velvet?

[chicken neck]

Ok I have a 29 gal w lr, 2 anenomes, some hermits a niger trigger and a 6 line wrasse. I know too small of a tank for the trigger, but he appears to have ick or velvet..looks like he rolled in flour. Just noticed it yesterday but he is eating and doing fine for now. I know about treating w copper and I have a hosp tank, ten gal but im afraid to put him in there because the last two fish i put in there died within a few minutes. What am I doing wrong????Thanks for any and all advice

 

[beth]

10 gal is a bit small, but most fish are housed in much smaller spaces at the LFS. You need to set up a hospital tank ASAP. Whether this is ick or velvet, both the wrasse and trigger will need to be treated.
What do you have the hospital. It should have a good PH at the top for water circulation and gas exchange. What other filtration do you use for the small tank.
Also, get specific about what is showing on the trigger. Ick looks like salt specks all over the fish. Velvet has a more powerdry appearance. There are threads under the stickies at the top of this forum that detail both ick and velvet and treatments for both.
Let us know if you require additional help.

 

[chicken neck]

yes the trigger is more powderish looking. Im just scared about putting him the hosp tank because I havent had any luck w it yet. I have a power filter on the 10 gal hosp tank w no insert for circulation and the ph is 8

 

[beth]

The powerfilter should be fine, but, as I said, you need good gas exchange at the water surface; a powerhead near the top should do this.
The PH is too low; however, the PH, salinity and temp of the hospital should = that of the tank when you do the transfer. You should then raise the ph gradually to 8.2. Both the wrasse and trigger will need to be treated. If it is velvet, you need to act very quickly, as velvet can kill, literally overnight. Prepare the hospital ASAP and move both fish there. Acclimate the fish to the hospital just as you would when you bring home a new fish from the LFS. Perhaps this has been your problem?
What are fish symptoms besides the dusted appearance? Scratching, erratic or jerky swimming movements? Rapid breathing? Do you have a magnifying glass to look closely at the spots to see if you can make a clearer distinction between a powdery or salty appearance. When I say a salty appearance, as with ick, I mean table salt, not sea salt. Have you seen either ick or velvet before?
We need to make a clear diagnosis because the treatment offered can be very different.