Ich Velvet or something else?

[Humblefish]

I found this that says I can add MB to the formalin? Is that safe to do? I'll add it to all my formalin baths if it's helpful and doesn't reduce the effectiveness of the formalin.

I know Quick Cure contained formalin + methylene blue at one time, before making a switch to formalin + malachite green. I never figured out why they made the switch, so out of an abundance of caution I recommend you NOT combine them at this time.

 

[jgruvey]

Okay. Is there any benefit to giving them all a MB bath post their 2nd formalin bath to help them recover from the 2 baths?

 

[Quicklynx]

View attachment 22880
I found this that says I can add MB to the formalin? Is that safe to do? I'll add it to all my formalin baths if it's helpful and doesn't reduce the effectiveness of the formalin.

Personally, it's always dangerous to mix chemicals if you don't know what the consequences should be. I'm sure someone can explain on here why these two are safe mixed together.

Formalin and Methylene Blue are sold together under another name called "Safety Stop." The directions for that are to do consecutive baths and NOT mix the two.

It actually may even be beneficial and is my assumption into why it would be recommended to be mixed together, as Formalin displaces the Oxygen in the water Methylene Blue promotes Oxygenation of the tissues. Essentially an attempt to counteract a potential hypoxic state.

Consecutive baths are the safer way to go. You've come this far, so what's an extra 30-60 minutes.

 

[Quicklynx]

Okay. Is there any benefit to giving them all a MB bath post their 2nd formalin bath to help them recover from the 2 baths?

Yes, absolutely. It will help them breathe. When the fish isn't looking good the first thing a lot of Qters do is dose Methylene Blue to comfort the fish. My Eels lived in it.

It will wreck your biofilter if you put it in the tank they're in, though, so be careful.

 

[jgruvey]

Yes, absolutely. It will help them breathe. When the fish isn't looking good the first thing a lot of Qters do is dose Methylene Blue to comfort the fish. My Eels lived in it.

It will wreck your biofilter if you put it in the tank they're in, though, so be careful.

Can I add prime to methylene blue if it kills my bio filter? I’m not setting up a bio filter right now regardless. Do you just do the 30 minute bath or do they actually let them sit in it all day?

 

[Quicklynx]

Can I add prime to methylene blue if it kills my bio filter? I’m not setting up a bio filter right now regardless. Do you just do the 30 minute bath or do they actually let them sit in it all day?

Yes but the prime will reduce the Methylene Blue. In the sense to assist the fish with the oxygenation you need to do a high dose bath of MB, and to aerate it. If you can use a dechlorinator (if you need it) that isn't an ammonia detoxifier like prime, it would be better.

If your fish had flukes the Methylene Blue is a possibly the best way to help repair some of the damage to the gills. It is the go to for ammonia burn and fluke destruction.

 

[jgruvey]

Transfer #1 plus MB bath complete.
After the MB bath they’re pooping long super thin strings that look like a piece of hair plus small oval white snowflake like things.

 

[Humblefish]

After the MB bath they’re pooping long super thin strings that look like a piece of hair plus small oval white snowflake like things.

Are they pooping out snowflakes or are these dropping off the body of the fish??

 

[jgruvey]

Its nearly impossible for me to tell. It looks like pooping them out but they just appear slowly 1 at a time (not very many of them this time but definitely some) when the fish twitches real bad. They twitch and it dislodges or is excreted out.

 

[jgruvey]

@Humblefish
It's off the body I just watched one fall off a fin.
They just appear out of nowhere it's not like it's white when it's on the fish and I can see it.
This describes flukes right?

 

[jgruvey]

This is the bottom of the MB container. I just went and checked it. Covered in this white stuff.

 

[Quicklynx]

Yeah, that describes flukes. Probably looks a little like this...

 

[jgruvey]

Similar but those are much larger than what I’m getting.

 

[Quicklynx]

Similar but those are much larger than what I’m getting.

There are different variants of flukes. Did you ever try a Freshwater dip for the flukes?

 

[jgruvey]

Yes 2 times but since I’ve never seen them before they’re difficult for me to identify. I’ve also done 3 rounds of prazi, 2 fenbendazole baths, and a formalin bath and they’re still alive?

 

[Quicklynx]

Yes 2 times but since I’ve never seen them before they’re difficult for me to identify. I’ve also done 3 rounds of prazi, 2 fenbendazole baths, and a formalin bath and they’re still alive?

If they made it through all of that we are in trouble. it really does look like flukes to me.

 

[jgruvey]

Okay so I have 3 thoughts then.
Either 1. - the fluke eggs are hatching earlier or later than the 6 days between my medicine doses and reinfecting the fish.
2. I have flukes in my saltwater mixing station somehow and all the new water is reinfecting the fish. (I find this hard to believe because I run it nearly completely empty and refill fully with fresh RO water overnight and I would think the flukes would die in the FW.
3. I have prazi resistant flukes and I reinfected after the fenbendazole somehow with a piece of equipment and am now working to eliminate again?

What should I be doing to take them out? I could try hypo but I don’t have an ATO pump for it.

I could do my 2nd formalin bath and see?

I could do repeated MB baths until I get no more flakes?

Fenbendazole was killing them as I got these flakes when I did it too. I could also do 2-3 fenbendazole baths?

 

[Humblefish]

@jgruvey What temperature & salinity are these fish in? Both will affect the lifecycle of flukes.

I'm also wondering if this could be Brook: Brooklynella

 

[jgruvey]

They are in 77.5 1.024. The temp changes between 76.5-79.5 throughout the day. The SG I keep on top of pretty well. Always 1.024 or 1.025.
And I don’t see anything that looks like skin coming off of the fish are there other ways it presents?

 

[Humblefish]

They are in 77.5 1.024. The temp changes between 76.5-79.5 throughout the day. The SG I keep on top of pretty well. Always 1.024 or 1.025.
And I don’t see anything that looks like skin coming off of the fish are there other ways it presents?

When you plug those numbers into this treatment calendar, your window for redosing prazi or fenbendazole is 6 to 8 days after the first treatment: Marine Parasites