Reef Discussion

[Shantelle]

I have recently had white spot on my blue tang and brookynella on my clowns (which has now nearly cleared up) am I able to move a coral with a little water to another tank with out affecting the tank? I've had 1 clown die. Thanks

 

[MagicJ]

Hi Shantelle - has the whitespot been eradicated? If so, how?

If it just that the whitespot is no longer visibly evident, it will still be in the tank just at reduced levels. Some stages of the whitespot spend time in the sand bed/rocks/corals so you do risk transferring the disease by moving a coral, unless the tank has been fishless for 6-8 weeks.

 

[Shantelle]

thanks. i have done a 4 day dose of vertonex which ended last friday, no fish are showing any signs anymore. 1 fish died last week. so how will i know how long or when white spot is eliminated or can it not be until the tank is fishless?

 

[liquidg]

Good to see some one putting forward that white spot remains dormant in the top of substrates in wait to sense stress signals from fish, for a very long time as well if need be, good to see!

There is no possibility of removing completely this parasite from a reef tank, just protecting the fish immune system to allow them their own defence against this inevitable pest.

Your blue tangs and some other fish as well have very tiny scales and this allows easier access to the flesh and causes a little more white spot when they are stressed beyond other fish species.

Stress is everything and your fish drink massive amounts of the water they swim in, all that is in the water may enter their blood, now that’s serious in relation to potential stress!!!!

Stress related breathing issues causing ammonia building with in the fish and general gill function suffering and the bigy,adrenalin poisoning, it has to be called cortisol poisoning now as the adrenalin word has copy write!

When in stress for what ever reason, cortisol for the sort term is great, after a couple of days of this stress response, your fish are most likely cactus!

This one is the killer of 99.9 percent of all marine aquarium fish, get the stresses down to near zero and their immune system will not be compromised by the prolonged cortisol exposure that brings on their death in one way or another!!!

 

[Salty]

There is no cure to rid ich in any kind of bottle or jar. Aquarium isolation/qt is the best bet but still not 100%. Moving substrate/rock/coral between systems could cause you to relocate parasites also. Remember there are not quick fixes in reefing.

 

[MagicJ]

thanks. i have done a 4 day dose of vertonex which ended last friday, no fish are showing any signs anymore. 1 fish died last week. so how will i know how long or when white spot is eliminated or can it not be until the tank is fishless?

I have never used Vertonex - it appears that its active ingredient is quinine with some added malachite green - the latter can be lethal to worms, snails so I hope this was done in a QT - it will also stain your silicon.

Does it eliminate whitespot? The reviews I have read seem to be contradictory and on this basis solely I would have my doubts.

The Cryptocaryon life cycle takes approximately 9 to 10 days at 24 to 25oC to complete and is as follows:

1. Trophonts, parasitic stage, 3 to 7 days with peak at 4 to 5 days. Parasite attaches itself to the fish and burrows its way underneath the skin where it feeds on tissue debris and body fluids.
2. Mature, disassociation stage, up to 18 hours. Upon maturing, the trophont leaves the host, sinks to the substrate and actively probes it for several hours.
3. Tomonts, reproductive stage, 3 to 28 days with peak at 4 to 8 days. Mature stage then creates a cyst and starts to reproduce and divides several times.
4. Theronts, infective stage, 24 to 48 hours. The cyst ruptures and releases the free swimming tomites (up to 200) which differentiate into theronts and then have to find a host within 2 days. Failure to find a suitable fish host ends in death of the theront.

The only stage that is susceptible to chemical treatment is the infective stage involving the tomites / theronts.

By dosing medication during the trophont stage i.e. when you can actually see the parasite, you are unlikely to be overly successful as the skin provides some protection from the medication. Note : I am unaware as to how the Vertonex actually works so my last comment may not be entirely accurate.

Now, you have dosed for 4 days and the fish look clean, but this may have just been the end of the normal trophont stage where they have disassociated from the host and are now in stages 2-4. You will only know if the parasite has been eliminated if there is no re-occurrence of the trophonts in the next week or two.

There is the capacity for any wild caught fish or coral or rock to be harboring the Cryptocaryon parasite - unless you are prepared to QT everything for 6-8 weeks before it goes in your DT then there will always be the risk of introducing the parasite. Most people are not prepared to, or can't, do this so the next best thing is to maintain a healthy, stress free tank and rely on the natural defenses of the fish. I agree with liquidg in this regard.