jacklax
Member
Any help would really be appreciated. About a month ago I inherited a 75 gallon FOWLR from a relative. I transported the system across town and got it all set back up keeping almost all of the original water...minus a 15 gal water change used to refill the sump. The system had been ignored for a while...and had a dead Hippo Tang when I went to pick it up. The surviving members were a Copperbanded Butterfly, 2 Gold Stripe Maroon Clowns and 2 Pajama Cardinals. The protein skimmer was not working for the 1st week...the pump had eaten itself...hard to say how long that had been the case. Water changes have been taking place weekly (with RO DI water) ever since. My last readings were:
NO3 - 0
PO4 - 1 (not happy w/ that one)
PH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Salinity - Dropping for hypo
These are much better than the original tests...trust me! Shortly after set up I noticed a few white spots on the Clowns and the rubbing began. The spots aren't small pin prick looking things...more a three short thin lines connected across the stomach of the largest clown. The other clown did have a few white spots, but not the profusion that I have seen in some of the pictures in the FAQ. Then the CBB started to have difficulty breathing...gill covers moving quickly and a few off color spots, open mouth and some darting around the tank...and most recently hovering with it's nose right below the water surface. I'm afraid he's a goner. The Cardinals seem unaffected...thus far. Unfortunately I did not inherit a QT...and don't have the option of setting one up at this point. My lfs had recommended using Rally thinking it was a fungus or possibly parasites. I'm afraid it's Ich after reading numerous postings here...mentioned so to the lfs...they disagreed. After 5 days of treatment things don't look any better. I'm currently in the process of dropping the salinity in the tank...knowing that I'll need to replace the live rock. According to my hydrometer I'm at a 1.012 and dropping slowly (began Saturday). My Refractometer should arrive tomorrow...along with some Kick Ich. Hearing mixed reviews on Kick Ich I'm just taking a shot now. I hate the thought of losing these guys...they're beautiful. Any other advice would certainly be apprciated...Thanks!
NO3 - 0
PO4 - 1 (not happy w/ that one)
PH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Salinity - Dropping for hypo
These are much better than the original tests...trust me! Shortly after set up I noticed a few white spots on the Clowns and the rubbing began. The spots aren't small pin prick looking things...more a three short thin lines connected across the stomach of the largest clown. The other clown did have a few white spots, but not the profusion that I have seen in some of the pictures in the FAQ. Then the CBB started to have difficulty breathing...gill covers moving quickly and a few off color spots, open mouth and some darting around the tank...and most recently hovering with it's nose right below the water surface. I'm afraid he's a goner. The Cardinals seem unaffected...thus far. Unfortunately I did not inherit a QT...and don't have the option of setting one up at this point. My lfs had recommended using Rally thinking it was a fungus or possibly parasites. I'm afraid it's Ich after reading numerous postings here...mentioned so to the lfs...they disagreed. After 5 days of treatment things don't look any better. I'm currently in the process of dropping the salinity in the tank...knowing that I'll need to replace the live rock. According to my hydrometer I'm at a 1.012 and dropping slowly (began Saturday). My Refractometer should arrive tomorrow...along with some Kick Ich. Hearing mixed reviews on Kick Ich I'm just taking a shot now. I hate the thought of losing these guys...they're beautiful. Any other advice would certainly be apprciated...Thanks!
