Are Chromis without uronema a rarity these days?

[CCauthers]

Not so lucky have one looks like this today after being in tank almost 2 months.

That doesn't look like typical uronema to me

 

[Zionas]

Man he looks pretty messed up. Maybe it’s just stress coloration but could be something a lot more serious underneath the skin.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

I began seeing issues with Uronema in green chromis about 15 years ago, and I wrote an article about it for Aquarium Fish International about 10 years ago. It's probable that I had misidentified earlier cases as "bacterial infections" as many people do. Things have gotten worse in the past few years, and very bad this year. Small green chromis from the Philippines and Indonesia are the worst. These are "grade B SE Asian" fish - those are the smallest and cheapest. They get packed tighter, and cannot survive long supply chains without food. You almost never have this problem with big green chromis from the central Pacific. The reports that I've had indicate that due to Covid, the supply chain has gotten even longer (fewer direct flights) and this is making matters even worse.

Green chromis are the most frequently imported marine fish (as of a study I saw a few years ago). At this point, I won't buy any, unless they were collected in Fiji or other good source. Difficult to get the word out though.....

Jay

Jay,

I have a Vanderbuilt Chromis on order and am concerned I will have to deal with this. The LFS will give me a credit if the fish gets ill. My question is how quickly will they come down with uronema or can it hide for some time and you don't know the fish is carrying it? I can't find the answer anywhere. Would your advice be to just steer clear of getting one? Thanks! @Jayhemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Jay,

I have a Vanderbuilt Chromis on order and am concerned I will have to deal with this. The LFS will give me a credit if the fish gets ill. My question is how quickly will they come down with uronema or can it hide for some time and you don't know the fish is carrying it? I can't find the answer anywhere. Would your advice be to just steer clear of getting one? Thanks! @Jayhemdal

Jay,

I have a Vanderbuilt Chromis on order and am concerned I will have to deal with this. The LFS will give me a credit if the fish gets ill. My question is how quickly will they come down with uronema or can it hide for some time and you don't know the fish is carrying it? I can't find the answer anywhere. Would your advice be to just steer clear of getting one? Thanks! @Jayhemdal

Sorry - I’ve only had a few of these over the years, I just don’t know if they are prone to Uronema or not. I think green chromis are really the focus of this issue. In them, I’ve never had Uronema show up more than about a month after acquisition.
Jay