ID please

[Psionicdragon]

This chromis have had this illness for a couple of months now. It seems to be infecting my Firefish, which shows internal red spots.

The chromis was in hypo, copper, formulin dips, and tetracyline (antibiotics) before moving to my nano tank.

So What could be wrong with it and how badly can it infect the other roommates?


Here is a pic:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/psionicdragon/detail?.dir=7220&.dnm=c986.jpg&.src=ph

Other Symptoms:

-Hyper activity from the Chromis
-Wounds show cloudy things growing out of it with missing scales and open red sore
-Firefish is showing the red sores internally
-Seahorse is showing apathy, not motivated to move or eat. One is chilling upside down for 5-10 mins until I moved it a bit. The seahorses got stuff on it and keeps shaking violently every now and then.

Tank parameter:

Nano 15 gallon AGA tall tank with a CPR skimmer
Carbon being run 24/7

Nitrite/ammonia 0
Nitrate 30ppm
Salinity 1.023
Temp 74-76

 

[TerryB]

Possibly uronema which can be contagious. It is usually not a problem unless it gets a foothold. Chromis seem to have a problem with this tiny parasite. They also have a problem with a particular species of Vibrio bacteria. I believe it is or was (may have had a recent name change) Vibrio Damsella. The fact that it sounds like it may have spread to the other fish makes me lean toward uronema.

Hypo, copper and tetracycline probably won't help. Formalin can help in the early stages if used in a series of dips, one every third day for a total of three. The problem with formalin dips is that they can do more damage than good when the fish have open wounds. The same can be said about FW dips. Nitrofurazone can be effective against either of these infections if caught early enough and used correctly. You probably need to treat all the infected fish in quarantine. You should also take a close look at the water quality and increase the size and frequency of water changes as uronema is an opportunistic rather than obligate pathogen. It is usually not a problem if the water quality is high to begin with.

Terry B

 

[Psionicdragon]

Could I use Nitrofurazone with Seahorses too? Do I need to have the QT tank heavily aerated when using this medication? Does it actually affect Seahorse too?

The Chromis had it for a few month. The Firefish and Seahorses started showing signs or acting weird earlier this week.

 

[TerryB]

Yes Seahorses can get uronema. I have to question keeping Seahorses with chromis. Seahorses should not be kept with other fish except maybe some pipefish or mandarins. They need a constant supply of foods and do not compete well for it against other fish. Your seahorses may eventually die of malnutrition under the circumstances.

Yes you can use nitrofurazone with seahorses. I would not say that you need to have the water heavily aerated. The lighting should be dim or it will deactivate the medication.

We really should have more details about symptoms, equipment, setup and ALL water parameters. Your water temperature is a bit low for the fish. A temp of 74-76 is fine for some species of seahorse, but not for others.

Terry B

 

[Psionicdragon]

I think the Seahorses are H. Kellogii. The store that sells it said they get it as "black seahorse".

They eat twice a day of Mysis. The only couple of things I didn't list was a standard submergible heater, 130 watt pc lighting, and a small aquaclear 1000 for a little water movement.

What other water parameters do you want me to look for?