What disease?

nemofish2217

New member
I posted a few weeks ago about losing a couple of clownfish...well today marks the third. I already had it when the 2nd one passed and was watching it closely. I want to say it was Brook, but the problem is I never really saw any visible signs of the disease. About a week ago, I noticed that the clown was looking thin, even though it would eat pretty much every time I put food in the tank. Given the fact that the other clowns died of what I believed the be Brook (or maybe even velvet), I decided to go ahead and treat it, so I moved it to a 10 gal. (about half full), and started treating with Paraguard directly in the tank. Everything seemed to be going ok, although the only noticeable change I could see is that it was losing a little color in its fins. Today, as in the other cases, it went from looking ok to listless and losing equilibrium in a matter of an hour or so.

So, here are the few questions I have:

- Are there any other disease/illnesses that this could have been other than Brook? I thought for sure that the Paraguard would help, as it states that it is an alternative to formalin.

- Is Paraguard not effective at treating Brook?

- The only fishes left in the DT are an orchid dotty back and yellow watchman goby. The orchid dotty back has done and is doing wonderfully, and has been in the tank the entire time the other clowns have. I haven't seen the YWG for a while (it is paired with a pistol shrimp and my belief is that they are just in hiding). How likely is it that those two fish will continue to potentially host a parasite such as Brook if I leave the DT free of new fish for 6 weeks? The dotty back in particular is doing really well, and I would hate to remove it from the DT if at all possible. However, I don't want to wait 6 weeks to re-introduce a clown only to have it pick the parasite right back up.

Really stumped here, appreciate any advice.
 
The only certain treatment for brook are formalin baths. Paraguard surly does nothing against brook or velvet.

The eating but losing weight doesn't sound like brook, but rather like intestinal parasites or liver damage.

Though velvet and brook can do that too if the fish holds out long enough.
 
Thanks for the input. I agree, I thought it was weird that they continued to show good appetite while continuing to lose weight. I'm starting to lean away from it being Brook or Velvet, and starting to lean towards some other form of internal parasite. What treats intestinal parasites? I know you can use cupramine for ich, formalin for Brook, but what would I use for other parasites? Why wouldn't the dotty back show any signs and look perfectly full and happy?

Is Paraguard not effective simply because it does not contain formalin, even though it states that it is an alternative to formalin?
 
I would never use copper - hyposalinity is a better treatment and TTM a better prevention method - both don't poison the fish.
Against velvet Chloroquine Phosphate is probably the best and most reliable treatment. For prevention a formalin bath may already be sufficient.

Paraguard contains nothing that is efficient against any of the protozoan parasites of marine fish, especially not brook or velvet - IMO it's a pure freshwater medication. There malachite green is actually effective, in saltwater it's efficiency is rather shaky.
 
What is TTM? So, considering that these fish never really showed noticeable signs of parasites that you would normally see at some stage in the ich, Brook, or Velvet, what other type of parasite could this be, and what is the best treatment?

Also, if there is still a fish in the DT that has never shown any symptoms or problems, how likely is it that whatever this is would stay in the DT if I were to wait 6 weeks before getting any more fish?
 
TTM = tank transfer method - search for it here and you find a lot info on it.

Velvet is notorious for having a low profile in the beginning - the most noticeable symptom is elevated breathing. By the time the fish actually shows visible symptoms on its skin, the infection is already far advanced and most will fail to safe the fish.
 
Understood. I guess where I'm at is that I didn't really see any visible signs that would give me an indication as to whether the illness was ich, Broo, Velvet, or anything else. So, since it appears that treatment for each is different, I wouldn't even know where to start in treating the remaining fish.

So, if I leave the dotty back in the DT and wait about 6 weeks (assuming it shows no signs of illness), what is the likelihood that when I re-introduce clowns they will pick something back up? Are we talking very likely, somewhat likely, or not very likely?
 
Fish can develop immunity against all protozoan parasites, including brook and velvet. If this immunity isn't 100% they can harbor parasites without becoming sick. But they can still infect other fish without immunity protection.

The likelihood for this with velvet is fairly low - even partially immune fish will more likely become sick sooner or later and show symptoms or die.
Brook is a bit catchier, especially with clownfish in an anemone. Through self-medication they can maintain a balance where the parasite lives in their oral cavity and gills but is killed on the skin by the anemone slime. If these fish get taken out of their anemone and get additionally stressed with bad water quality and too much ammonia in the transport water you may get a full blown outbreak - this is what happens often with wild clowns.

The best method to clean fish that may carry brook (and velvet) but don't show any symptoms is a formalin bath and then a transfer to a clean tank.
 
Thanks again for all of the good information and advice. Do you have one particular type or brand of formalin product that you prefer? I figure I am going to have to buy online, so I just want to get the right one.
 
Perfect...thanks again for all of the information.

So, regardless of the potential illness these clowns had, if I leave the dotty back in the DT assuming it shows no signs of illnesses, is there a pretty high chance that clowns introduced back into the tank will pick up something that may still be in the tank, but may be "controlled" by the dotty back's immune system?

Or, is it like with ich, where the disease may remain in the water column, but as long as new inhabitants that are introduced are relatively low-stressed and in good health, they should be able to fight them off?
 
Back
Top