Please help identify the disease, looked like ich at fist but now I am not sure...

[ojonas81]

Started to see symptoms of ich some time back on my Hippo tang but a major surgery came in the way of me being able to do anything about it. Was able to catch the Hippo along with my two clown fish and they are now in my hospital tank. Planning to start copper treatment tomorrow. This was a couple of days go. No other fish showed any sign at the time although I know that they all had been exposed. Over the last two days I have lost fish left and right and the quick development from nothing to dead in just a day or in some cases over night makes me start wondering if it is really ich or if I have something else going on as well?

The fish I have lost is a Powder Brown tang, a male and female Lyretail Anthias, a female Kaudern's cardinal fish, two red mandarins. Left in the tank are one yellow tang, one Kaudern's cardinal fish, 2 gobies and 4 chromis.

The yellow tang does show signs of being sick. All the other fish looks healthy at the moment. I have tried to catch the yellow tang and the other ones too with no luck and my recovery from the surgery limits me somewhat in what I can do (no lifting of more than 10 lbs, limited arm motions etc.).

I know the main DT need to be fallow for ~72 days for ich but if there is something else killing the fish the treatment plan may change.

The tanks status overall has gone south somewhat due to lack of maintenance in the after match of the surgery in addition to some unfortunate equipment failure (all working as we speak).

Below are some photos of the clown fish in the hospital tank from last night. Please discard the dirty glass on the hospital tank. I do not have a magnet cleaner in there at the moment. They both look much better today, they eat and swim around as do the hippo. Please help.

Thanks!

 

[snorvich]

Looks more like brook to me. However with no timeline provided and with chromis in the tank it could be uronema. Mandarins tend to be ich resistant (but not immune) coupled with the mortalities suggest a parasite other than ich.

 

[Dmorty217]

Fins appear to be very tattered and is the male missing a eye?

 

[snorvich]

Fins appear to be very tattered and is the male missing a eye?

Lacking sufficient information,

Ragged, torn, or missing fins
Research:
a) Fin Rot and Tail Rot (bacterial)
b) Marine Ich (parasite)
c) Ammonia Poisoning in marine fish
d) Uronema (parasite)
e) Brooklynella (parasite)
f) Marine Flukes (parasite)

 

[ojonas81]

Fins appear to be very tattered and is the male missing a eye?

Correct about the fins. Not sure why they are so ruggedly looking. The eyes are intact on all fish at this point.

Lacking sufficient information,

Ragged, torn, or missing fins
Research:
a) Fin Rot and Tail Rot (bacterial)
b) Marine Ich (parasite)
c) Ammonia Poisoning in marine fish
d) Uronema (parasite)
e) Brooklynella (parasite)
f) Marine Flukes (parasite)

Any suggestion on what to start treat for? I currently have Cupramine, PraziPro and ParaGuard at home and ready to be used.

 

[snorvich]

Any suggestion on what to start treat for? I currently have Cupramine, PraziPro and ParaGuard at home and ready to be used.

It would help to know: fish behavior, when was last fish introduced, which fish, what was the source, did it come from a source that runs a low level of copper in their system? Appearances are only part of the equation when diagnosing parasites and the initial stage of some parasite introduction scenarios will not have a visible component only a behavioral one.

 

[ojonas81]

The last fish added to the tank was around Christmas/New Years time. Nothing has been added since. I think, if I remember correctly, that it came from LiveAquaria (both Divers Den and regular store).

I think patient 0 is the Hippo tang (which was added last fall sometime I think. It came from a LFS. All fish has been through my QT treated prophylaxis with PraziPro and Cupramine according to the instructions on the bottles. That being said the Hippo has shown some signs of Ich with rubbing on rocks occasionally. However, I have not seen white spots on it in the same manner as I did on the Powder Brown tang for example.

The clowns have never rubbed against anything from what I can tell. They have hardly left their two RBTA. About a month or two ago they started to lay their first batch of eggs and have been doing 2-3 batches since where the last one still is in the DT.

Hope that helps a little.

 

[snorvich]

Perplexing. It does not look like ich although cryptocaryon irritans could have been lurking in your tank in the gills of fish. Anything else wet added to the tank? Coral, inverts?

 

[ojonas81]

Corals, mainly SPS has been added over time. I do not QT corals but I do dip them extensively before as well as give them a fresh water batch. Inverts has been added as well.

 

[Deinonych]

With the brittle fins and rough appearance, I would lean toward a diagnosis of brook as well. It could have hitchhiked in with an invertebrate. I know of another user here on this forum who contracted brook from an urchin.

 

[Triton_Z]

With the brittle fins and rough appearance, I would lean toward a diagnosis of brook as well. It could have hitchhiked in with an invertebrate. I know of another user here on this forum who contracted brook from an urchin.

I agree. Physical appearance looks like Brooklynella. I don't see any indications of Ich from the pictures.

A freshwater or Formalin dip/bath should be effective.

 

[ojonas81]

Where do I get hold of Formation quickest?

 

[Beachpeach12]

For sure needs a quarantine..I currently have two box fish in qt

 

[ojonas81]

Lost another fish over night, the male Kaudern's cardinal fish. Same symptoms as for the other one, they are fine one day and dead the next morning. That all lines up with the quick progression of Brook.

That being said, both my clown fish and the hippo (which are in the same hospital tank at the moment) are still alive which really goes against the rapid progression of Brook. Or can certain fish be more resistant?

 

[Newsmyrna80]

With the brittle fins and rough appearance, I would lean toward a diagnosis of brook as well. It could have hitchhiked in with an invertebrate. I know of another user here on this forum who contracted brook from an urchin.

:wave: That would be me:hmm5: I now quarantine everything!! To the OP are you doing formalin (or Quick Cure) dips?

 

[Deinonych]

:wave: That would be me:hmm5: I now quarantine everything!!

 

[ojonas81]

Lost the male clown this morning. Found him stuck to one of the power heads in the QT.

Still not sure what the disease is. I am not 100% convinced that it is Brook with the reasoning that if it was, knowing the fast development it has from being health to dead, and that all three fish (and the remaining in the main DT) survived for a long time after symptoms. But I could be totally wrong. The female clown has a lot of slime hanging off her this morning (nothing on the dead male). Did a freshwater dip and most of it fell off, not all though. Looked like it took some out of the strength of the clown as well as she swims a little strange at the moment (but better than just after the bath).

Picture below is taken right after the dip. Still brook as the diagnosis?

 

[Dmorty217]

Are you treating with anything? At this point you have nothing to lose, she will be dead within days if no action is taken

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Yep brook. Some fish can be resistant to it which could explain why the others have not shown signs...yet. Are you doing anything other than FW dips? Fish in the main will need to come out and put into a QT. Main will need to be fallow for 8 weeks. I'm sure you read the stickies on brook.

 

[ojonas81]

At the moment no. I do not have Formaline at home and not sure how to get hold of it. Need to rely on external help as I am still home recovering.

Have read all the stickies but up until today I was not 100% sure what the disease was. Did not want to start a treatment and wast time and add stress for something the fish does not have.

Sad to say that the FW dip did not end well for the female clown. She passed away about an hour later (was swimming fine one back in the QT after about 10 minutes).

I also know I need to get the other fish out from the main DT and leave it fallow for 8-10 weeks. Not sure how to practically do that yet. Can probably catch the Chromis and possible the Yellow Tang (although the last couple of attempts did not end well). The gobies on the other hand I have no idea. They are all over under the sand and "impossible" to catch. It is like the "Whack a Mole" amusement park game on steroids. I never know where they will pop up next.