The main problem in the fight against fish rash is the misidentification of the disease.
Many mistake the fish rash for Cryptocaryon. But we do know that Cryptokaryon is a parasite and reproduces in cycles of about 7 days through the vagrant stage. Then why does the rash cover the entire body of the fish at once and completely, and not 1-3 White Spots, as described in the symptomatology of Cryptocaryon?
We also know from experience that only certain sensitive or newly introduced fish are affected by the rash. But if it's a parasite, why doesn't it infect all the fish a little?
We usually see that some of the fish can be completely covered with white dots, while other fish are completely healthy.
This rash looks like white fine dust, among which there are rare, larger white dots.
All this small rash is Oodinium, and only those large white dots are the causative agents of Cryptocaryon.
That is, the bulk of this rash is Oodinium, so why are we advised to use methods to combat Cryptocaryon and only drugs to treat Cryptocaryon?
It turns out that you need to treat fish from Oodinium, and in completely different ways.
Oodinium is a variety of Dinoflagillate that affects fish under adverse conditions, and more precisely because of the excess amount of Ammonia in the water, which partially blocks the excretion of Ammonia from the body of the fish through the skin and gills.
This causes the internal poisoning of the fish with its own toxins, which reduces the immunity of the Pisces to various diseases.
Due to the high content of Ammonia in the water and the violation of the process of its excretion from the body, the body and eyes of Pisces are covered with a thick layer of mucus. This further blocks the excretion of Ammonia from the body of fish. On this mucus, Oodinium massively settles and quite a bit of Cryptocaryon, which we usually observe.
Ammonium can manifest itself in a non-toxici (onized) form only at an underestimated pH level, but in a marine aquarium, the pH is almost always higher than 8.0 and, accordingly, Ammonium manifests itself more in the form of a toxic form - free Ammonia, which is hazardous to fish health, at values above 0.08.
Tests are not able to show Ammonia in such low amounts and you might think that everything is fine …
Ammonia is food for Corals and Bacteria and is needed in small amounts. But with its excess, urgent measures must be taken to remove excess Ammonia from the Marine Aquarium in order to avoid Oodinium and Cryptocaryon.
Ammonia is a toxic gaseous substance that is very difficult to vent out of the aquarium, as it sinks to the bottom and lingers in the ground and reef cavities, as well as in areas with poor water flow.
To prevent Oodinium and Cryptocaryon from appearing in your aquarium, you just need to ensure that Ammonia is eaten by a large number of growing Corals, and a powerful Bio-Filter. Ideally, the number of Corals that consume Ammonium should be in balance with the Fish that excrete it. Excess Feed can also produce Ammonia and this should be taken into account without overfeeding the animals.
If you like an aquarium with a lot of fish, you should take care of their health in advance by making a Degassing system to remove excess Ammonia.
Degassing in the Marine Aquarium is the process of weathering harmful gases (Ammonia, Hydrogen Sulfide and so on) from the water using Aeration with a powerful Skimmer. But remember that Ammonia sinks to the bottom, and the overflow from the display to the SAMP with Skimmer is located high.
With a weak Current and a weak Overflow of water in the SAMP, Ammonia fills a thick layer of soil and grottoes in the reef, gathering there in high concentration. The consequences of this are noticeable in the morning in the cloudy eyes of the Fish who slept at night in the grottoes with Ammonia.
That is, it is necessary to provide a powerful flow and mixing of large masses of water in the display, so that all excess Ammonia rises to the surface of the water and enters the SAMP where the Skimmer is installed, which will remove all excess Ammonia.
Also, when planning a New Marine System, do everything with a margin of power: the Skimmer and Return Pump should be 1.5 times the recommended capacity.
Please note that the diameter of the pipe from the Return Pump should be equal to its outlet without adapters and fittings, since 3-4 pipe turns of 90 degrees and a water rise of more than 1 meter will create a loss of water pumping up to 50%. And this will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the already difficult Degassing process.
Having done all this, you can definitely avoid problems with Oodinium and Cryptocaryon in the future.
The approaching problems can be understood by the decreasing ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential) of water for several days. ORP drops below 230 are only dangerous for Fish, but Corals can live and grow with a low ORP of around 150.
If, along with ORP, pH decreases, then this is a huge problem with overpopulation and overfeeding of Pisces. It is necessary to urgently move some of the Fish to other Aquariums, do not feed the remaining Fish for 3-4 days, do not dose Trace elements and Amino Acids until the pH is restored to at least 8.1
What to do if you did not take into account all these rules and Fish was sprinkled with white dots Oodinium and Cryptocaryon?
1. By any means it is necessary to maximize the Flow and Circulation of water through the SAMP. The main thing is that this current should be enough to lift the Ammonia up and drive it through the Skimmer.
2. Increase Skimmer Power to 100%
3. Do not change the water at all.
4. Minimize Fish and Coral Feeding and stop dosing of Micronutrients and Amino Acids.
5. Feed Fish only low-nutrient food, always rinse Frozen Food in Osmotic Water before feeding.
6. If possible, remove one or two of the most sick Pisces by giving them for treatment to the nearest store and so on, this will reduce the load and quickly restore the ORP. Fish can be returned after 1-2 months when your system restores ORP above 300.
7. Accelerate the recovery of ORP by dosing ApRedox 1 ml every 12 hours.
By following these seven rules, you will easily defeat Cryptocaryon and Oodinium!
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