Reef Discussion
Hi @Susan Bates - you might like to have a read of this http://thereefuge.com/threads/white-spot-moving-stock.4756/
Well if you wanted an example, take a nice bit of liverock, place it into a hospital tank and then dose with malachite green, then test for ammonia in the coming days. Some worms for example are not fans, even in freshwater its considered a harsh medication, effective, but harsh. Plenty of warnings for baby fish and scaleless fish. You wouldn't use it on a tank containing shrimp. I cant tell you exactly what it might kill in your reef, because who knows what weird thingys are in there, but theres a good chance it would kill some of them.
@Susan Bates as I suspect you are finding out the hard way, Cryptocaryon irritans (Marine whitespot) is a difficult parasite to deal with.
From my understanding there are probably only two ways to totally eradicate it - exposure to copper (at the correct level and at the correct time of it's life cycle) and breaking it's life cycle by preventing access to a host.
Neither of these ways can be undertaken in a display tank without access to a second hospital tank.
A bit of a generalisation, but no product can eliminate Cryptocaryon irritans and at the same time cause no problems for your corals, inverts etc. - that product does not exist - there is no magic bullet to this problem.
If you read the wording for these products, they do not claim to eradicate Cryptocaryon -
Vertonex - To assist in the treatment of white spot (cryptocaryon irritans) when corals and invertebrates are present in marine aquaria.
Polyp Lab Medic - It contains an antibiotic component and a reef-safe oxidizing agent that work together to help eliminate parasites.
What exactly does 'assist' and 'help' actually mean??
So that they are not harmful to corals, inverts etc you will find that the active ingredient is watered down to such an extent that it will have limited success against the actual parasite. Now, I'm not saying that they don't 'help' as they may manage to kill off some of the parasites and thus give the fish a chance to build up it's immunity, but they won't eliminate it. If a stress event re-occours then it is likely that you will again see white spot on your fish.
From my understanding there are probably only two ways to totally eradicate it - exposure to copper (at the correct level and at the correct time of it's life cycle) and breaking it's life cycle by preventing access to a host.
Neither of these ways can be undertaken in a display tank without access to a second hospital tank.
A bit of a generalisation, but no product can eliminate Cryptocaryon irritans and at the same time cause no problems for your corals, inverts etc. - that product does not exist - there is no magic bullet to this problem.
If you read the wording for these products, they do not claim to eradicate Cryptocaryon -
Vertonex - To assist in the treatment of white spot (cryptocaryon irritans) when corals and invertebrates are present in marine aquaria.
Polyp Lab Medic - It contains an antibiotic component and a reef-safe oxidizing agent that work together to help eliminate parasites.
What exactly does 'assist' and 'help' actually mean??
So that they are not harmful to corals, inverts etc you will find that the active ingredient is watered down to such an extent that it will have limited success against the actual parasite. Now, I'm not saying that they don't 'help' as they may manage to kill off some of the parasites and thus give the fish a chance to build up it's immunity, but they won't eliminate it. If a stress event re-occours then it is likely that you will again see white spot on your fish.
What it WON'T kill in a reef tank would be a much shorter list. MG should be a last resort and that tank can never be used for anything else but a hospital tank or a freshwater tank, EVER. I've used it a few times at 1/4-1/2 dose on top of copper sulfate with little success.
UV lights can work, but you will find that most of the 'hobby' ones are underpowered for the job they are expected to do.
Keep in mind that the parasite will only be killed if it actually travels through the UV - it does nothing to those that are in your sandbed, on the fish etc.
So, I would put a UV in the same category as the products listed above - they may help but, once again, it is not a magic bullet.
Keep in mind that the parasite will only be killed if it actually travels through the UV - it does nothing to those that are in your sandbed, on the fish etc.
So, I would put a UV in the same category as the products listed above - they may help but, once again, it is not a magic bullet.
@MQ-9 just for other members benefit, and for comparison purposes only - what sort of cost are you looking at for something like the UV you use?
The unit cost me about $350 and is at the limit of its capabilities in my 200L tank. The new 8watt bulbs are $80 each. I purchased it out of desperation after I continued losing very expensive fish after defeating a horrible brooklynella outbreak. I cant say for sure whether it was the magic bullet that stopped the secondary infections, but it was one of several things I threw at the situation. It works very well in my bare 60L hospital tank, helps injuries heal fast, but I would get a bigger one for the 200L if I had the cash, prefer to have over kill in this situation. 57W model is $850, I really need a sponsor.
I used a 24w back in the 70s, we had 3ft long ones on the 2 shop systems that were $950 ea and that was because the wholesaler just wanted to get rid of them. Doing UV 1/2 way isn't going to do much. If you're having continual bacterial outbreaks they can be the difference between life and death of your specimens.
Hi @Susan Bates - can you tell us the details of the UV - make and model ?
@MQ-9 , her tank is about 400l I believe.
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