Newbie needs HELP!!!!

[lsky5101982]

Hey all! I have question. I just started a 180 gallon FOWLR. It has been running for 2 weeks and I finally added my firs specimen... a niger triggger. He was in quarantine for 10 days and did great. Now that he is in the main tank he suddenly is covered with white spots all over. I am not sure if it is Marine Ich or Velvet. The spots are everywhere all over his body and fins. He is the only fish in the tank and is acting normal and eating. He sleeps in a little cave and as soon as the lights come on he is begging for food and swimming all around the tank. He eats like a pig and is not sctacthing or anything. He was at a trusted LFS for three months and was not showing any signs of disease when I bought him or in Quarintine. How concerned should I be? Water parameters are 1.024 Salinity, no Amonia, Nitrates, or Nitrates. Tank is being treated with a low level of copper and malachite green.

To complicate the problem yesterday I bought a Porcupine Puffer (from a different LFS) who was fine yesterday. Today he has about 4 white spots on his fins. He is currently in Quarintine. Last night and today he was eating sheel on raw shrimp from my hand and was anxious to be "pet". In fact he likes to sit in my hand while I pet him. Since I heard Puffers are copper sensitive I am treating him with Malichite Green.

What more should I do to help these guys out. I am becoming attached and don't want them to die.

 

[lsky5101982]

Gee thanks for all the help I really appreciate it! (no sarcasm here). Anyways if anyone cares I have come to discover the Trigger has Velvet. Too many dots for it to be Ich. The copper is .18 and I am continuing with the malachite just to be safe. If this does not clear up in the next 3 days I will be buying a second QT. I do not want him and the puffer in such small tanks together.

The puffer is hanging in there in quarantine. I am still dosing the malachite and have added extra aeration. The spots are disappearing so maybe this was stress induced and he is naturally fighting off the Ich.

 

[lsky5101982]

The trigger just underwent a FW bath. While he was not happy with me he made it through the process unharmed. When I put him back in the SW tank he sat on the bottom for 10 min then he began swimming around like normal. Hopefully this clears up!

 

[Kevin8888]

Sorry about the lack of responces, there isnt a huge traffic in this part of the forum, partly as most people (including myself) dont have huge ammounts of experience with injuries and diseases, that and they dont find them all that interesting compaired to pictures of huge reef tanks and the like haha. I mite suggest adding cleaner shrimp to your tank? They can often live with preds, and they can help deal with external parasites, and they arent so much money that if something eats it that you will want to shoot yourself haha.
Beside that I'm glad to hear he is recovering its always sad/stressful to have fish get sick, hopefully all will be well!