Velvet

J

jjohns

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Sep 26, 2003
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Does anyone know if Metrodiazole has any effect on velvet, or if it can be used to treat it? I know velvet in its free swimming stage is flagellated, and Metro kills flagellated parasites like hexamita.

Will salt & elevated temps work to kill velvet similar to how it does ick?

I thought I had velvet a couple weeks ago in one of my tanks, and I thought I had kicked it with acriflavine. But, it looks like another fish has symptoms now that didn't have it before and I finally got all of the acriflavine out with water changes. I really don't want to use acriflavine again to treat it, because it turns the water bright green & killed my plecos, and it is VERY hard to remove all last traces of it with water changes. I think mine took 7 changes in the end to remove it. Any ideas?

I am thinking of doing a salt dip (for the one fish that has the most symptoms) and then treating the whole tank with Maracide Concentrate (analine green/tris aminomethane) for a couple weeks.
 
Does anyone know if Metrodiazole has any effect on velvet
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i don't think so. while you may not have liked the results, the treatment of choice is an Acriflavine drug. i believe Fish-Vet makes a combination drug called Revive, and Jungle's Ick Guard contains Acriflaven as well. you can make up your own Acriflavine and if you choose to handle it this way, you should obtain the neutral form & use it at 3mg of the Acriflavine in a stock solution of 330 ml. Then use this stock solution at 8 ml to treat 1 US Gal or 3.8 litres. as with all medications, remove any carbon you may be using in your filter ... and replace the carbon after the treatment period is completed to remove the green cast left in the water.
 
Well, that is what I figured. I put in new carbon after the treatment period last time, but it didn't make a dent in removing the green color from the tank. It looked just as green as before. Even things inside the tank had a yellow film on them. I think that is why my pleco died because everything he was attaching himself to and sucking on had a coating of acriflavine on it. I might do a salt, heat, acriflavine and possibly methylene blue if the fish are handling the first 3 well. Maybe I just didn't treat it long enough before to knock it out. But, I would say that acriflavine was in the water for 3 weeks anyway. At higher temps, maybe the life cycle of velvet will be quicker and it will kill it faster and more effectively.

Any other suggestions that anyone has on treating for velvet?
 
Thanks for the info Dave. I guess if Acriflavine didn't work for me last time, I should try some Quick Cure which I have on hand that has malachite green/formalin in combo. I don't like the results though from treating Ick with Quick Cure--I have gone to the salt/heat treatment for that. So, I am skeptical about using it for velvet and seeing any good results. Does Quick Cure breakdown due to organics in the tank as well, so it would have to be dosed more often to keep the levels therapeutic?

Can I use Malachite green/formalin in combination with the increased salt and heat treatment, plus keep the lights out on the tank? I thought I had read that Quick Cure in combo with salt and heat can be deadly to the fish. I have a water pump and air pump hooked to a bubble wand in that tank--do I need to increase the aeration further while treating? Should I lower the water level a little in the tank to create more current & water movement from the pump?
 
I know there are several meds that become very dangerous at elevated temps. I Think Formalin is one of them but can't say for sure.

Formalin and Malechite do both break down with organics, but then Acriflavin does as well.

From what I understand (Haven't personally tested this) If I were going to reccomend a treatment for velvet it would be:

#1. Do large water change and good vaccuming to remove any excess organics I could

#2 remove carbon from filter (If you are using carbon)

#3. Black out the tank completely

#4. Dose with full dose of Quick Cure per directions on the bottle

#5. It is never a bad idea to increase O2 exchange when fish are in a stressful situation.

Maintain treatment for a full week (Longer would be better but a week is probably the limit for fish with meds) Hope for the best.

As said I have not tested this but all of the research I have done pretty much leads me to this treatment idea. Should I ever bring home Velvet this is what I would do.

I am not a fan of Salt and meds in combo, many folks would reccomend that also, but IME salt is an irritant and with full dose meds per the label, the fish will have enugh stress without risking further irritation. Salt may help, but the research I've done really didn't indicate it would do much or was needed.

HTH
Dave
 
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Thanks! I just did a water change and vacuumed the gravel really well. I scrubbed out the filter and made sure everything was clean. I added a small amount of salt (1 tablespoon/5 gallons), have the temp about 82 degrees (don't think I would go higher than 86 ever) and will dose full strength with Quick Cure and keep my fingers crossed. Nothing but watching and waiting I guess!
 
Please keep us posted, Accurate successful Velvet information is scarce it seems, and it would be good to know how things work for you.
Dave
 
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