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HELP: best treatment for velvet?

JamieH

Member
Joined
27 Apr 2008
Messages
73
Balls.

I think one of my juvenile angelfish has velvet.

It's slime coat appears thickened -particularly around the dorsal area... although this may just be where the light is catching it... It's fins are half clamped and it's hanging around just below the surface... it's also beating it's pectoral fins awkwardly almost like they're 'sticky'

tested the water... everything is unchanged and no cause for alarm there.


None of my other fish appear to be troubled at all, and the fish is still eating.... but then goes and sulks afterwards.

My tank also has a pair of jewel cichlids, some corys, a couple of clown loaches and some otocinclus.

I've got a few live plants that i bought cheap from pets at home because 'the pots are broken and you won't be able to keep them without the pots' but that's pretty much all because i was going to rescape this week.

Oh... the tank is 240litres, has a eheim 2028 external and 2012 interl with extra module... and a vecton 2 600 uv steriliser.

what is the best treatment for velvet? ...also, i'd prefer something that isn't going to kill my plants... filter bacteria, or stain everything it touches... any suggestions?
 
Never had velvet and are you sure it is that? You are supposed to see a shimmering dust kind of effect when you view the fish from an angle. Raising the temperature and darkening the tank is supposed to be a good approach as the parasite is a dinoflaggellate algae and needs light when in the free-swimming stages. A treatment containing Acriflavine is the best proprietary treatment.
 
Ed Seeley said:
Never had velvet and are you sure it is that? You are supposed to see a shimmering dust kind of effect when you view the fish from an angle. Raising the temperature and darkening the tank is supposed to be a good approach as the parasite is a dinoflaggellate algae and needs light when in the free-swimming stages. A treatment containing Acriflavine is the best proprietary treatment.


Not absolutely sure, no... it's not shimmering... but you can see a grey-ish film on the skin at the right angle.
 
A greyish film could be a heavier mucus covering which suggest a parasite or irritant of some sort. Perhaps a general anti-parasite that will treat a relatively wide range of problems may be best. Salt will also cause the mucus to be shed along with a lot of the parasite loads and I often give my koi strong salt baths if they seem under the weather. Not easy to do on tropicals though! :lol:

Raising the temperature and adding either salt or a fairly general anti-parasite would be my first course of action.
 
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