... IF it were me, mine, knowing what little you have stated, not knowing what you know....I'd separate and treat the Tangs in isolation (see WWM re SOPs); and NOT expose the sharks... perhaps
try reduced specific gravity to slant the advantage to the Elasmobranchs.... wait a few weeks... and seek a balance twixt the resident Crypt infestation and their host fishes going forward.... optimizing and emphasizing stable environment, boosted immunity through nutrition (again, reading on WWM Re). Bob Fenner>
Re: Display tank with Ich     7/30/15

What SG do you recommend?
<Please see WWM re Hyposalinity. Sorry, but have got to scoot to the airport; back from Curacao... will respond tomorrow. B>
I keep this tank (fish only) at 1.021. I feed the tangs Nori sheets 3x a day and soak the food in garlic, Zoë, and Vit C. The temp is kept at 76 degrees. The only ones effected are the tangs. My sharks do not have any parasites/disease. The tangs that are effected are my Acanthurus tangs only, not my Naso or vlamingii tangs. I have a cleaner wrasse in the tank and the tangs are all eating very well and acting normal. Advice I have received is not treat and just let them be and soak food (which I already do), treat with ParaGuard for whole system. I qt each fish before it is introduced into this tank but it is never guaranteed to always kill everything.
Re: Display tank with Ich     7/31/15

What SG do you recommend? I keep this tank (fish only) at 1.021.
<Have you read on WWM as yet?>
I feed the tangs Nori sheets 3x a day and soak the food in garlic, Zoë, and Vit C. The temp is kept at 76 degrees. The only ones effected are the tangs.
<Typical>
My sharks do not have any parasites/disease.
<Ah, no; they just don't show clinical signs...>

The tangs that are effected are my Acanthurus tangs only, not my Naso or vlamingii tangs. I have a cleaner wrasse in the tank and the tangs are all eating very well and acting normal. Advice I have received is not treat and just let them be and soak food (which I already do),
<One route to go; also covered on WWM>
treat with ParaGuard for whole system. I qt each fish before it is introduced into this tank but it is never guaranteed to always kill everything.
<Time for you to read. B>
Fwd: Display tank with Ich     7/31/15

> What SG do you recommend? I keep this tank (fish only) at 1.021. I feed
the tangs Nori sheets 3x a day and soak the food in garlic, Zoë, and Vit C.
The temp is kept at 76 degrees. The only ones effected are the tangs. My
sharks do not have any parasites/disease. The tangs that are effected are
my Acanthurus tangs only, not my Naso or vlamingii tangs. I have a cleaner
wrasse in the tank and the tangs are all eating very well and acting
normal. Advice I have received is not treat and just let them be and soak
food (which I already do), treat with ParaGuard for whole system. I qt each
fish before it is introduced into this tank but it is never guaranteed to
always kill everything. I contacted Seachem and this was their suggestion but I didn't know how correct this statement was:
Thank you for your email. You can use Paraguard to treat sharks, but we would recommend that you begin with a 1/4 to 1/2 dose and to slowly build to the recommended dose. This will allow the shark time to acclimate to the addition of the medication while allowing you to be able to monitor the shark for signs of stress.
<... not the route I would go; but thank you for sharing. B>
Thanks for your help!
Kate

Cryptocaryon irritans risk for cat shark?         3/31/15
Hey guys(and gals)
<Howsit Eileen?>
Long time reader, first time writer, I've been in this hobby going on ten years now and have finally run into my first real "problem" as it can be called. There seems to be a small outbreak of Marine ich in my display tank that has landed all of my fish (excluding two) into the hospital tank. <Aye ya; and you realize the remaining two are very likely reservoir hosts?>
The reasoning behind not putting these last two into QT as well: One is a coral Catshark, and the other a snowflake eel, both of which are far too large to safely be put into the smaller tank. I was wondering what the best course of action for these two would be.
<Mmm; the same choices.... no treatment; treatment.... Treatment w/? Quinine compound... best... Use of cleaner organisms? Not shrimps w/ the Echidna....>
Despite being only three months in my DT the coral Catshark is an active part of the tank despite their normally nature(I guess I got the exception to the generalization). Both are strong and appear to be unaffected by the current happenings in the tank, they are eating well and are generally as active as they have always been. If one (or both) of these animals start to
show signs of infection I plan to take decisive action against the parasite, so this is a preemptive e-mail just in case the worst should happen.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question -Zee
<Again; a careful consideration of the above options... Maybe just one referral; read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/parasittkfaq2.htm
Bob Fenner> 
Re: Cryptocaryon Irritans risk for cat shark?        4/1/15

Thank you for such a swift response, Bob. I think I'll give the Quinine a shot along with a couple of cleaner gobies (Since I hear too many sad tales about cleaner wrasses falling victim to a highly specialized diet, but gobies seem to have a wider array of accepted meaty foods) to help keep them free until the tank is clear of these pesky Protozoans and get the problem out of the way before it actually becomes a problem.
<Sounds (reads as) very good. Please do keep us informed re your results.
BobF>
Re: Cryptocaryon Irritans risk for cat shark?           4/17/15

Hello again all;
As asked I am keeping you informed of my results with the use of Quinine Sulfate and cleaner organisms.

We've surpassed the treatment time outlined on CryptoPro's sheet and I am glad to inform you that not only are the treated fish clear of any visible signs of Ich (Even the increased respiration rate) but that the fish that were QT'd all pulled through fine as well.
<Ah, good>
I also have not seen any sign of the pesky protozoan on either of the gleaner gobies that I got to help with management. They've been in there since getting my QS compound and were quite busy for a while, once they were done clearing the tank they were successfully switched over to Mysis and have been an active part of the tank ever since their introduction.
All in all I'd call it a success.
<I concur. Congrats! Bob Fenner>

Breeding colony of Eppies w/ Ich - Just moved - PLEASE HELP      10/24/13
Hey Friends!
<Luke>
I Just moved my 8 sharks (6 Eppies & 2 Mex Horns)
to their new location in my new home.
(Problem is I moved a 14" Vlamingi with a minor Crypt. issue) Fortunately it was only a 5 mile move but nonetheless I'm in trouble.
The livestock were moved to their new home (a 8' x 8' x 4'h EDPM and plywood pond in the basement.)
I have keep the water level about 2' to preclude jumpers. This is approximately 950 gallons.
<Yes and yes>
So Saturday past I moved the sharks and fish from 1.020 SG 78F to the same parameters at the new location.
<I would keep sharks at near seawater strength NSW... 1.025-6. Raise slowly; see WWM re.>
The EDPM lagoon was soaked and leak tested for 2 weeks along with some "found" plastic plant stands from Wal-Mart.
<... MAKE sure these are ALL polyethylene... I'd at the very least boil them in freshwater, let this cool, use some freshwater fish, perhaps invertebrates as bio-assays here>
I drained it and made up 500g of new 1.020 water. I transferred 500g of water from the existing system and set up a big diaphragm air pump with 4 big diffuser discs.
Cut to the chase - The temp raised from 76f to 81f and a massive Ich breakout transpired once my livestock were transferred.
My beloved 15 year old 'Mingie was dead this am and has left all of my sharks "flashing."
QUESTION #1
I have not yet moved my 500lbs LR from the old system.  Should I keep the LR in place while I treat my lagoon?
(The 800 lbs oolitic aragonite IS in the new system.)
<What is it you intend... oh I see QS, below... I'd likely leave the rock where it is>
QUESTION #2
I've determined that Quinine Sulfate from NFP is the solution.  I have enough on hand to treat the entire lagoon.  Thoughts on administration (other than the directions?)
<...? Can work>
QUESTION  #3
Do I continue to use the skimmer?
<May as well. Do turn off UV if there is one>
QUESTION #4
Is there any methodology to  raising temps or modifying other parameters to accelerate the process?
<Not more than where you have... the "Mexican" Heterodontus (have you found in the lit. where this now IS something besides francisci?); don't ever live in water as warm as you already are at>
QUESTION #5
Other advice?
<Raise spg>
Pics in the am.
Thanks and I will check back in asap!
Best Regards,
Luke
<Cheers, Bob Fenner, working diligently on "this month's" eBook, "Sharks and Rays in Aquariums>

Wobbegong with Ich? 09/29/10
Hi Bob & Crew,
<Wilberth, como que va?>
Hope you are all doing fine, I didn´t want to bother but I can´t find the answer regarding my Wobbegong shark, its scratching his head from time to time on the sand bed
<Happens; not necessarily indicative of infestation>
Is it possible that sharks got Ich?
<Is possible...>
or is this another kind of parasite?
<Perhaps...>
if so, how should I treat it?
<I would not "treat" w/o knowing more exactly if this IS a parasitic involvement and WHAT "it is"... Carefully bringing the fish near the surface, a couple of microscope slide body slime scrapes, examination...>
Thanks once again amigos...
Wilberth
<Bob Fenner>

Coral Catshark... hlth. f'   6/14/10
Hi Crew!
I have a small query, my coral catshark that I've had for around 4 or 5 months now, in a 130gal
<... too small a volume>
custom aquarium sometimes "flashes" in a fashion akin to ich ridden teleosts,
<Elasmobranchs are susceptible to most of the external protozoan complaints of advanced bony fishes>
the are is about an inch behind her gills and if I look closely there's a small black spot with a whitish outline, running my finger over in concern it feels slightly raised, any ideas as to what this is?
<A trauma marking likely>
she's eating fine and the params are all optimal, 0 ammonia nitrite, and nitrate. I add iodine supplements to the water and feed a mix of squid, store bought fish and shrimp.
<Mmm, see WWM re Shark feeding and Thiaminase>
any ideas what this as and how to help? due to her coloration it doesn't show up readily on photos.
please reply back as I'm kind of concerned, and I dont seem to be able to find anything similar on the web.
thanks, Thiro
<Keep reading... Bob Fenner>

Sharks / crypt/ Brooklynella copper   1/1/08 Hi <Marc> I have a 19,000 gallon aquarium with a wide range of Atlantic fish including 2 sharks. The sharks are a 42" blacknose & a 36" Bonnethead.. We had crypt show up 1st and have been treating with hyposalinity at 15 ppt and formalin 1ml per 10 gal. (1900 ml), every other day. <Yikes.... dangerous> I am not clear on copper with the sharks. <Is generally a poor idea. In my early years in the "scientific" part of the trade I used to necropsy, diagnose shark et al. losses at public institutions. Copper compounds are contraindicated for a few reasons with cartilaginous fishes...> I even was worried about the hyposalinity, but other than a suppressed appetite, they are fine. <Yes... most all Elasmobranchs do fine with lowered salinity for a time> It has been 3 weeks and the crypt is still there (all verified by scrape and microscope). Also now fish have Brooklynella and lots. I have never seen formalin so ineffective. <Mmm... I DO wish you had another facility... to give a more concentrated bath... move the fish stock to...> Water parameters are NH3=0 NO2=.15 Sal = 15ppt ph = 7.9 KH = 140 temp = 79 f. I have even upped the dose to 2 liters with no effect. My main question is : Can I use non-chelated copper (Cupramine) on the sharks? <I would NOT> How long can they stand it? Will copper kill Brooklynella? <No... not usually... See WWM, articles and books by myself, others> Will Chloroquine kill crypt or brook? Do you have any other suggestions ? Marc C <The best possible solution is with quinines here... Do you have a copy of Ed Noga's work on Fish Disease? Please read: http://wetwebmedia.com/quinmedfaqs.htm Bob Fenner>

Medicine reactions, Quinones, sharks...   7/28/07 Another opinion needed! After speaking with Natl. Fish Pharm, I purchase some quinine sulfate to kill Ick in my tank in the presence of a shark. Though it isn't recommended, we are treating the main system. My snails were removed before treatment and it does not affect the hermit crabs at all. The treatment as prescribed was to add the quinine (done Tuesday) and after five days perform a 25% water change and run carbon to remove the quinine, then after a day repeat the treatment. <Okay> No fish appears to be bothered by the treatment, and they are no longer scratching on rocks at all, so I am sure it is working. My question is about the shark. He still looks really healthy. On Tuesday he ate quite a bit of shark formula w/ Zoe, right after the quinine was added. Day two he came out at feeding time and ate a few pieces. Day three (Thursday) he didn't really show any interest in the food. I've noticed he seems a bit more lethargic and doesn't seem to have an appetite. I'm tempted to go home today and do the partial water change and run carbon to remove the quinine. Tomorrow is day 4 of the treatment though, and I'm wondering if I should try and make it the five days. Do you think that this quinine is bothering the shark? <Not likely> And, have you any experience with the quinine and ick? <Ah, yes> What would you think is the minimum effective treatment duration? <Two weeks> I'm in a catch 22 here. The sole reason for the quinine is to effectively whack the ick without hurting the shark. I'd like your opinion on it. There is very little in FAQ about quinine & sharks but one or two notes. Thanks a million. Thomas Roach <Time to purchase or borrow some books Tom... Look for the name Ed Noga. RMF>

Ich - Frustrated, Shark Treatment 7/18/07 Bob (or others), <Hello, others here today, Chris specifically.> Yes, probably more ignorant questions, but I assure you I'm trying to do this right using all of this info. <No worries.> I do keep reading all of the FAQ, I don't know if I'm getting too much info and it doesn't mesh together, but The summary is as in past, I had the 80gal with a baby banded cat shark, small dogface, yellow tang, and passer angel. You helped with info on the swap, as we purchased the 200 gallon, and set it up. I have been keeping fish since I was 5, transitioning to marine fish say 7 years ago. In the freshwater setups, I had dealt with ich rather easily, even as a kid. For about 3 years before purchasing my angel and tang, I had just a puffer and a red emperor snapper in the system (I do not recommend the purchase of this fish; though they are darling as youngsters and offered in every Petco, they get huge and are very territorial). <Agreed> After donating the snapper to a high school for display in a huge tank, <nice> I set it up for the fish stated above. You know the rest, as my emails to WetWebMedia resulted in someone who thought they knew plenty realizing he didn't and the investment in the large 200 gallon tank. <A constant learning process for sure.> Anyway, things were great in the new tank. The shark loves the room and the new, soft substrate, and the fish have been healthy and happy. I purchased a powder brown tang as a final addition to the system. I purchased it because it's different body shape and color pattern it does not have any conflicts with the Yellow tang. I do not have the resources for a specific quarantine tank, however I have a 20 gallon reef tank set up with no fish, just live rock, fan worms, and a cleaner shrimp in it, so I placed the tang in that initially for observation. <Ok for QT, but not much use if you have to treat it for anything. Might be worth picking up a large Rubbermaid container for a hospital tank.> Now, as I understand it, Crypt has a life cycle of 3 to 7 days. <Hmmm, maybe this is where you are confused. 3 to 7 days is correct for freshwater ich, Ichthyophthirius multifilius, however this is not what you are dealing with. In the marine environment you are dealing with Cryptocaryon irritans, which while similar to Ichthyophthirius multifilius is unrelated and has a longer lifecycle, closer to 2 weeks.> It is identified by white, crystal like dots on fish. Having seen it many times, it is easily recognizable, is that a safe statement? <Most likely, although there are a few diseases that look somewhat similar, although tend to be much more virulent and kill much quicker, mostly velvet, Amyloodinium ocellatum.> Here's where I get confused and am left scratching my head. The Powder Brown tang, for two weeks, showed no ich on it. At which time I then transferred it to the big system. <Just wasn't long enough, need 4 to six weeks for marine fish due to the longer lifecycle of marine ich.> The 200 gallon, for three weeks, had no issues at all. The yellow tang, which I consider to be more prone to ich, has never had it. The conditions in the tank are salinity at 1.022, 0 ppm of ammonia and nitrites, 10 ppm or less of nitrates, PH of 8.2. My feeding consists of Angel Formula for the Passer and tangs, with either Marine Cuisine or Emerald Entrée, Frozen Krill and cocktail shrimp for the puffer. Each feeding is soaked in garlic and/or Zoe. The shark receives Shark Formula soaked in Zoe. <Good> Upon adding the Powder Brown, after three days he is covered in Ich. My questions, and I have read FAQ, I promise, are these: The system has ich still. <Was likely clean, but reinfected with the new tang.> Why does it only affect the Powder Brown? <Most likely they all are infected with the parasite, however the brown is most susceptible and has had the longest exposure.> I sit for hours sometimes observing these fish. There is no indication whatsoever of ich on any other fish at all. <It infects the gills first, not visible on the body yet.> How can it so greatly affect one fish? <Genetic predisposition, lower natural immune response, higher stress level due to new home, longer exposure to the parasite.> In the past, you have said the other fish don't YET have it. But, for it to so greatly affect this one fish and not be present on any other? I am baffled by this. <Is present, just not displaying symptoms you can see, if you were to take a gill scraping (not recommended on a life fish by the way) likely you would find Cryptocaryon irritans.> After reading more FAQ, specifically about the unproven effects of garlic, my only possible explanation is suspect. I was thinking that once the fish consume enough garlic soaked food so that they have garlic in their system, the ich cannot tolerate it and will not attach. In your opinion is there any validity to that thought at all? <Not to me, at best I see garlic as a appetite stimulant, which helps encourage sick fish to eat, but I'm not even %100 behind this.> To have a yellow tang swimming side by side with a powder brown, being in the system longer and never contract crypt, I don't have an answer for. <I know I'm repeating myself, but likely is infected just not symptomatic.> There is a cleaner wrasse in the system, to which you scolded me after the purchase of. He is still the same one, naturally once he was there I would keep him, though I have promised never to purchase another. <Good> He does seem to have some effect, but obviously he is not the solution. <This is not their natural diet, Ich is too small to sustain this fish. My guess is that it is providing some wound management from where the ich has caused irritation, maybe removing the parasite incidentally here, but that is just my unscientific guess.> FAQ mentions the use of quinine hydrochloride as a possible treatment to use in the presence of a shark. If this is a viable option, is there a particular brand of medicine that contains it, or is there a more common name for it? <Yes it is a viable treatment but can be tough to find, but I have found it through on-line vendors before, but was quite difficult. It was labeled as Quinine, no common name that I have seen.> Yesterday I went to the largest specialized LFS in Houston, and looked at ingredients on all of there ick medications, and could not find it. The associates were unfamiliar with it. They of course carry copper, and various bogus treatments. I have used RXP, which I have no faith in. Finally, I have used formalin (in the guise of Quick Cure) with success in the past, however some sites say that sharks will not tolerate it, others say use in a weakened form, still others say it is a remedy that can be used with sharks. None of it gives me any confidence to use with the shark present. Do you have any thoughts on formalin and sharks? <Would definitely not be my first choice, Quinine is a much better product for this application.> Every thing you have told me has been right on the money. <In that case let me tell you why I should rule the world.> I cannot think of a better source for accurate advice. You do a world of good for many of us. <Thanks, but take our advice with a grain of salt as well, you will find that even among the crew there are many different opinions on a wide range of topics. Best bet is to read and read some more, and then form your own opinions based on evidence you understand.> One final suggestion; if you accept donations for your site, you might mention it in your daily FAQ, just as a reminder. I think many of us would be glad to help out. <Think we have a PayPal beggars box somewhere on the main page, I don't think Bob is interested in making it any more intrusive. But he can comment more specifically on that.><<We had some very good input, questioning re this aspect just today... Am not that interested as Chris states... There are troubles when there is too little money, and too much. RMF>> Sincerely, Thomas Roach <Keep at it, and really think strongly of getting a proper bare bottom QT set up, does not need to be a permanent setup.> <Chris>
Re: Ich - Frustrated, Shark Treatment 7/18/07
I have been on the 'net searching for someone that sells quinine for over an hour... sighs... Any ideas? Thanks... Thomas Roach <I would try here, http://www.nationalfishpharm.com/ . Give them a call if you can, they are very knowledgeable and friendly.>
Re: Ich - Frustrated, Shark Treatment 7/18/07
I had to share this with you guys. I don't know if you care for specific references to suppliers, but this may help someone, it certainly did me. In my search for quinine for treating the ick in the below situation, I found this: http://www.nationalfishpharm.com/  <Yes, my experience with them has been quite positive.> Calling them, I spoke with Dr. Brian (sp) who answered the phone. He does research there, and was able to provide me with quinine sulfate. He was very informative and very interested in answering my questions. Apparently his father founded this company after being fed up with bogus medicines and treatments and their misapplication. <Need more of that in the hobby.> He told me about different treatments and why not to use each one, explaining how each worked and the results to be expected. Specifically he told me that quinine sulfate would work better than the hydrochloride and that it was an excellent treatment with sharks present. It is very effective on crypt. He even suggested an alternate treatment program as to save me some money, so he was not interested in selling me something I did not need. <Nice> If you want to post this for your readers or look at the site yourselves please do so. <Will do so.> It is nice to find, along with WetWebMedia, and informative source that is so willing to help the average hobbyist. I hope this helps another reader some other time. <I'm sure it will> Sincerely, Thomas Roach <Thanks for sharing, always good to here people getting real help, retailers going beyond the minimum to help their customers.> <Chris>

Re: Ick update 9/6/07 When I said I feed him by hand, he is a Brown banded bamboo shark, or banded cat shark, I've seen it called both. <Me too> He was about 6" when hatched, now he's closer to 9". I don't feed him by hand all the time... <But... the point of what is unusual... It is not to have this animal feed from a hand, nor at night> I did initially, when I wanted to see if he was definitely eating, so I would make sure that small cubes of the shark formula soaked in either Zoë or Zoecon was placed right by his nose. Up until this quinine treatment he would eat them well. You've seen the frozen cubes, I'm sure. I would cut one in half, then cut the half into 4 to 6 pieces, soak them in the Zoë, then drop them down to wherever he was, and he would eat them all. I never had to hand feed him after he started eating. I've been doing it as of late because he hasn't been taking the food. Now, I'll put one piece at a time in front of him, or let him take it out of my fingers (No, we won't do this as he grows, trust me), and he'll mouth it, spit it out, mouth it, spit it out, eventually leaving it. It's almost like he's sucking the Zoë out of it, leaving the rest. I bought more ghost shrimps yesterday, and watched him eat some of those. I was really worried more about a mouth injury or infection, not sure now after seeing him munch on some ghost shrimp. I'll purchase some silversides today, and soak them in the vitamins as well, and see how that goes. <Better to insert parts of the tablets of Mazuri (.com) inside such foodstuffs> Water quality is 0 ppm both Ammonia & Nitrites, Nitrates less than 10 ppm, PH is at 8.2, and the salinity is a 1.024, 200 gallon 72" tank. I have the FX5 for bio and water movement, of which the pads are cleaned weekly now, I added a wet/dry because that is good for a high bio load (it has a filter pad before the bio media which I clean weekly), I run carbon in a magnum hang on periodically, and I have a 200 gallon rated protein skimmer that produces nasty stuff. As for the little tank, I'm going to put my live rock and snails in a cooler and drain the tank and replace the substrate with sand, that way I can pick the tank up and manipulate it to get the firefish out, I can put him in my QT tank and treat it with copper, then just let him reside in there for a month while the 20 gallon goes fallow. Then I can move the snails. Thomas Roach <Well, the lack of feeding could be from a few influences... the Quinine exposure... metabolites of many sorts... I would add a few pounds of activated carbon to your filter flow path... in bag/s, and be patient. Bob Fenner>

Re: Saltwater questions: Epaulette and Snowflake Eel   2/24/06 Hey Bob, <Joe> Thanks for the reply. Your crew have made my transition from fresh to saltwater so much easier. I have a couple more questions to ask you. First of all, how long after a tank has cycled (or reached a zero ammonia and nitrite level) should a water change take place? <... posted on WWM... a few weeks> I would also like to know if I can feed my fish some seaweed flakes which I bought from an Asian grocery store...except they contain a little bit of corn oil and sunflower oil. Will this pose a problem? <Likely not. But I would take care to not allow a "scum" to form, stay on your water surface> These were the most plain flakes I could find. Last of all, an owner of one of my local fish stores commented to me that getting 'white spot' was an inevitable part of keeping saltwater fish despite any quarantine measures which are used. <Incorrect. There are SPF (Specific Pathogen Free) marine systems, entire culture facilities. If Cryptocaryon is disallowed, it does not magically appear...> He said that it would happen sooner or later. Is there any truth or merit in his statement? <Not unless s/he means that marine whitespot can "hide" undetected if not excluded, no> I am determined to prove him wrong. ;) How does the amount of live rock in one's tank affect or keep at bay the symptoms or severity of White Spot?? <Good question... I suspect there is some negative correlation here. The more LR, the less prevalent the infestations> Once again, thanks in advance. Regards, Joe <Thank you. Bob Fenner>

Ick on my shark - How to treat First, thank you for taking the time to help us hobbyist.  The wealth of information you guys share is amazing. My situation: I have a 110 gal FOWLR (and fine grain sand) DAS tank/filter/skimmer housing a 4" dogface puffer, 5" antennata lionfish, and a 7" banded cat shark (I know this tank is too small to keep the shark for long, <Do monitor nitrogenous waste content as well (ammonia...) as the Dutch Aquarium Systems filters are puny, inconstant> plans for the near future include a custom 12' 350-400 gallon tank built into my living room wall). My last addition to the tank was a 4" Porkfish. My problem: Everything went fine for about 2 months then all of the sudden Ick broke out (the day before I left town for a week I noticed it). When I returned the Porkfish was very sick and died a couple days later. My puffer is also ill now. He has taken to swimming directly in front of a powerhead - I guess it is kind of like being rubbed without being scratched by the rock - really a neat behavior but I would rather have never witnessed it. My shark is showing a handful of Ick spots. The lion is fine. I have lowered the SG to just under 1.018 which has helped but not cured the problem. <It won't> It seems like they are not getting worse but they are not getting better.  I assume a lot of the parasites are dying due to the SG but the stronger ones are living to attach to a host.   <A good way to put this> Instead of a massive infection killing my puffer I am afraid of the cumulative impact they are having on his gills.  If I don't get this treated I am going to have a puffer with emphysema.  All parameters (pH, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia....) are good. Whether I move the fish to a treatment "tank" or treat in the main tank - what medication can I use? I am afraid CopperSafe will kill my shark. I have Paragon II but I do not know enough about it to use it just yet. What can I do?  Should I go lower on the SG, around 1.015? Thanks <You might have success with a combination of elevated temperature (to the mid 80's F.) and the administration of Quinine Hydrochloride solution... sold still... and used as an anti-protozoal with some fishes. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-27,GGLD:en&q=quinine+hydrochloride+fish+disease&spell=1 This is a treatment I have used with success with juvenile sharks... many years ago... as a consultant to public aquariums. Bob Fenner>

Sharks and Rays in Aquariums
Gaining an understanding of how to keep these fishes in captive saltwater systems   

New Print and eBook on Amazon
 

by Robert (Bob) Fenner
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