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How do I treat godfish w/velvet in an uncycled tank?

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  kelly528 
#1 ·
I desperately need help, as I am in a fight against time.
I recently aquired Velvet, which I have learned is DEADLY if left untreated, in my goldfish tank by taking in a fish without qt (big mistake)
Problem is that I accidentally overcleaned the tank when that little fish died, causing my tank to recycle.
Now I have Velvet in an uncycled tank.
My two goldies were in the bottom of the tank clamped up and breathing hard. I assume they had a secondary bacterial infection, and have just finished treating with Jungle medicated antibacterial food.
Now I am ready to treat the velvet and I'm confused.
I have read so much conflicting advice that my head is spinning.:roll:

I am doing 30-40% water changes every other day and adding to or taking from the water in between to keep the ammonia down.(am i changing out the water TOO much?)
I have learned that copper treatents are unsafe while ammonia is present.
Salt and water changes seams like a good option, as I would prefer not to use medication if possible, but I have read that some people dont think salt works for velvet.

The best advice I have found seems to be either medicated Wonder Shells, or to treat with Maracyn and Marcacyn two concurrently while providing some wonder shells for calcium and electrolytes for optimum medication osbsorbtion....???
I can NOT find either Medicated Wonder Shells, nor Maracyn two anywhere.
Any advice as to which medication can be substituted for Maracyn two, or any thoughts as to why this may NOT be the proper treatment would be appreciated.

Also, any advice as to which treatment would be best on how I can treat the velvet while the tank is still cycling would be GREATLY appreciated.

I have an idea of my own that I have tried to research. I can not find anything like it on the net.

*My idea is that I could set up a seperate tank with clean treated water, uncycled. Treat the fish with (???whatever medication???) which should only take a few days, while their own tank continues to cycle, then return the fish to their own tank, which should be finished cycling by the time their treatment is done. This way they would be treated without having to battle the ammonia poisoning in their own tank at the same time they are being medicated???

Again, any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,
Gigi Hackett
 
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#3 ·
Okay first of all I don't know where this Maracyn advice is coming from... Maracyn and Maracyn 2 treat gram positive and gram negative bacteria respectively and therefore will not treat Velvet as they are antibiotics.

I know this would take a lot of coppersafe but personally I would treat them with copper in the uncycled tank, water changed 100% daily or every other day (not sure how large the goldies or their tank are). You can supplement the treatment with aquarium salt (1 Tbsp / 5g) to restore electrolytes and you shouldn't need these 'wonder shells' unless the water in your area is incredibly soft (ie 0 DGH)


You could also treat the velvet with aquarium salt but I find this very stressful to the fish as you need a LOT of salt (up to 3 Tbsp per gallon) and have to work up to the final dosage very, very gradually so as not to shock the fish. Even in Richard Hess's book, Fancy Goldfish (the goldfish disease BIBLE, I STRONGLY recommend you invest in a copy) he says that when dosing salt to treat velvet 'not worse' is considered a good result.
 
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