Chromis and Uronema

atul176 · Jun 23, 2023

Hi everyone,

I have a pair of chromis that have been in copper power at 2.5 for the past 5 days. Knowing that chromis are very susceptible to Uronema, would the disease have shown itself by now, or is it better to start formalin or metro regardless? There is no discoloration on either of the fish, and they both readily eat and are active.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! #reefsqaud

BirdFish5000 · Jun 23, 2023

With chromis, I would do metroplex regardless of visible symptoms or not. It's so common with them, why chance it?

MnFish1 · Jun 23, 2023

atul176 said:
Hi everyone,

I have a pair of chromis that have been in copper power at 2.5 for the past 5 days. Knowing that chromis are very susceptible to Uronema, would the disease have shown itself by now, or is it better to start formalin or metro regardless? There is no discoloration on either of the fish, and they both readily eat and are active.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! #reefsqaud

Since it can take time for uronema to develop (i.e. show symptoms) and once the red lesion are present - it can be much more difficult to heal/treat. If you decide to use Metroplex - you need to be careful (if added to food) - since you can't really control the dose - i.e. if the fish are not eating - they will get nothing. If one fish eats 2x as much as the other, one will be under-treated, etc etc. Additionally, if you're going to do it, I would not treat with multiple medications at the same time.

Since you asked - I would lean against treatment with metronidazole

Jay Hemdal · Jun 23, 2023

atul176 said:
Hi everyone,

I have a pair of chromis that have been in copper power at 2.5 for the past 5 days. Knowing that chromis are very susceptible to Uronema, would the disease have shown itself by now, or is it better to start formalin or metro regardless? There is no discoloration on either of the fish, and they both readily eat and are active.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! #reefsqaud

I've seen internal Uronema show up on fish up to 40 days after acquisition (I don't recall seeing any develop it after about that time). I think the "hot spot" for showing lesions is around 7 to 14 days after acquisition, but that can vary based on how long the dealer had the fish before you got them.

Formalin works for external uronema, but not internal. I've had a bit better success using Chloroquine, but again, it doesn't do much for the internal form.

Here is an article I posted about that:

Uronema / Red Band Disease - Hemdal

Red Band Syndrome in Marine Fishes: Caused by the Protozoan; Uronema sp. Jay Hemdal Introduction: This moderately common disease of certain species of marine fish is so often misdiagnosed that most aquarists apply incorrect treatment methods...

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