emergency please help

[timsedwards]

Hi,
You may notice my other posts, well I think i may have lost my royal gramma. He wasnt looking very good, not swimming right and tang was pecking him. I have literally this afternoon set a QT up and I really had no choice but to put him in there, and I know this sounds heartless, but if he died in my main tank it would have compounded my problems. My QT hasnt cycled, what can I do for him? Anything?
In my main tank I am about to treat with RX-P because the last thing those fish need right now is to be put into the QT I ahve downstairs. I will also feed them garlic food. They seem okish, but the tang seems to have something on his fins. Is this the best I can do?
Thanks in advance for your hasty responses.
Tim.

 

[timsedwards]

please? anyone? im getting desperate here
oh and btw what is the really sensitive piece of equipment you use to measure salinity called? hot a hydrometer the other sensitive one i cna use for hyposalinity?
Thanks.

 

[bang guy]

a refractometer.
For your uncycled QT, do a 25% water change every day and it will be fine. I hope the little guy pulls though for you.
Cheers,
Guy

 

[timsedwards]

every day? Thanks Bang Guy I was hoping someone would respond. TBH I dont think he will, he doesnt look good, its very sad but I want to concentrate on rescueing the other three.
Shall i treat the QT with RX-P (kent's - on this site) ?
Shall I feed him?
I am trying to get my hands on a refractometer by wednesday thanks, they dont normally hold them in stock much over here.
Shall I treat my main tank still with RX-P (its a 13 day course)?
IS ANYONE ON MSN MESSENGER OR AOL MESSENGER WHO IS WILLING TO TALK THIS THROUGH WITH ME? I would really really appreciate it if anyone is available to leave their addy for me to add?
All the best,
Tim.

 

[newreefers]

if the something on the tangs fin looks like salt or sand sprinkles, it is probably ich, this means qt and hypo. meds aren't really needed for this treatment.
yes, water changes every day to keep the qt from gong through a cycle.

 

[timsedwards]

Hi,
No its not ich I dont think, its not sand sprinkles, almost like finrot but not quite.
Some sad news, the gramma has died.
Im going to cycle my tank with a raw shrimp and hope it doesnt take much longer than 2 weeks. Im trying to get hold of a refractometer. Do I just put a plain raw shrimp in there for 2 days then take it out? DO i put it in anything?
Thanks,
Tim.

 

[timsedwards]

Ive just read the bottle to RX-P and it says it treats saltwater ich and every saltwater parasite.
Have a look at it on this website under dry goods/medication, any thoughts? I know I should try hyposalinity but this time it simply isnt an option however much i want it to be, but the sooner i cycle this new QT and get it running properly it will be ready for next time.
Any thoughts? I intend on using it in a couple of hours or soo....
All the best,
Tim.

 

[bang guy]

I suggest you ask Beth over in the disease forum.
I'm moving this post there so maybe she'll notice it.
I don't believe finrot is a parasite so I question the effectiveness of your med.

 

[timsedwards]

Hi,
Yes i have posted there but no one has responded in ages, there seems to be no activity. Sorry if posting here is a problem
Yes it may not be ich but I did have signs of ich last week...

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by timsedwards
Hi,
Yes i have posted there but no one has responded in ages, there seems to be no activity. Sorry if posting here is a problem
No, not a problem. It's not an emergency anymore (sorry for your loss ) and Beth doesn't always go to the Reef Forum. She will probably respond fairly soon. Sorry I'm not more help.

 

[timsedwards]

hi beth can you help? I responded on the other thread of mine, would really like some response from the other thread if possible!
Kindest Regards,
Tim.

 

[barracuda]

Hey Tim,
sorry for your loss
As Bang Guy mentioned you better wait for Beth help. She ia the one you need in this situations.
As for cycling - raw shrimp will initiate the cycle in Qtank. Leave it there untill ammo spikes.
Finrot is secondary infection in my understanding and not parasite. So RX-P won't help IMO. The best info about RX-P product you can get, is to contact Kent Marine tech support by email on their web site. They will be happy to help you. I use their products and always email them if i have any question regarding their products.
Barracuda.

 

[timsedwards]

Hi Barracuda,
Thanks for your help.
Im not convinced it is fin rot, but nevertheless I am convinced there is parasites or Ich in my tank and I need something to hold them at bay for a month until my QT has cycled! I will hold off until Beth or you say so, but am getting nervous not treating it! Or do you think just the garlic food will surfice now I have done a water change?
Thanks,
Tim.

 

[barracuda]

If i were you, i wouldn't treat the main tank with RX-P, just leave it fishless for 45-60 days.
You can set up QT w/o cycling it as it could take more time than you think. Prepare extra sw and replace 25% daily. Control salinity, temp, PH, ammo. Feed a bit with garlic soaked food. Any uneaten food is best to be removed (siphoned out).

 

[timsedwards]

Hmmm yes a lot are saying that but I personally think that is more of a risk, the stress of putting them into a QT that is uncycled and I havent received the thermostat or pump yet I have bought off ---- (i am borrowing the ones from the bucket i use to prepare the water). The fish seem very happy in themselves in the main tank.
Peoples opinions seem to be 50/50 on what to do, but I think I would rather leave the QT out of the question until it is cycled, i just think it will be more trouble. As soon as it is cycled I will put the fish in there and treat them with hyposalinity.
Has anyone any experience with RX-P? Just that a lot of people are telling me not to use it, yet it is a product that will eliminate all parasites according to Kent, a very reputable company.
Will leave RX-P for tonight and see what you guys say,
All the best and thanks for the help,
Tim.

 

[beth]

Gosh, all the faith in me has me speechless!
Did you read the FAQ section in the Disease Forum? You don't have to "wait" for a QT cycle. Take a look, if you haven't already.
Having a hard time following your posts around. What exactly is your current problem? Ich?

 

[timsedwards]

Hi guys,
Yes I think it is ich, there are sand sprinkle type things on them and one of the clown's tissue seems blotchy. And No i didnt quaranteen my fish before they come in, i have only just bought a QT, a mistake but I have learnt from it and they will all be quaranteened in the future.
I have no inverts other than red legs and super turbs. I do however have live rock in there.
Yes I know I dont have to let the QT cycle, but by doing daily water changes I thought this would risk my fish more? Is it worth taking the live rock out, putting it into the QT (if there is room) and hypo the main tank? How long does hypo take? Does it matter that the QT hasnt cycled yet for the LR? Shall I still cycle it with a shrimp or is that too dangerous for the live rock?
I'll leave off the RX-P then for now and wait for info on this hypo, the only thing is that I dont have a refractometer and I cant get one until wednesday when the order comes in!?
Thanks for your help and looking forward to your reply,
Tim.

 

[gatorcsm]

I had a similar problem, kind of. I had too many fish for my qt, and I didn't want to bother the fish with the move unnecessarily, so I took out all except for a couple rocks that I didn't mind losing life on (wanted them to have something sort of natural) and put them in a 60gallon rubbermaid with a powerhead and heat. That water I used from the main tank so I wouldn't have to worry about any shock from ph/s.g./whatever could affect the rock too much. Then I put some pvc pieces of varying sizes in the tank. Started dropping the salinity and did that over the recommended 48 hours. Once down, the ick was almost all cleared up within 3-4 days. Just a couple remaining spots here and there. I did end up with a secondary infection on one of my clowns, so I moved the pair to my qt, which was now available and had been cycled. So, effectively I have a rock tank (normal s.g.) with shrimp, snails, and crabs, a main tank(in hypo), and a qt (in hypo). It has worked for me. Just keeping an eye on the main tank. It is 90g, so ammonia/nitrite have been easily kept under control for me without the rock. Don't know if this is/was right thing, but I also used bactervital shots (not full doses) here and there to ensure ammonia keeps in check. So far, so good. No problems with ammonia/nitrite. Hope this helps. If you do this, make sure you get all of your snails/hermits. I missed one and lost him... I saw him crawling around after I'd been down to 1.009 for only a few hours; I tried to bring him back up and put him in the rock tub, but it was too late I guess. About 45 minutes afterwards the hermit died... I think he was on one of the LR pieces I left in for the fish.

 

[timsedwards]

Thanks for the info!
I am actually trying a new idea out, because hyposalinity jsut isnt an option as refractometers are $250 over here, my LFS gave me the personal cellphone number for the Marine biologists in charge of Kent Pharmaceuticals in Europe
He has told me to use RX-P, BUT THEN use Poly-Ox a day later, all natural and no chemicals, then leave for a day. May have to do it a couple of times but they said it has a 100% success rate in their laboratories, a lot of guys are very (unnecessarily so IMO) sceptical over RX-P, but it is easy to be when things are so much cheaper over in the states! Its very simple, RX-P contains chillis and pepper extracts, which as nice as it seems, slightly irritates the fish to give off more mucus, this mucus contains the parasite, then the day after to make it up to the fish you dose in poly ox which soothes everything down and removes the RX-P from the previous day, then do nothing for a day. You may have to do this cycle for a couple of times, but all the people here in the UK have said it works all the time for them.
So fingers crossed!
Tim.

 

[gatorcsm]

Sounds interesting, let us all know how it works out.
Best of luck to you!
Gator