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velvet not going away....

3K views 50 replies 6 participants last post by  LittleBettaFish 
#1 ·
So Ive been using Rid Ich+ for a week now, and I can't see any changes at all. The only thing it's managed to do is stain my dresser, towels, and aquarium silicone. I increased the dosage to twice a day now, but is it worth it? it's not doing anything... how long does it take?
 
#3 ·
I'm pretty positive... he has yellow pixie dust all over his fins, and some of his body is a pale yellow, shines when I put light on it. I have been keeping the light off while using the meds as well... I don't want him in the dark much longer, he's not happy! Lol
 
#5 ·
Are you doing a total blackout (like wrapping the tank in a towel) or just keeping the light off? And have you heated the water higher than normal? RidIch should really be used at about 85. Are you using any salt, as well?
 
#6 ·
Oh I have to put a towel on it? .-.

This tank doesn't have an adjustable thermometer.... I could switch it out with the one from the other tank, but i don't wanna contaminate the other tank D:


I'm not using AQ salt because it's a pain top get rid of, if I have to I will though. Anything to get him better! it's 1tbsp per gal right?
 
#8 · (Edited)
Do you think it's safe to swap heaters?


Edit: wow I just dumped the AQ salt in one corner and my betta just went over to it, fanned his fins out and sat there while the salt was dissolving... he looked relieved, lol. He's much more active now for some reason o_O


Also, I have to do a 25% water change (about 1gal) before redosing the rid ich, how much salt should I add back with it? The carton says 1/2 a tbsp per gal but that seems a bit much if its only 5tbsb for 5gallons....
 
#10 ·
Do you think it's safe to swap heaters?


Edit: wow I just dumped the AQ salt in one corner and my betta just went over to it, fanned his fins out and sat there while the salt was dissolving... he looked relieved, lol. He's much more active now for some reason o_O


Also, I have to do a 25% water change (about 1gal) before redosing the rid ich, how much salt should I add back with it? The carton says 1/2 a tbsp per gal but that seems a bit much if its only 5tbsb for 5gallons....
Oh please tell my you pre-dissovled the salt in a glass & didn't just dump the salt into the tank? Salt can burn your fish.
The dosage is 1/2 teaspoon per gallon & 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons.
 
#9 ·
You really should try and pre-dissolve the salt before putting it in. It'll make a much better solution that way. And yes, you also want a total blackout - and if you aren't raising the temp, you aren't going to kill the little beasties causing the velvet. The heat speeds up the lifecycle so that they grow and die faster, while the treatment is going on, instead of being able to stay in a pre-adult form where the meds aren't as useful.
 
#11 ·
Of course I mixed in tank water before I put it in D: Lol I put it in a cup of tnak water, swished it around for a couple mins, the poured it into a corner by the filter to mix it around more Then he went right over to where I dumped it and sat there while it was mixing/dissolving into the rest of the water.
 
#14 ·
Velvet takes ages and ages to be eradicated fully. Even raising the temperature and treating with medication. I had velvet go through all my tanks and it took at least three or so weeks before my fish recovered and there was no sign of it anywhere.

I agree that raising the temperature, completely blacking out the tank and using a medication is the best way to go. I found that a medication containing copper was what eventually knocked my velvet on its head. I know copper can be toxic etc. but in my case I had fatalities occurring and I did use the same medication on my fry tanks with no ill effects.

Also if your medicine contains malachite green I believe this is sensitive to light so it is best to keep tanks that are being treated with it dark anyway.
 
#15 ·
Wonderful, just wonderful. -.-

If I move the snail, I don't want it to reproduce, or contaminate the other tank... I'm already nervous about the heater I swapped out. I rinsed it under burning water and dried it real good, but I'm still worried.
 
#16 ·
If you use any copper medication on the tank, just know that the chances of it being invert-safe again are debatable. This is especially true if it is a glass tank with silicone, because the copper will soak into the silicone.
 
#17 ·
When I was researching that particular point, there was some debate on forums as to how much copper actually does soak into the silicone and whether it does leech out later on.

For me the risk of my fish dying outweighed the possible downsides of using copper.

Velvet is damn nasty though. A lot nastier than ich in my experience. I hope your fish gets better soon OP. It sucks when they are sick and you have to sit and wait it out.
 
#20 ·
I'll wait out the Rid ich, and if he's not showing any signs of change by next week, I'll have to make the hard decicions. Priorities will have to come into play and unfortunately, Betta>Snail. :c

I just hate having to have my poor betta in darkness for 2 weeks, he's not happy at all :c
 
#24 · (Edited)
Ok... nothing is working.

It's getting WORSE. He's covered in it, and some of his scales show signs of him rubbing against things. Time to get nasty... what's a good medicine? I can take out the snail and put him in the QT tank. Is the snail infect too? Or does velvet only affect fish?
 
#25 ·
I'm going to get coppersafe, should I remove the snail/would it kill the snail painfully? If I do remove the snail... would it reinfect the tank if I add it back? If the coppersafe won't give the snail a painful death, I might leave him in there to be euthenized... (I feel terrible)

Would I still need to continue the blackout and aq salt?
 
#27 ·
Don't despair. I was sure my fish were all on death's door because they had stopped eating and had ulcerated wounds around their heads where they had scratched themselves raw. But they did eventually recover and it definitely got worse before it got better.

I would definitely continue with the blackout. I found salt did nothing for velvet and so I stopped using it when I commenced with actual medication.

I am not sure how your snail will cope. My pond snails seemed unaffected by the copper medication but they could probably survive a nuclear fall-out.

Is there any way of removing the snail completely to another container during treatment? Or does it have to stay in there?
 
#28 · (Edited)
I have another tank I could easily put it in, I'm just concerned that by putting the snail in the QT tank and then putting it back would reinfect the one with the betta... I'm not going through this again.

My question is, do snails carry velvet/are they affected by it? Could I rinse it's shell off under water from the sink? Lol


I think I'll leave the salt in though because hes torn his fins from scratching, and his fins seem to be "wilting" :c


Also, will it be ok to add the coppersafe with some of the Rid Ich still in there?
 
#29 ·
Could somebody PLEASE answer my question so I can put the coppersafe in?


"My question is, do snails carry velvet/are they affected by it? Could I rinse it's shell off under water from the sink?"
 
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