Bacterial infection or Uronema?

Kalinina · Mar 17, 2023

Hello,

Long story short, I received pre-quarantined fish 3/2, and one of them passed 3/16 with what I’m thinking is a bacterial infection. I am just wondering what it is as I haven’t had experience with seeing this before. None of the other fish are showing the same symptoms/spots.

Kalinina · Mar 17, 2023

I should add that I noticed the dark spots last week, and was hoping they would get better, I actually thought it was lympho. The pics were taken right after the fish passed.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 17, 2023

Kalinina said:
Hello,

Long story short, I received pre-quarantined fish 3/2, and one of them passed 3/16 with what I’m thinking is a bacterial infection. I am just wondering what it is as I haven’t had experience with seeing this before. None of the other fish are showing the same symptoms/spots.

Being on side side appears to be bacterial and one that should not have been left to wait. Lympho will look more like cauliflower and generally starts at the fins.

Kalinina · Mar 17, 2023

Thank you! In your experience, are bacterial infections from water quality? I feed a quality/diverse diet. I actually got a school of anthias and blue chromis in the order, one of the chromis disappeared 3/5, (I went to church and I had 8, after church I came home and had 7). Last night when doing a water change I found the remains, I’m guessing that caused the water quality issue. My tank is 84x30x24 so lots of places to hide.

Kalinina · Mar 17, 2023

Last night was a 30% water change and Am going to use ozone again.

Jay Hemdal · Mar 17, 2023

Uronema used to always be misidentified as bacterial - we can only guess unless you look at a fresh sample under a microscope. I look at the lesions, the species of fish involved and how long you’ve had the fish to try and make a “best guess” between bacteria or Uronema (and mixed infections of both are possible!). In this case, the two lesions are not typical for Uronema and they look darker than typical for Uronema.
Jay

Kalinina · Apr 12, 2023

Thank you Jay! I now think I have the same problem with my Midas blenny. He is not a new addition, I’ve had him for over a year and he has always been healthy. I noticed today that he was swimming vertical against the corner of the tank and that he had what looks like popeye in one eye and faint leopard print on one side of his body and tattered fins. (Leopard print as in darkish hints of spots of discoloration instead of the usual orange/pink color).

I set up a quarantine tank right away with tank water and added Nitrofurazone Green powder. I’ll try get a picture tomorrow.

I guess my question is, do I need to purchase a microscope to see what this is? I’ve never had bacterial infections before the new additions. And I’m trying to decide if it’s something I need to remove the fish and treat for.

Kalinina · Apr 12, 2023

Also, everything I mentioned is on the same side of the body, except for the tattered top fin (which is in the middle) and that’s the only fin that has damage.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 12, 2023

Kalinina said:
Thank you Jay! I now think I have the same problem with my Midas blenny. He is not a new addition, I’ve had him for over a year and he has always been healthy. I noticed today that he was swimming vertical against the corner of the tank and that he had what looks like popeye in one eye and faint leopard print on one side of his body and tattered fins. (Leopard print as in darkish hints of spots of discoloration instead of the usual orange/pink color).

I set up a quarantine tank right away with tank water and added Nitrofurazone Green powder. I’ll try get a picture tomorrow.

I guess my question is, do I need to purchase a microscope to see what this is? I’ve never had bacterial infections before the new additions. And I’m trying to decide if it’s something I need to remove the fish and treat for.

Can you post a picture of the blenny? I've never seen one develop Uronema, and the way you are describing it doesn't sound much like that either.

Jay

Kalinina · Apr 13, 2023

Hi Jay,

I’m attaching pictures. I had to remove the rock, and there’s sand/debris floating around in the water column and on the bottom of the tank, no white spots on the fish.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 13, 2023

Kalinina said:
Hi Jay,

I’m attaching pictures. I had to remove the rock, and there’s sand/debris floating around in the water column and on the bottom of the tank, no white spots on the fish.

I don't see any signs of Uronema in this fish. Are you going to treat it with nitrofurazone now?

Jay

Kalinina · Apr 14, 2023

Yes, he has been in NFG since I’ve moved him to the quarantine tank. Here is an updated picture from tonight. I thought he was doing better, as he seemed to be swimming better, but he looks worse.

do you recommend a different treatment? I have other items on hand, or if I don’t have it, I can order it.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 14, 2023

Kalinina said:
Yes, he has been in NFG since I’ve moved him to the quarantine tank. Here is an updated picture from tonight. I thought he was doing better, as he seemed to be swimming better, but he looks worse.

do you recommend a different treatment? I have other items on hand, or if I don’t have it, I can order it.

The trouble with antibiotics is that they take time to work (3 to 5 days) and selecting which one to use is always a guess. I don't often suggest NFG just due to availability, and some other issues. What product are you using?

Once you select an antibiotic, you don't want to "hunt and peck" by changing it before it has a chance to work.

Jay

52728299 · Apr 14, 2023

Imo it sounds like you've added quite a few fish that are quite prone to uronema.. if it were me I'd want to try and rule it out and a skin scrape could help with that. Microscopes can be obtained fairly cheaply and comes in handy.

As for an abx for infected injuries I've had good success using ciprofloxacin. Idk if that's a popular choice on the forum but it's effective.

Anyways, just my two cents..

Kalinina · Apr 14, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
The trouble with antibiotics is that they take time to work (3 to 5 days) and selecting which one to use is always a guess. I don't often suggest NFG just due to availability, and some other issues. What product are you using?

Once you select an antibiotic, you don't want to "hunt and peck" by changing it before it has a chance to work.

Jay

The brand is National Fish Pharmaceuticals. I’ve followed the directions of 1/4 tsp per 20g every 24 hours with a 25% water change. I’ll stick with it. Thank you for your help!

Also, what treatment(s) would you recommend if I come across this again?
I thought last night I would have to pull a chromis, but he looks better today. It almost looks like a tang sliced him.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 14, 2023

Kalinina said:
The brand is National Fish Pharmaceuticals. I’ve followed the directions of 1/4 tsp per 20g every 24 hours with a 25% water change. I’ll stick with it. Thank you for your help!

Also, what treatment(s) would you recommend if I come across this again?
I thought last night I would have to pull a chromis, but he looks better today. It almost looks like a tang sliced him.

I can't say 100% of course, but that lesion could be the early manifestation of Uronema. It is in the spot where you often see that, and given the history of the Anthias, I can't rule it out. A "tang slice" is how many people describe Uronema. If it's improving, then that isn't it though.

Jay