Something besides ich?

look up fresh water dipping and then quarantine tank plus possibly some medication

 

its hard to say. there are other things it could be, but with out the fish in front of me i couldnt tell you. They have very similar symptoms too. Freshwater dips, and hospital tanks will help treat just about anything your fish could be suffering from. ill post some good info i just came across

 

This info came from a link directed at Oodinium, but the practices and treatments can be used for other fish ailments


Probably the most effective in tank, or better, hospital tank treatments available are Copper Sulfate at .15 -.20 ppm or Formalin. (A copper test kit is a must!) Copper sulfate is not as effective in Marine Oodinium, as compared to freshwater Velvet. Partly due to the differences in the dinoflagellate. Marine Oodinium does NOT contain Chloroplasts. It is noteworthy that Acriflavin is also not effective in the same way as it is for freshwater velvet (Piscinoodinium pillulare).
Formalin based treatments such as Quick Cure or ParaGuard may also have limed effectiveness for Oodinium. Generally formalin based formulas are more effective for Brooklynella. Of the two medications, Quick Cure or ParaGuard, I have found Quick Cure to be better for both Oodinium or Brooklynella (although for related freshwater infections such as "Ich", I prefer ParaGuard).

When one considers the difficulty in treatment and the lack of any available truly effective treatment (since "Marex" is no longer available); what it comes down to really is PREVENTION!

Assuming you have done as much prevention as possible (or not) and still have an Oodinium outbreak, here are the steps I would recommend followed by steps to prevent further outbreaks and curtail the current outbreak (this is also assuming you have a display tank loaded with live rock and other organisms you would rather not see destroyed by the addition of copper):

[1] Remove the fish, all if possible.

[2] Prepare a freshwater dip; for this dip, I adjust pH (so as reduce more osmotic stress than need be) and add Methylene Blue (at double in tank strength), I will use a specific gravity of 1.001 for the saltwater fish.

This dip should be no less than 3 minutes and no more than 5 minutes to be effective. This is very effective in removing Oodinium directly from the fish (including gills). Do not be alarmed if the fish ‘lays down’ and acts dead, this is a common initial reaction and the fish will usually perk up a minute or two into the dip.

How this works is that the cell membrane of the Oodinium cyst cannot withstand the change in osmotic pressure as well as the fish and will burst, that is why the minimum three minutes is a must. I will also note that this dip is more effective for Oodinium than Cryptocaryon even though I recommend this for both infestations due to the fact that the Oodinium Cyst does not imbed nearly as deep as the Cryptocaryon cyst does, allowing for a much more likely rupture of the cell membrane due to osmotic pressure.
The bottom line is this is a VERY effective procedure for Oodinium (& a slightly lesser degree for Brooklynella)!

For further information about Fish "Dips" and "Baths", please see this article:
Fish Baths & Dips; Aquarium Answers

[3] Hospital Tanks; even if you have to use sterile Rubbermade containers (or similar) with "seasoned" sponge filters for economic or space reasons (rather than hospital tanks) I highly recommend the purchase.
As for this "seasoned" sponge filter, the best way to have this on hand is to plan ahead an always have a at least a small sponge filter running in either your main display tank, refugium, or sump (if you have the second two). This way you simply remove this filter and place it in your hospital (or quarantine tank too). The Hydro Sponge #2 works well for this in my experience.

Use these containers with at least TWO prepared with temperature adjusted pre-mixed saltwater. After each dip (minimum once per day is recommended), move the fish to a NEW hospital tank or container and dispose of the old water from the previous container. I recommend this procedure for 10-14 days. If possible still wait a full three weeks before returning to your display aquarium.

Since most marine fish keepers today keep some form of invertebrate, even if their tank is not a "full blown reef tank", the hospital tank is really a must to treat your fish while the display tank lays "fallow" with only the invertebrates for 6-8 weeks.

Hypo-salinity can be also used for treatment (often in combination with other methods I have often brought the specific gravity as low as 1.015 with mixed treatments), however specific gravity should be 1.009 to no higher than 1.010 to work correctly for the pure Hyposalinity method. I do not recommend using this method with anemones or coral present as these aquatic inhabitants do not handle this nearly as well as fish.

It is also noteworthy that although the pure Hypo-salinity method is effective for Cryptocaryon (marine ich), its effectiveness is more questionable for Oodinium (which my use of this method has also had varying results). This is in part due to the fact that Amyloodinium also flourishes in brackish water, however pure freshwater does kill the free swimming stages, but the use of straight freshwater is only safe as a dip or bath for marine fish.

For best results, this method should be employed for 4-6 week period. It is VERY important that pH and alkalinity be monitored during this period and maintained to prevent additional stress. You should enter this hyposalinity treatment slowly from your specific gravity of 1.019 -1.025 to 1.009 over a 48 hour period using RO/DI or even de-chlorinated tap water and/or water changes using low salt water mixes (such as 1.005 salt mixes).

PLEASE note that the freshwater used to replace the saltwater is often too low in alkalinity (KH) and minerals and this can add to the stress of the fish (especially sensitive fish such as sharks/rays), so it is imperative that this water have added carbonates and minerals to ensure that in trying to kill the ich infestation, you do not add to osmoregulation problems for the fish. Products such as SeaChem Marine Buffer can be useful for this.


If you would rather not go through this process, treatment with copper sulfate for three weeks at .15 to .25 ppm in the display tank does still work (assuming you do not have any invertebrates or you remove them). Removing the copper, would take copper removal resins and lots of water changes. (carbon will not work).

original link
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Oodinium.html

 

Could be Marine Velvet. Very nasty and kills quickly, and you will generally notice a white haze on their body a couple days or day before they die.

 

I was chatting with the SeaChem rep at SpringFest and he directed me to Metronidazole.  He said, like everyone else will that while it is best to remove the fish to a QT tank, you can use it in a reef tank.  If the fish are still eating, he highly recommended getting Focus to bind the Metronidazole to fish food and it may help to add garlic and get the fish to eat the meds with the food.
http://www.americanaquariumproducts...ion2.htmlv
Good luck and let us know how you cure it. /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/crying.gif

 

I would not just blame the R/O or new skimmer. Changing to something else in a marine tank should be done slowly. Not because you have to, but because you want to know what may be troubling your system if something happens after. I would look at what else has happened. What have you added last?What are you doing different?Foods,heat and things like that. Test all your water parameters. I know you don't want to do to much at once in Saltwater. Meaning don't do to much change all a once so you can pin something down if you have problems. I would have don't a 50/50 mix of R/O and what ever you had been using just in case you stopped adding something in the water that your tank was balance to use. This is why people use R/O, because it has nothing in it to mess things up in a system. Fish can get sick for many many different reasons. Most of all is change in there environments causing stress. Most systems have things dormant in there environments just waiting for something to happen so they can attach a weakened fish.
Bad thing is you have to investigate what has happened. You must find the cause and then the effect will be easier to treat.
Take a deep breath and don't give up. We all have been through some bad times and you will get by this one.. Good luck and I am sure if anyone can help its the people on this forum..
Kyle