In Need of Fish Coroner For Post-Mortem!

[reefdiculous]

Hey Everyone,

Sad news today... I just lost my 3 year-old black and white clown this morning. I am worried I may lose her partner as well. So, I'm looking for someone who can help me figure out what I did wrong and how to prevent it or fix it.

I'll start out with the back story:

I recently set up a brand new 90 gallon reef tank about a month and a half ago. Every piece of equipment is brand new include the the dry rock (BRS Pukani that I cured for 4 months prior) and dry sand. Once the tank was cycled (which took about a month, I used a little Dr. Tim's for a boost) I began to move corals and live stock over from my 4 year old Biocube (which hasn't had any new live stock or corals for 1.5 years and has been seemingly healthy for all that time).


When it all happened:

After about a week after moving over the corals, 2 clowns (via 1 hour drip acclimation), 1 cleaner shrimp, a few snails and hermits, I noticed a white pigmentation spot on the female clown where her tail fin meets her body. I didn't think anything of it at the time and I brushed it off as maybe a scuff from either when I transferred her to the new tank, or maybe she darted into the rocks or something like that. Then, in the span of maybe like 3 days, she got thinner, wouldn't eat, the spot got bigger and eventually turned into a white depression in her flesh (see attached photo). On the 3rd day she could barely stay afloat and was breathing very rapidly. Then, this morning on the 4th day, she was dead and the CuC was rejoicing, for they finally hit the jackpot of all meals.


The state of things now:

The remaining clown, shrimp, coral and CuC are doing fine. The clown seems to be a good weight and is active and eating.

Tank Params are
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 0ppm
Phosphates: .1ppm (I'm working on this with GFO)
temp: 77
PH: 8.0 to 8.15


Some of my theories :

1. She caught an abrasion (aka scuff) on a rock/coral/net/etc... and it got infected.

2. The other clown nipped her and she got infected. I have seen them kinda get irritated with each other, but for the most part they do get along.

3. Maybe she was so stressed form the move, some preexisting condition (virus/bacteria/disease) was able to manifest and take over.

4. DR. Tim killed my clown! JK! but, maybe his "one and only" had a bad bacterial strain in it that caused or aided her demise

5. Maybe the dry Pukani or dry Caribsea Special Grade reef sand had some virus or disease lurking in it!


My main concern at this point is do I have a disease/bacteria/virus that will destroy my brand new tank to the point where I will have to throw out my rocks, sand, livestock, water, etc.. and start over again?

For now, should I just watch my other clown and wait?


Any thoughts or questions would be much appreciated!

- Reefdiculous

 

[snorvich]

Missing chunks of flesh implies that there was skin peeling. Is that correct? If so, that is indicative of brook or uronema. Given that uronema does not require a fish as a host for its lifecycle, is there any chance that previous inhabitant had uronema (such as a chromis)?

 

[HumbleFish]

Some of my theories :

1. She caught an abrasion (aka scuff) on a rock/coral/net/etc... and it got infected.

This is the most likely explanation IMHO. It sorta looks like Brooklynella, but that doesn't line up if the clowns came from the Biocube, "which hasn't had any new live stock or corals for 1.5 years".

 

[reefdiculous]

Brooklynella! god I hope not.

It sorta looks like Brooklynella, but that doesn't line up

HumbleFish, You're right in spotting that crucial piece of info about not having any new livestock in the past 1.5 years. in fact, the last fish inhabitant they saw was even longer than that, about 2 years ago. So, I don't see how it could be a fish to fish communicable disease, since they hadn't had exposure to other fish in a while. Maybe it was dormant?

Missing chunks of flesh implies that there was skin peeling. Is that correct?

snorvich, this isn't exactly what I was seeing. I was seeing a white area on the surface of the skin, and then it slowly eroded down into the skin. The closest thing it looks like is cankor sore (in a human mouth).

So, if this was Brooklynella, do I have to tear down the whole tank and start again? Is this free floating in the water and any new fish I put in will become infected? is that how Brooklynella works?


- Reefdiculous

 

[snorvich]

The OP said: "I began to move corals and live stock over from my 4 year old Biocube (which hasn't had any new live stock or corals for 1.5 years and has been seemingly healthy for all that time). " This makes me suspicious of possible contamination. I hope HumbleFish's speculation is correct. In about 3 weeks you should know definitively.

 

[HumbleFish]

Brooklynella! god I hope not.

If you have Brook in the tank then the other clownfish should show symptoms similar to the one that died. If that doesn't happen, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[reefdiculous]

Ok, well then I'll keep an eye on the little bugger and I'll post back (if anyone cares) what happens in 3 weeks from now if hes dead or alive, hopefully alive

Thanks snorvich and HumbleFish for chiming in so quickly, it's really nice to see experts respectfully helping noobs like me in this hobby!

 

[HumbleFish]

Ok, well then I'll keep an eye on the little bugger and I'll post back (if anyone cares) what happens in 3 weeks from now if hes dead or alive, hopefully alive

Thanks snorvich and HumbleFish for chiming in so quickly, it's really nice to see experts respectfully helping noobs like me in this hobby!

I care, so post back what happens.

Good luck to you!

 

[snorvich]

Yes, follow up is important and we do care! My hope is that 3 weeks will pass and all will be well.

 

[reefdiculous]

Hey Guys,

It's been over 3 weeks since my clown died, and the other one is still alive and doing well!

I did noticed the same "scuff" marks on my surviving clown that saw on the one that died. Only this one was able to heal. I figured out were he was getting these marks. He was nesting in the hammer coral and getting stung. Maybe my other clown being newly added to the tank and stressed also nested in the hammers , but somehow couldn't heal from the stinging and maybe got infected?

Do you guys think it's safe to start adding new corals and fish to my tank? Should I wait even longer?

I have to say, even though it looks like I might not have had a parasite infestation, it has really made me think about the consequences of not quarantining your livestock. So, I went out and bought a quarantine tank for all future additions to the tank. I also bought most of the meds that snorvich recommended in his medicine cabinet article so that I will be prepared for anything that might happen.

 

[HumbleFish]

I'd say you are good to go. :thumbsup:

Just remember to QT anything & everything!