Fine yellow spots, mass deaths, happy holidays to me
Posted: 06 Dec 2015, 15:25
But is it velvet? Signs would point to yes, but on at least one fish I see over a hundred, fine salt-like and clearly defined spots, not patches or shiny. But yellow, not white.
So some years ago I had an issue with my adult hoplos, and they ended up all dying. This time I think it is velvet for sure, but only my plecos have been affected, and my L brevis cats.
It started about a month ago, when I got a new 55 gallon tank setup. Sweet, the plan was to put my calvus juvies and my leleupi juvies in there for growout (they were in a 37 and 20 before then). I had to take down 3 20 gallon tanks for the 55 to fit, and moved all the BN pleco fry from their 20 to a 20 long, and the adults to the 37. I kept all the filters wet and moved all the driftwood and kept everything safe with Prime and matching water.
A few days later all the longfin fry were dead. Maybe the stress of the move. There were no marks on them so I never put it down to disease. A single longfin adult had snuck in with them...and despite water changes daily, her white fins streaked with red and she was dead within two days. About the same time I noticed the two blue-eyed BN I had with the calvus had slightly sunken eyes. I removed them asap but they died in a QT tank within, again, two days. No spots or marks. The leleupi in the calvus tank all died within another two days, but I put it down to aggression from the calvus, which were slightly larger. Right now the calvus are alone in their 55, no spots, no streaks, no signs of anything.
While dealing with this, the 37's BN group started to get bloody streaks. Water quality issues. I couldn't understand why, the tank shouldn't be cycling. More water changes and Prime, no feeding, and dieoffs. I saw the first yellow spots shortly after.
All signs pointed to velvet. I threw some heaters in all the tanks (I usually don't have to, our winters are pretty warm still) and all the plecos in the 37 ended up with the fine yellow spots. They were breathing harder, so more air stones and powerheads, and they eventually all died. And during this, the plecos in my other 55, with my albino yellow labs, got a few yellow fine spots.
Cue panic mode. Because while I have a lot of nets and tend to keep them to their own tanks, it doesn't matter as I have one Python system to change all the water. I upped the temperatures in almost every tank to 84. More air stones. I actually flicked the power breaker and lost all power to my bedroom and the fish room/spare bedroom with this.
My L260 group and my L brevis cats did not get any spots. That I could see. But they did have an ammonia spike when one queen died, and despite my best efforts with more water changes, they all died. However....I had a fry floater in their tank with BN fry. Those fry all showed yellow spots (I removed them once I saw the spots) and that was about four or five days before the other fish died.
So here is what I have right now.
A 90 gallon with several adult blue eyed BN plecos, some L201, farlowella, juvie hoplos, and lots of shrimp. I have not seen any spots on any fish.
A 20 gallon with P typus cats and 3-4 blue-eyed BN adults. I have not seen any spots. Typus cats in a cave right now.
A 20 gallon with longfinned blue eyed BN adults, some panda garra. There was a fry floater in their tank, and when the BN fry got yellow spots, they were removed.
20 gallon fry tank with blue eyed BN fry and some albino lab fry, and cherry shrimp. I thought I saw a spot on a fry but can't be sure. However I have lost several of the youngest fry in the tank, either due to competition or the illness, but I never see any spots on them.
A 55 with Julie dickfeldi and some blue-eyed BN adults. No spots.
A 29 with my zebras. No spots.
And an empty 20 long that held my queen juvies and my L brevis cats. Currently only housing assassin snails.
In the other room, a 55 with calvus. No spots.
29 with Julie dickfeldi. No spots.
A 20 long with a single P typus juvie and cherry shrimp. No spots.
Second 20 long with P typus juvies. No spots.
The 37, now a QT tank, with several adult BN from the 55 (below) tank. Single brown female covered in yellow dots. Two male blue eyed with less spots. And a damn kuhli loach that has been living in the sand for over two years without a single spot. There were more kuhlis, they died without spots and had been in the tank for a year or so, always hiding.
55 with my albino yellow labs. The temp is currently 82. It was higher, but the holding female spat several dead fry, so I lowered it slightly. The labs never showed any signs of the spots.
In the bathroom, a 29 gallon with hillstream loaches. Hard to tell if they have spots.
So. What do I do now? Medicating for the scaleless fish (let alone the plants and inverts) will likely kill them anyway. I have 2 Python systems now, one I have been using on the 37 and the yellow lab 55 alone, the other one for the other tanks. I tried salt without success, even at low doses.
As for new fish, two months ago I picked up the hoplos, some hillstream loaches, and the panda garra from Wetspot. They were all in QT for a month before I moved the hillstreams to my hillstream tank, the garra in the 20 with the longfins (it was temporary until all this started), and the hoplos in a spare 29, which was torn down and they were moved to the 90. In that group I lost one garra in QT, and one hillstream in the hillstream tank.
Am I even looking at velvet here? If they weren't yellow I'd be sure they were ich.
Or, worse thought, if they are ich, would white appear as yellow on a yellowy fish? But that doesn't explain the yellow dots on the brown female BN.
So some years ago I had an issue with my adult hoplos, and they ended up all dying. This time I think it is velvet for sure, but only my plecos have been affected, and my L brevis cats.
It started about a month ago, when I got a new 55 gallon tank setup. Sweet, the plan was to put my calvus juvies and my leleupi juvies in there for growout (they were in a 37 and 20 before then). I had to take down 3 20 gallon tanks for the 55 to fit, and moved all the BN pleco fry from their 20 to a 20 long, and the adults to the 37. I kept all the filters wet and moved all the driftwood and kept everything safe with Prime and matching water.
A few days later all the longfin fry were dead. Maybe the stress of the move. There were no marks on them so I never put it down to disease. A single longfin adult had snuck in with them...and despite water changes daily, her white fins streaked with red and she was dead within two days. About the same time I noticed the two blue-eyed BN I had with the calvus had slightly sunken eyes. I removed them asap but they died in a QT tank within, again, two days. No spots or marks. The leleupi in the calvus tank all died within another two days, but I put it down to aggression from the calvus, which were slightly larger. Right now the calvus are alone in their 55, no spots, no streaks, no signs of anything.
While dealing with this, the 37's BN group started to get bloody streaks. Water quality issues. I couldn't understand why, the tank shouldn't be cycling. More water changes and Prime, no feeding, and dieoffs. I saw the first yellow spots shortly after.
All signs pointed to velvet. I threw some heaters in all the tanks (I usually don't have to, our winters are pretty warm still) and all the plecos in the 37 ended up with the fine yellow spots. They were breathing harder, so more air stones and powerheads, and they eventually all died. And during this, the plecos in my other 55, with my albino yellow labs, got a few yellow fine spots.
Cue panic mode. Because while I have a lot of nets and tend to keep them to their own tanks, it doesn't matter as I have one Python system to change all the water. I upped the temperatures in almost every tank to 84. More air stones. I actually flicked the power breaker and lost all power to my bedroom and the fish room/spare bedroom with this.
My L260 group and my L brevis cats did not get any spots. That I could see. But they did have an ammonia spike when one queen died, and despite my best efforts with more water changes, they all died. However....I had a fry floater in their tank with BN fry. Those fry all showed yellow spots (I removed them once I saw the spots) and that was about four or five days before the other fish died.
So here is what I have right now.
A 90 gallon with several adult blue eyed BN plecos, some L201, farlowella, juvie hoplos, and lots of shrimp. I have not seen any spots on any fish.
A 20 gallon with P typus cats and 3-4 blue-eyed BN adults. I have not seen any spots. Typus cats in a cave right now.
A 20 gallon with longfinned blue eyed BN adults, some panda garra. There was a fry floater in their tank, and when the BN fry got yellow spots, they were removed.
20 gallon fry tank with blue eyed BN fry and some albino lab fry, and cherry shrimp. I thought I saw a spot on a fry but can't be sure. However I have lost several of the youngest fry in the tank, either due to competition or the illness, but I never see any spots on them.
A 55 with Julie dickfeldi and some blue-eyed BN adults. No spots.
A 29 with my zebras. No spots.
And an empty 20 long that held my queen juvies and my L brevis cats. Currently only housing assassin snails.
In the other room, a 55 with calvus. No spots.
29 with Julie dickfeldi. No spots.
A 20 long with a single P typus juvie and cherry shrimp. No spots.
Second 20 long with P typus juvies. No spots.
The 37, now a QT tank, with several adult BN from the 55 (below) tank. Single brown female covered in yellow dots. Two male blue eyed with less spots. And a damn kuhli loach that has been living in the sand for over two years without a single spot. There were more kuhlis, they died without spots and had been in the tank for a year or so, always hiding.
55 with my albino yellow labs. The temp is currently 82. It was higher, but the holding female spat several dead fry, so I lowered it slightly. The labs never showed any signs of the spots.
In the bathroom, a 29 gallon with hillstream loaches. Hard to tell if they have spots.
So. What do I do now? Medicating for the scaleless fish (let alone the plants and inverts) will likely kill them anyway. I have 2 Python systems now, one I have been using on the 37 and the yellow lab 55 alone, the other one for the other tanks. I tried salt without success, even at low doses.
As for new fish, two months ago I picked up the hoplos, some hillstream loaches, and the panda garra from Wetspot. They were all in QT for a month before I moved the hillstreams to my hillstream tank, the garra in the 20 with the longfins (it was temporary until all this started), and the hoplos in a spare 29, which was torn down and they were moved to the 90. In that group I lost one garra in QT, and one hillstream in the hillstream tank.
Am I even looking at velvet here? If they weren't yellow I'd be sure they were ich.
Or, worse thought, if they are ich, would white appear as yellow on a yellowy fish? But that doesn't explain the yellow dots on the brown female BN.