urgent help needed

[sangell153]

Being relatively new to keeping a reef tank im not too clued up on the diseases/ailments of marine fish. When i got back from work this morning i done the usual clean out and test of water as well as a partial water change when i noticed my yellow eyed tang seems to have lots of tiny white spots over its body and fins also he seems to have a filmy layer over it also. My only other fish in the tank is a blue cheek goby so i cant really see if it has the same problem because of its colour. Ive been told that it might be something called oodinium ocellatum. Will this affect my inverts or is it only fish affecting. And how bad is this disease? :?:

 

[Len]

Sounds like Amyloodinium (Oodinium) to me too (commonly known as marine velvet or saltwater ich disease). It's caused by Dinoglagellates/protozoans and can happen when there is a radical water chemistry change (especially spikes in nitrogenous compounds like ammonia). Do the gills look diseased or is the fish breathing rapidly. If not, it could be Cryptocaryon .irritans instead.

I'm not really an expert on how to cure Amyloodinium, but from what I've read, copper sulfate based medications work. You'll need to do this in a seperate quarantine tank, however, since copper is toxic. Some people say gram-negative antibiotics can work too. If it's C.irritans, check out www.advancedaquarist.com. There has been a five part series on this disease that is an extremely awesome read and will give you insight on this common disease. Current issue has just concluded the five part series. Go back in the archives to read the past parts.

 

[Len]

BTW,

 

[sangell153]

Im gonna quarantine and treat them as soon as poss. I think Operation Reef assault shall commence tomorrow with the deployment of a UV steriliser :twisted: while i leave it for a few weeks empty of fish. With any luck that will help with the damn algae as well. Although my 2 fish are different species they have grown quite attached and are never more than a few inches from each other, except at night when goby seals itself under a rock in substrate, so it would be great to keep them alive and together.