Squareback Anthia

[moe103]

I have three female squarebacks and a dwarf flame angel in a 29 gallon QT tank. Tank has been running for 10 months and the ammonia and nitrites are 0. They have been in QT for 3 weeks and are eating mysis with gusto.

Today I noticed one anthia swimming by herself and upon closer inspection found a hole in her side. Is this an infection or an attack? I used eggcrate to sequester her but do I need to be treating the tank?

Thanks

 

[JustinM]

You have uronema my friend! Do not cross contaminate with your display tank at all!

This is a very difficult disease to treat. Possible treatment options include: Metronidazole (ex. Seachem MetroPlex), acriflavine (ex. Acriflavine-MS), Chloroquine phosphate and copper. The problem is the fish can never be returned to the infected tank from which it came. Uronema is a "œfree living" parasite which does not require a fish host. So, going fallow will not eradicate it. Most fish seem protected from it via their natural immune system; but for some reason, chromis and some other fish are not always afforded this protection. Once a tank has Uronema, it must be assumed that the disease can survive in there almost indefinitely. (Thanks Humblefish!)

 

[moe103]

So it's my QT tank. Do I need to take out the other fish? Also, if I drain the tank and leave it dry for a few days would that be enough to eradicate the uronema?

 

[lagatbezan]

You have uronema my friend! Do not cross contaminate with your display tank at all!

This is a very difficult disease to treat. Possible treatment options include: Metronidazole (ex. Seachem MetroPlex), acriflavine (ex. Acriflavine-MS), Chloroquine phosphate and copper. The problem is the fish can never be returned to the infected tank from which it came. Uronema is a "œfree living" parasite which does not require a fish host. So, going fallow will not eradicate it. Most fish seem protected from it via their natural immune system; but for some reason, chromis and some other fish are not always afforded this protection. Once a tank has Uronema, it must be assumed that the disease can survive in there almost indefinitely. (Thanks Humblefish!)

This ^
I believe you can also use a sequence of formalin dips as well to treat it.
All the other fish in qt are now are exposed to it and should be treated.
The qt would need to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected with bleach and let to dry.
Uronema is some nasty stuff and can live without a host present. If it gets in your main tank, the only way to fully get it out is to break the tank down and disinfect everything with bleach. be thankful you used a qt.

 

[JustinM]

I would not wait to treat this! To be honest, after you treat I would just throw the tank and everything in it away. I wouldn't trust sterilization and it's not worth it.