VELVET infected aquarium.

[WhiteTang]

Hello!

i recently lost a clown to velvet. I have one more fish in the tank that shows no signs of the parasite. Can it be that the fish is immune?

Are there fish that are immune to velvet and other parasites?

[3FordFamily]

My fish all have a working immunity to velvet ich and brook. I've seen each affect fish in my tanks (new additions only) but that is more rate and hard to work toward. Long story short yes, but new additions will likely be badly affected and succomb. I had velvet wipe out all of my DT back when k quarantined all additions, (so my fish had no exposure and thus also had no immunity and it wiped everything but one chromis and a Melanarus wrasse.
Halichoeres genus wrasses tend to be more hardy against parasites than other fish. Choice is yours what you should do but most on here would suggest removing the fish and letting the tank go fallow for 72 days while treating the remaining fish with copper or tank transfer method. In your case and being that velvet is far more deadly than ich, I might be in that camp as well.

[gone fishin]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2388424

the link will give you the info you need to treat velvet.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by 3FordFamily

My fish all have a working immunity to velvet ich and brook.

There is no such thing.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by 3FordFamily

My fish all have a working immunity to velvet ich and brook. I've seen each affect fish in my tanks (new additions only) but that is more rate and hard to work toward. Long story short yes, but new additions will likely be badly affected and succomb. I had velvet wipe out all of my DT back when k quarantined all additions, (so my fish had no exposure and thus also had no immunity and it wiped everything but one chromis and a Melanarus wrasse.
Halichoeres genus wrasses tend to be more hardy against parasites than other fish. Choice is yours what you should do but most on here would suggest removing the fish and letting the tank go fallow for 72 days while treating the remaining fish with copper or tank transfer method. In your case and being that velvet is far more deadly than ich, I might be in that camp as well.

there is a lot of misinformation in this post. Saying all fish have working immunity to velvet, ich, and brook, has no way of being verified and would not be true since immunity is acquired by surviving an attack by one of the parasites. A small number of fish can have temporary immunity to one of these parasites but that immunity lasts only for about six months and even then, the fish will carry the parasite while not being susceptible to it. The fallow period for velvet is normally six weeks while the fallow period for ich is 72 days. Noone will recommend treating velvet with tank transfer as it would not work. Tank transfer only works with cryptocaryon irritans.

[NHreefer]

Velvet usually wipes out a tank.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by NHreefer

Velvet usually wipes out a tank.

That is correct. Anecdotally, I have seen the number 5% associated with the number of fish which develop temporary (six month) immunity after surviving a bout of velvet but the literature does not document anything other than a "small number" do. The unfortunate thing is that those that develop immunity are still carriers.

[WhiteTang]

Originally Posted by snorvich

That is correct. Anecdotally, I have seen the number 5% associated with the number of fish which develop temporary (six month) immunity after surviving a bout of velvet but the literature does not document anything other than a "small number" do. The unfortunate thing is that those that develop immunity are still carriers.

Thank you for your reply and clarification.
So my problem now is that I need to get rid of this fish and start a fallow period.
Gosh! What a nightmare!

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by WhiteTang

Thank you for your reply and clarification.
So my problem now is that I need to get rid of this fish and start a fallow period.
Gosh! What a nightmare!

No, you do not have to get rid of it. A six week fallow period will clean the tank of velvet and the fish can be treated (CP or copper) which will clear it from the fish.

[ThRoewer]

Actually I wouldn't set my mind on Velvet (Amyloodinium) alone as the pictures of your clownfish looked like it could also have been Brooklnella.
Both are equally nasty and quick fish killer and I wouldn't take any chances with them.

Brook is more of a "bad condition" parasite that usually comes on (clown)fish weakened by transport, hypothermia and bad water quality (they usually come in that combo but every one by themselves will do). Strong and healthy fish might fend it off but I wouldn't want to take that risk.

Velvet is even worse as it will likely kill every fish in a tank that it gets in to. I have seen mandarins infected with it and it wasn't a pretty sight how they literally slimed themselves to death. Mandarins are usually able to slime off what ever parasite tries to attach to them but velvet will over time even get them. So I don't think there is such a thing as immunity or even resistance to velvet.

[Newsmyrna80]

Originally Posted by ThRoewer

Actually I wouldn't set my mind on Velvet (Amyloodinium) alone as the pictures of your clownfish looked like it could also have been Brooklnella.

Agree...I believe there were three diagnosis of brook on the other thread as well as treatment.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Newsmyrna80

Agree...I believe there were three diagnosis of brook on the other thread as well as treatment.

Other thread? Pictures?

[Dmorty217]

Originally Posted by snorvich

Other thread? Pictures?

This is my thought too, why people start 2-4 different threads on the same thing is just mind boggling. Those who are in the disease thread aren't going to give the same advise as those in the Reef Discussion or Reef Fishes thread... Obviously the Disease thread is where the best advise is going to come from

[Newsmyrna80]

Originally Posted by snorvich

Other thread? Pictures?

Yep....http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2482186

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Newsmyrna80

Yep....http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2482186

Brook.

[WhiteTang]

Thank you everybody for your time!
I will let the goby be until I get a qt/hospital tank setup and go fallow after that.

[whittmj1128]

Originally Posted by snorvich

That is correct. Anecdotally, I have seen the number 5% associated with the number of fish which develop temporary (six month) immunity after surviving a bout of velvet but the literature does not document anything other than a "small number" do. The unfortunate thing is that those that develop immunity are still carriers.

I know this is an old thread but i've experiened a velvet wipeout with the exception of an orangeback wrasse, orange head fairy wrasse, blue head wrasse, a file fish, 3 firefish and 1 flame hawfish. I noticed 2 of the wrasses got a mild case of it only after the rest of the tank was wiped out but now show no signs of it. The rest of the above fish mentioned never showed any visible signs. So if you say an immunity is built up for six months wouldn't that eventually starve of the parasites since they are unable to feed on the immune fish. Meaning I would eventually be able to add new fish even though the tank has not run fallow. Not sure what you mean by they are still carriers if they are immune to it. I am also installing a UV to try to make some of the parasites unable to reproduce along with weekly water changes to further dilute the water column of free swimmers.