First Ever Full Blown Aquarium Disease.

[B1N4RY]

So the last fish inhabitant of my aquarium is about to pass on and after taking a full battery of water parameter test and going with everyone's suggestions on what I thought was a Bristle Worm problem I think the following photographs below would most likely point to some type of water born disease except I'm not expert on marine disease so if you have any thoughts than please chime in. It doesn't seem to affect any of the inverts, clams or corals within the aquarium. Your assistance in advance is greatly appreciated.

 

[billsreef]

Looks like Brooklynella. Best treated with daily formalin baths, 1 ml formalin to 1 gal SW, heavily aerated for 1 hour. In between treatments, keep in a hospital tank with a good antibiotic to ward off secondary bacterial infections.

 

[billsreef]

[moved]...

 

[hollister]

You have no tank specs , this can be helpful. Looks like a slime layer which fish produce when stressed.

 

[Deinonych]

Looks like brooklynella. Bill gave some good advice above. Follow it, and you might be able to save the fish. You'll need to leave your DT fishless for an extended period of time (8 weeks I believe) so that the parasite will die off. If you don't any new additions to the tank are at risk of infection.

 

[benjaminoliver]

I agree with brooklynella, here is a thread that could help you out:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1994597

 

[B1N4RY]

Reply to Billsreef.

Reply to Billsreef.

Looks like Brooklynella. Best treated with daily formalin baths, 1 ml formalin to 1 gal SW, heavily aerated for 1 hour. In between treatments, keep in a hospital tank with a good antibiotic to ward off secondary bacterial infections.

Thank you. I agree based on the photographs I compared with my own and other research. But he passed away early this morning so now only inverts exist. I'm going to be looking into a UV Sterilizer and setting up a permanent QT Aquarium for any new fish.

 

[snorvich]

Looks like Brooklynella. Best treated with daily formalin baths, 1 ml formalin to 1 gal SW, heavily aerated for 1 hour. In between treatments, keep in a hospital tank with a good antibiotic to ward off secondary bacterial infections.

This. Very quickly fatal if not treated as the OP found out. UV will not prevent or treat Brook.

 

[B1N4RY]

Reply to Snorvich.

Reply to Snorvich.

This. Very quickly fatal if not treated as the OP found out. UV will not prevent or treat Brook.

Apparently extremely fatal as my Clownfish did not make it through the night. However, after some research I agree that it will not assist in treating the host but I would disagree that ultraviolet exposure will not assist in cleansing the aquarium water of the parasite, that in combination with the absence of host to allow infection and reproduction. According to the research I have been conducting and please excuse me if I am incorrect as I am a computer engineer and not a marine biologist. This disease is caused by an infestation of the ciliated protozoan Brooklynella Hostilis. Ciliates are large, single cell organisms. Ultraviolet Sterilizers function through the exposure of a particular wavelength of light that alters the genetic material within the nucleus of the organism and shortens its normal life cycle. So as long as its free floating in the water and passes through an appropriately size ultraviolet sterilizer then I believe it should work, in theory that is. :sad2:

 

[Deinonych]

UV sterilizers will kill SOME of the protozoans, but not all of them. The only way to get rid of them in your display tank is to break their life cycle by removing their hosts (fish). Don't add any fish for 8 weeks and the parasite will die off. Save your money on the UV sterilizer and buy a small quarantine tank instead.

 

[snorvich]

UV sterilizers will kill SOME of the protozoans, but not all of them. The only way to get rid of them in your display tank is to break their life cycle by removing their hosts (fish). Don't add any fish for 8 weeks and the parasite will die off. Save your money on the UV sterilizer and buy a small quarantine tank instead.

This. The problem, of course, is getting all of the water to pass by the UV unit. The secondary problem is getting water to pass by at the proper speed and intensity of exposure. Now in a multiple tank system, isolation of tanks by protecting them with properly configured UV is beneficial, but for a single tank, it is ineffective at best. The worst aspect is that it gives one inappropriate psychological comfort of being protected.

 

[B1N4RY]

Reply to Deinonych.

Reply to Deinonych.

UV sterilizers will kill SOME of the protozoans, but not all of them. The only way to get rid of them in your display tank is to break their life cycle by removing their hosts (fish). Don't add any fish for 8 weeks and the parasite will die off. Save your money on the UV sterilizer and buy a small quarantine tank instead.

I'm actually going to go both routes. I'm already looking at the design and purchase of a small quarantine aquarium as well as the purchase of an ultraviolet sterilizer. Doesn't hurt to be prepared on both fronts.

 

[B1N4RY]

Reply to Snorvich.

Reply to Snorvich.

This. The problem, of course, is getting all of the water to pass by the UV unit. The secondary problem is getting water to pass by at the proper speed and intensity of exposure. Now in a multiple tank system, isolation of tanks by protecting them with properly configured UV is beneficial, but for a single tank, it is ineffective at best. The worst aspect is that it gives one inappropriate psychological comfort of being protected.

I think we can get around some of the design aspects. I have an extremely small aquarium only a single return from the small false wall sump to the display of the aquarium. So if I plumb the ultraviolet sterilizer between the return pump and the return outlet then essentially all the water has to pass it. Also the pump I currently have it rated for the correct gph for the proper exposure. Granted this is not a cure all but I don't think it would hurt to have.

 

[billsreef]

When snorvich is talking about passing all the water thru the UV, he's talking about passing it all thru at the very same point in time In a single tank set up, only a small portion of the water is passing thru the UV at any moment. As a result, plenty of stuff remains inside the tank to never pass thru the filter. That is why they are not very effective in single tank set ups.

 

[HumbleFish]

When snorvich is talking about passing all the water thru the UV, he's talking about passing it all thru at the very same point in time In a single tank set up, only a small portion of the water is passing thru the UV at any moment. As a result, plenty of stuff remains inside the tank to never pass thru the filter. That is why they are not very effective in single tank set ups.

+1 To be fair, UV is a good Ich management tool. If nothing else, it lowers the overall number of parasites that the fish have to contend with. But being it can't zap them all, especially the ones living in the rocks/substrate, it will never completely eradicate the problem.

 

[MrTuskfish]

If you know the life cycle of protozoan parasites, its easy to see why UV cannot eradicate parasites from any tank. If treatment for parasites is going to work, ALL of them must be killed. UV will help some, but some isn't good enough. A lot of folks have been given a false sense of security with their UV; it was a good excuse to skip quarantine. The resulting parasite invasions were/are inevitable.

 

[B1N4RY]

Reply to Billsreef.

Reply to Billsreef.

When snorvich is talking about passing all the water thru the UV, he's talking about passing it all thru at the very same point in time In a single tank set up, only a small portion of the water is passing thru the UV at any moment. As a result, plenty of stuff remains inside the tank to never pass thru the filter. That is why they are not very effective in single tank set ups.

That makes sense and I don't disagree completely but I don't mind having an extra device that could possibly assist in the process as well. I'm actually going to use both methods and UV and Quarantine. I don't mind spending the extra money or the time to get the combination right.

 

[B1N4RY]

Reply to MrTuskfish.

Reply to MrTuskfish.

If you know the life cycle of protozoan parasites, its easy to see why UV cannot eradicate parasites from any tank. If treatment for parasites is going to work, ALL of them must be killed. UV will help some, but some isn't good enough. A lot of folks have been given a false sense of security with their UV; it was a good excuse to skip quarantine. The resulting parasite invasions were/are inevitable.

I am not looking for the ultraviolet sterilizer to eradicate the parasite. Just as another tool to assist. Quarantine my first fish for 4 to 6 weeks in a separate aquarium after this initial 2 months of waiting should do the trick. :thumbsup:

 

[ca1ore]

Some years ago I setup two tanks with water flow between them 100% through a 25 watt UV at very slow speed. When the first tank got ich, so did the second. It only take one parasite to make it through unscathed and you're toast. I do agree that UV can help with general tank health (at least, my own anecdotal experience suggests so) but is a complement to QT not an alternative.

 

[snorvich]

If you know the life cycle of protozoan parasites, its easy to see why UV cannot eradicate parasites from any tank. If treatment for parasites is going to work, ALL of them must be killed. UV will help some, but some isn't good enough. A lot of folks have been given a false sense of security with their UV; it was a good excuse to skip quarantine. The resulting parasite invasions were/are inevitable.

Correct. Unfortunately the lifecycle is exponential in nature and is exacerbated by keeping fish in captivity. Most is not good enough, one is too many. But anyone can do what they wish.