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treating velvet

4K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  alohamonte 
#1 ·
Unfortunately two of my fish have contracted velvet in my tank. The tank is heavily planted and cycled.

What is the best way to treat for velvet without harming my plants and without having to use another tank? Im a college student and I do not have room for another tank
 
#2 ·
I actually already have a treament for the parasite that casues velvet and the active ingredient is dimethyl, hydroxy trichloromethyl phosphate.

Is that ok to use with plants? also its says not to use with bottom feeders so would it not be ok to use with corydoras cats or is that more referring to scaleless fish like loaches?
 
#5 · (Edited)
Excerpt concerning velvet treatment:

With the continued thought that Flubendazole not only killed the hydra and was effective against the protozoa Hexamita, I anticipated that this drug could also be effective against the other two common protozoan pests in the aquarium hobby, Oodinium (velvet) and Ichthyophthirius (ich). I didn't have a chance to treat either disease until the first part of December 2002. I had neglected a tank of Epiplatys lamottei and to my dismay a coating of velvet enveloped each fish. I had purchased these fish about nine months earlier. While I did not observe a velvet infection when I purchased these fish, from what I know about this disease, it would appear that these fish were probably infected with the parasite before I got them. It was only my neglect that allowed the parasite to flourish. I treated the tank with Flubendazole in the usual manner, beginning with a complete change of water, then I added 1/4 teaspoon of Flubendazole (5% powder) to the tank, bubbling and stirring it to dissolve it. I reported my results in “KillieTalk” in December 2002, to many unbelieving eyes. The parasite dewormer seemed to eliminate the velvet infection in my fish.

Link:
http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/FlubendazoleArticle.pdf

I routinely use this in tanks with several subspecies of Cory and Loach.
 
#6 ·
...
I apparently do not know how to treat this disease lol..
I generally just provide super clean waster to the fish and it goes away.
And if it still have any left after a few weeks or a really bad case of velvet I catch the fish... And subject them to the horrific mad scientist venture of swabbing the area with a q-tip dipped in a hydrogen peroxide solution.
 
#8 ·
A a q-tip dipped in a hydrogen peroxide you're oxidizing cell walls killing external fungus, bacteria or parasites. Keeping the environment extremely clean you're removing pollutants and reducing stress allowing the fish to heal itself. Nothing wrong with any of that.

Unfortunately most of the time treating sick fish is complete guesswork other than the simple stuff or external parasites/fungus. Sure stress from handling or poor conditions can weaken fish but that only allows other influences to take hold be it fungal, bacterial or a parasite. That's why entry quarantine is a must on an established system. Rarely do local vets even have the training. Use of a microscope and proper training is beyond most so broad spectrum treatment and guesswork for the only choice for most hobbyists.

Charles Harrison, Ph.D being a trained chemist looks for a chemical treatment to address problems. I can only guess with his training and knowledge base that puts him in his comfort zone, trusting science. I do know treating visible symptoms following his recommendations has worked out very well for me. Much better than guesswork or following web based treatment charts.
how does one get a hold of Flubendazole? I looked it up and I didnt find anything...
http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/
 
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