Brooklynella?.. what to do?

[boombox3]

I don't think you'll find many hobbyists who think there is such a think as a "reef-safe" parasite cure. When treating brook "or something like it"; its vital to know what you have. The meds that do a good job on brooklynella don't work on velvet or ich----and they're often mistaken for each other.

Well this worked 100% on my reef tank with absolutely no issues. Sometimes you do not know exactly which illness a fish may have, that is why buying a product that can treat multiple parasites/infections is your best bet which worked for me. I found out first hand that this product worked in my tank and I cannot vouch for all other reef safe medications on the market but this one worked for me.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Well this worked 100% on my reef tank with absolutely no issues. Sometimes you do not know exactly which illness a fish may have, that is why buying a product that can treat multiple parasites/infections is your best bet which worked for me. I found out first hand that this product worked in my tank and I cannot vouch for all other reef safe medications on the market but this one worked for me.

I'm glad it worked for you. I guessing that you may have had a mild case of ich and it may have cleared up, or just be in a dormant stage (and may well return). Ich is often not the deadly parasite that brooklynella and velvet are (it often is, too) and, IMO, its vital to know what you're treating. Being able to identify parasites isn't that difficult, with help of the internet, and is a vital part of our hobby, IMO. If a hobbyist had a serious case of velvet or brooklynella, and couldn't identify it; there is a very high likelihood that most/all fish would be lost. Again, I hope your fish stay healthy; but your one anecdotal account (where you didn't even know what you were treating) isn't much evidence. Especially when I can't find anything, by any recognized ''expert'' (Fenner, Goemans, Michael, et al) that believes that "reef safe" cures work. If one of these miracle cures did eliminate different parasites in reef tanks, it would be common knowledge, plastered on the cover of every hobbyist magazine cover, and we wouldn't be having this discussion.

 

[boombox3]

I'm glad it worked for you. I guessing that you may have had a mild case of ich and it may have cleared up, or just be in a dormant stage (and may well return). Ich is often not the deadly parasite that brooklynella and velvet are (it often is, too) and, IMO, its vital to know what you're treating. Being able to identify parasites isn't that difficult, with help of the internet, and is a vital part of our hobby, IMO. If a hobbyist had a serious case of velvet or brooklynella, and couldn't identify it; there is a very high likelihood that most/all fish would be lost. Again, I hope your fish stay healthy; but your one anecdotal account (where you didn't even know what you were treating) isn't much evidence. Especially when I can't find anything, by any recognized ''expert'' (Fenner, Goemans, Michael, et al) that believes that "reef safe" cures work. If one of these miracle cures did eliminate different parasites in reef tanks, it would be common knowledge, plastered on the cover of every hobbyist magazine cover, and we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Trust me this was no mild case of ich when it took only two days to see my clowns go from bad to worst like that. It was imminent death for these fish if I did not start medication as soon as possible.I know how ich appears but Ive never had ich in my tank. I read as much as I could on this site with the time I was given to treat my fish. Trying to identify this illness was alot more difficult than I thought it would be, because every parasite symptom was very similar. The solutions used in this product might be things you have probably heard of.I bet you've never heard or used this product before. I bet the experts haven't tried every reef safe product that comes in the market either. Just to show you how reef safe it actually was, by mistake I was in a rush to get to work and overmedicated my 29 gallon tank with 180 gallons worth of medication.Immediately I started doing 5 gallon water changes, added my filtration media and protein skimmer. Yes it was stupid from not rereading the dosage amount before administering the medication but guess what? it showed me first hand that it was reef safe.Why? Because none of my corals were affected by the medication! I only had one casualty and that was my cleaner shrimp but all my other invertebrates made it. This product is so new that it hasn't even been discussed much on this site, because after I bought this product I began to search for reviews and couldn't find anything. I may not have the experience youve had in this hobby but I was successful with my method of treatment and thats all that matters.

 

[Mindflux]

Clown is acting/eating well. I wish I could catch my other fish to QT/Hospital/Mass Treat them all for Brook but I may have to rig a fish trap to do this.

 

[MrTuskfish]

This product is so new that it hasn't even been discussed much on this site, because after I bought this product I began to search for reviews and couldn't find anything.

Here's Bob Fenner's chat site; just type 'herbtana" in the search box and you'll find info. This stuff has been around for a couple of years.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/index.html

 

[boombox3]

Thanks for the site, interesting information. Yes I see that there are accounts of people using Herbtana and it not working. Maybe every different sick fish will have different outcomes to this medication, such as us humans do to our medications. Finding the right remedy to treat a sick fish is key. I am one account where I can say the "REEF SAFE medication saved my fish " I will always keep an open mind to all types of treatments no matter how many people have opposed it.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Thanks for the site, interesting information. Yes I see that there are accounts of people using Herbtana and it not working. Maybe every different sick fish will have different outcomes to this medication, such as us humans do to our medications. Finding the right remedy to treat a sick fish is key. I am one account where I can say the "REEF SAFE medication saved my fish " I will always keep an open mind to all types of treatments no matter how many people have opposed it.

Things progress so quickly in this hobby, an open mind is essential.
A reef-safe cure that would kill all forms of all protozoan parasites would be a real find; someday we'll have one. I read a little more about Herbtana. It doesn't claim to kill parasites, just "drive them away". I know there is another product like this that basically uses a pepper sauce as a repellent. Repel or kill; I guess it really doesn't matter as long as the fish are safe. What concerns me is the life cycle of these parasites; they have a dormant form that will release large broods of new parasites weeks down the road. I don't know of anything that will kill this dormant phase without killing fish. This is the reason to keep parasite infected fish treated and the DT fishless for weeks That would make it seem necessary to constantly dose with Herbtana; because as soon as it was exhausted, the fish would have no protection from the emerging new generation of parasites. I think that if parasites aren't killed completely in the DT, they will return. But who really knows?

 

[boombox3]

Yes I see what your saying... Very true. Fortunately things have gone my way with this one. I must have done the Herbtana treatment about 3 months ago... I hope the parasite wont reappear but luckily everything has been great. Thanks for sharing this information with me.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Yes I see what your saying... Very true. Fortunately things have gone my way with this one. I must have done the Herbtana treatment about 3 months ago... I hope the parasite wont reappear but luckily everything has been great. Thanks for sharing this information with me.

You too.

 

[Mindflux]

Looks like my wrasse and chromis are getting spots now. I can't get them out of my DT... water bottle fish trap is getting me nowhere so far.

Also my firefish has been MIA since I netted the surviving clown. He's either dead or good at hiding...

 

[Mindflux]

Wrasse is caught, chromis and firefish up next.

Once I get them all in QT I'll treat them all unless too much time passes. I plan to keep the DT fish free for 8 weeks so brook can die off from the tank. Can coral carry this too? ...?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Wrasse is caught, chromis and firefish up next.

Once I get them all in QT I'll treat them all unless too much time passes. I plan to keep the DT fish free for 8 weeks so brook can die off from the tank. Can coral carry this too? ...?

Coral isn't bothered by common fish parasites; but they can carry various forms of parasites from one tank to another. If you leave your DT fishless, corals (and other inverts) sure can stay. BTW, unless you know that corals have not been exposed to the same water as fish; they should be QTd when purchased, just like fish. QT anything wet and you'll never have to deal with one of the nasty protozoan parasite diseases again.

 

[Mindflux]

Coral isn't bothered by common fish parasites; but they can carry various forms of parasites from one tank to another. If you leave your DT fishless, corals (and other inverts) sure can stay. BTW, unless you know that corals have not been exposed to the same water as fish; they should be QTd when purchased, just like fish. QT anything wet and you'll never have to deal with one of the nasty protozoan parasite diseases again.

Corals aren't bothered by the parasites but the parasites can be on the corals is what your saying? And a coral dip doesn't take care of those?

Unless I have a separate QT for corals I don't see how this is feasible, especially if I end up having to treat fish in the QT.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Corals aren't bothered by the parasites but the parasites can be on the corals is what your saying? And a coral dip doesn't take care of those?

Unless I have a separate QT for corals I don't see how this is feasible, especially if I end up having to treat fish in the QT.

Coral dips get rid of pests that bother coral. There is nothing, that I know of, that will kill the dormant phase of ich (or similar parasites) without also killing the coral. Although the chances are remote, parasites can enter a tank on a snail. Many good retailers go to great lengths to keep their corals on separate systems for as long as possible. Many frags have been kept in "safe' water for weeks. There just isn't a 100% answer to this dilemma, but the longer the coral has been in fish-free water, the better the odds. There are also many tanks with fish that are parasite free and those corals are perfectly safe. I'm not trying to sound like an alarmist, its just the more you know about parasites, the better of keeping your tank parasite free. Nothing is risk free, but the more you can QT, the better. At least you have a QT, it just amazes me how many hobbyists have spent thousands on their set-up, but don't even have a QT for fish. Most regret this sooner or later. IMO & IME: Corals are OK if they come from a retailer known to keep coral & fish completely separately.
I believe aquacultured corals from LA (for one) are in this category. Here's what LA says about QT, note that they say only about 5% of fish are QTd. Unbelievable. http://www.liveaquaria.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=205

 

[Mindflux]

Yeah. I bought a 29 gallon tank with an eclipse hood for $20 bucks thinking I'd use it for a QT. Glad I bought it.

What do you do about QTing corals if you are presently treating fish in the QT? Just try not to acquire coral/fish in the same timeframe?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Yeah. I bought a 29 gallon tank with an eclipse hood for $20 bucks thinking I'd use it for a QT. Glad I bought it.

What do you do about QTing corals if you are presently treating fish in the QT? Just try not to acquire coral/fish in the same timeframe?

Sure. Corals can't handle any of the treatments that may be required for fish; I'm not convinced that "reef safe" treatments work (at least, in most cases) and hypo, copper, formalin, etc are deadly to coral & most inverts. Waiting to buy livestock is tough and I'm a very impatient person. this hobby/addiction has given me a little patience, anyhow.