Selling Sick Fish

[gobies]

I recently purchased a brown goby from my local Saltwater fish store. I also purchased a green clown goby at the same time. The store had both together in the same tank so they put them in the same bag. Two days later the brown goby developed lumps all over the body. I removed him and returned him to the store. The store owner had no idea what was wrong with it, but said that it did not have it when I purchased it. He said he would hold on to it for me to see what happens. I left it, but the next day I noticed that the green goby had the same thing developing on it. Then the other green goby in the tank got it and so did my little yellow goby. The brown one at the store died and so did the others. The store owner still denies the fish was sick when I purchased it. I have found out through others that work there, that most of fish in the store have Cryptocaryon Irritans which is what mine had. I am treating my tank which is 30 gal with "KICK-ICK" which was recommend by the person who knows the fish have this problem. I have just complete the first week of it and would like to know if I should be doing anything else.. I changed out the 25% of the tank one week ago. I had the water tested today and everything is perfect. I know that in 10 to 14 days I could have another outbreak if there are eggs in the sand. I plan to continue treatment for 2 weeks, but would like to know if I should be doing anything else. I still have 4 other goby's and coral and live rock in the tank.

 

[beth]

Welcome to Saltwaterfish.com!
What do you mean by "lumps? Details needed. Ich looks like salt sprinkled on the fish.
Stop treating with kick-Ick. It really is not reliable. Do a large water change and if you have carbon filtration, use it. Leave your tank fishless for 1 month and your ich problem will be gone without medicating your tank.

 

[gobies]

The little tiny growths appear on the gills first do look just like salt. Very tiny. The fish ends up with them all over the body and it has a hard time breathing. Like I said I have been treating the tank and right now now of the gobies or clowns have anything on them. I am hoping that I have caught the problem just in time, though I did loose a few. Everyone seem happy and eatting fine. Because of adding the KICK-ICK I have removed the carbon filters. I am having the water tested daily to make sure everything is balanced. A water change was done just last week but I will be doing a small change again next weekend or if there is a change in the water durning the week. I have had a few people look at the fish and I do know for sure it is ICK, so I know what the problem is. Plus the store workers did tell me that there are a lot of fish there that have it, but the store owner is not doing anything about it.. Tells me a lot - like don't buy fish there!!!

 

[elfdoctors]

Welcome to the boards!
Cryptocaryon irritans is saltwater ich (not ick). It sure sounds like you have this disease in your tank. You are learning some valuable lessons. These should help you to become a better aquarist.
You should quarantine all new fish for at least three weeks to avoid contaminating your entire tank. This is essentially mandatory for a marine tank.
Most LFS's have ich problems. They cannot keep their tanks fishless for a month to let the parasite die off. They usually just try to keep the ich in check so the fish don't die in the store. You are less likely to get diseases if you skip the middleman (LFS) and buy direct from a site like this.
There are very few effective treatments for a lot of fish diseases. People will still try to sell you stuff but a lot of this is useless and should be used sparingly, if at all.
Leaving your tank fishless for a month would get you back on the right track.
Saltwater fish are quite hardy and long-lived if you don't take shortcuts. Apply the lessons you are learning and do things right. Good Luck.

 

[gobies]

Thanks for all your info. Yes, I am learning a whole lot about Saltwater Fish and their problems. I know I am not going to be buying fish anymore from our locate Tampa fish store for sure!!! It's really ashame that stores don't care what they sell. I know the owner of this store, and I am sorry to say he knows nothing about the business. He just bought it because he liked fish. The employees have had to teach him everything. Now he is only interested in making money. He is creating a bad name for himself though. I still have a few fish in the tank and they all seem to be doing alright right now. I am not going to be adding any fish for at least a month. I am going to continue treatment for this week and see what happens next week. Thanks to the internet one can learn a lot about fish, but you have to watch what you read. Lots of people with lots of different advise on how to treat and what you should have or should have. I have another tank that is 55 gals. and is doing great!! I have just ordered some fish from Saltwaterfish.com so will see how they do. Thank for all the information..