Ich, velvet or brook?

[XtrmCHoPZ]

Hi everyone. I have been battling disease in my tank lately and am just not quite sure what exactly it is.

First off the fish have been fighting it for over a month now......which is why i dont think its velvet or brook. but am not positive. If it were one of those wouldnt they all be dead by now?

Second the fish seem to have trouble breathing at times and sit or swim right in front of the powerheads. My puffers seem to have spots but my clown trigger sort of looks like brook, sort of. Sometimes he has spots on him but sometimes it looks more "smeared" if that makes any sense.

Now every few days they look better ( ich ?) and then it comes back.. Like i said its been over a month. I really thought they might be more seriously diseased but they making it. All the fish are very big and healthy( except for the parasites) and still eat like pigs.

Ive been doing water changes and supplementing food with vitamins. Do not want to copper!!! Any one have a idea which of the 3 it is? I dont even know how common brooklynella is and call every white spot ich. I hope it is ich out of the 3 but want to be sure.

 

[leebca]

Diagnosis is the beginning of the correct treatment. But, it isn't easy to do it from your description. A couple of photos each of the different things you've described is needed.

If you want to try this, this is a link which has links to various sites where you can attempt to make your own diagnosis:
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/diagnosticresources/

:rollface:

 

[XtrmCHoPZ]

I dont really have any way to post pics, no camera! I have looked at tons of pics but am still not sure. How common is brook? I know ich spreads like crazy and can come in on anything from live rock to hermits, is brook the same way?

 

[leebca]

Anemonefishes coming in the from the wild have a great probability of having Brooklynella. It is common enough that all newly acquired wild anemonefishes be treated for it whether they have signs of it or not. Tank raised anemonefishes probably need the treatment, too. Tank bred probably don't need the treatment.

The disease has no free-living stage. It stays with the fish and is transmitted from fish to fish. It is not transmitted like Marine Ich.

 

[XtrmCHoPZ]

in that case i dont think it is brooklynella. i have no clowns and no new fish in the past 4 months or so. it just kinda came up all of the sudden.

 

[leebca]

Maybe you should provide us with more thorough background information:

How old is your tank? When did it originally cycle?
What kind of system do you have (tank volume, dimensions, bio-filtration method, the equipment you use, any carbon or other chemical filtration, kind of substrate, etc.).
List all specimens & sizes in the tank (fish, inverts, corals, clams, snails, crabs, shrimp, etc.).
If you have a refugium and/or sump, what is living in it?
Do you use a quarantine tank and procedure?
Foods you use and feeding schedules.
How long have you had these fishes? Give age for each fish please.
You say you use vitamins. Use any fat additives? Any elemental or other additives? Please list all by name.
Chemistries ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ please give actual numbers (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate, Silica, Ca, Alk., and any others you have)
Water parameters ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ please give actual numbers (pH and your pH range, salinity or sp. gr. & range, temperature range)
Do you see any of the following in your system: hair algae; micro algae;cyanobacteria growths; dinoflagellate (zooxanthellae) growths; brown algae; diatom growth; slimes; colored patches on rock or substrate; etc.?
Water changes (how much and how often). Kind of artificial salt youââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re using.
List what you added or taken out of your aquarium system (living, decorations, and equipment) during the past 6 weeks.
Maintenance schedule. What have you done lately?
Have you ever checked your source water for conntaminants? What is your source water?
Just for the heck of it, check your aquarium water for copper.