Clownfish with white bubbles?

[Evan1000]

Hello, I have had my clownfish for about one and a half years, but about two weeks ago he started to show symptoms of a bacterial infection and developed popeye in both eyes. I set up a quarantine tank and transferred him to it one week ago. I treated the popeye with kanaplex, and now his popeye is gone but he has white bubbles on his body. None of the other fish in the display tank show any signs of illness. Does anyone know what this is and how to treat it?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like brooklynella which is a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset, fish may scrape up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus. Very quickly the fish will become lethargic, refuse to eat, and its colors will fade.As the disease progresses, a thick whitish mucus covers the body. This will usually start at the head and spread outward across the entire body. Skin lesions appear and it is not uncommon for signs of secondary bacterial infections to arise, such as redness and fin rot.

Initially, all fish are given a quick dip in the formalin at a higher concentration, followed by continued treatment in a prolonged bath of formalin at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank (QT). Of course, the longer the fish are exposed to the formalin treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this disease.


If a formalin solution is not available for immediate use, temporary relief may be provided by giving fish a FW DIP Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems. Once the initial dip or bath is done, place the fish into a QT under hypo salinity to help keep any possible new free-swimming protists from infecting the fish again, and then obtain a formalin medication as soon as possible to begin treatment.
Quick cure is best or ruby rally reef for treatment

 

[Evan1000]

Awesome thanks, for the quick response!

 

[Sshannon]

I've never seen clear bubbles before. Crazy

 

[Sharkbait19]

Could it be lymphocitosis? It usually appears as a result of stress.
Doesn’t really look like brook to me as I don’t see any of the white dusting, but I could be wrong.

 

[Evan1000]

Here are some more pictures

 

[Evan1000]

Could it be lymphocitosis? It usually appears as a result of stress.
Doesn’t really look like brook to me as I don’t see any of the white dusting, but I could be wrong.

I was thinking the same thing, but lymphocitosis looks more like solid white fuzz to me. Do you know if he could be shedding mucus or anything like that?

 

[Sharkbait19]

I was thinking the same thing, but lymphocitosis looks more like solid white fuzz to me. Do you know if he could be shedding mucus or anything like that?

Usually when they slough off mucus, it’s related to brook.
@Jay Hemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I was thinking the same thing, but lymphocitosis looks more like solid white fuzz to me. Do you know if he could be shedding mucus or anything like that?

Well, I’ve never seen anything quite like that. However, it likely isn’t Brooklynella and certainly isn’t Lymphocystis. Brook rarely shows up on lonterm captive clowns unless something was added to your tank from an infected tank.
Supersaturation causes bubbles like this, but they would be filled with gas, not fluid. Sorry, I don’t have a treatment for you to try!

Jay

 

[Evan1000]

Thanks for the response!

Well, I’ve never seen anything quite like that. However, it likely isn’t Brooklynella and certainly isn’t Lymphocystis. Brook rarely shows up on lonterm captive clowns unless something was added to your tank from an infected tank.
Supersaturation causes bubbles like this, but they would be filled with gas, not fluid. Sorry, I don’t have a treatment for you to try!

Jay

 

[Isopod80]

Looks like gas bubble disease but I've only ever seen it in freshwater fish. It's believed to be caused by excessive levels of oxygen, nitrogen, or Co2 in the water. Here's some examples. It typically shows up around the head and fins. Basically the fish get "The Bends".

.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Looks like gas bubble disease but I've only ever seen it in freshwater fish. It's believed to be caused by excessive levels of oxygen, nitrogen, or Co2 in the water. Here's some examples. It typically shows up around the head and fins. Basically the fish get "The Bends".

.

As I had mentioned, the difference with GBD is that the bubbles are filled with gas, not a fluid like these seem to be....

Jay

 

[Isopod80]

I just thought they looked identical to the ones on the Cory catfish I pictured. Is it possible that the gas could be replaced over time with body fluid as the gas dissipates? Similar to a blister. I know if you fill a balloon with gas and let it sit, it will eventually shrink as the gas slowly dissipates through the membrane. If attached to a living thing I'd think it's possible that fluid could take its place. The ones on the Airapaima I pictured seem to be replaced by fluid. Just a thought.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I just thought they looked identical to the ones on the Cory catfish I pictured. Is it possible that the gas could be replaced over time with body fluid as the gas dissipates? Similar to a blister. I know if you fill a balloon with gas and let it sit, it will eventually shrink as the gas slowly dissipates through the membrane. If attached to a living thing I'd think it's possible that fluid could take its place. The ones on the Airapaima I pictured seem to be replaced by fluid. Just a thought.

No - GBD has two causes - supersaturation of nitrogen in the water, and then an issue specific to seahorses, where gas bubbles develop due to vascularized tissue producing too much gas. I’ve never seen either of those issues turn into fluid filled blisters, this is something else.
Jay

 

[Evan1000]

Well, I did a water change and just to make sure it was not gas bubble disease I turned the sponge filter off and added a small pump for surface movement, but he looked horrible yesterday and he did not make it today. Thank you all for the responses on what this could possibly be.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Well, I did a water change and just to make sure it was not gas bubble disease I turned the sponge filter off and added a small pump for surface movement, but he looked horrible yesterday and he did not make it today. Thank you all for the responses on what this could possibly be.

Sorry to hear. Just for future reference, gas bubble disease from supersaturation is only caused in hobbyist tanks by some sort of injection of nitrogen gas under pressure, not from sponge filters. The two common issues I see are when a sump is allowed to suck air for a long period, or when there is a tiny air leak on the suction side of a powerful water pump. Bubbles in the water column actually helps defuse supersaturation, think of shaking up a can of soda for example.

I don't think this was GBD. I tried to find some other likely cause, something that causes fluid filled blisters, there is some viral issue in freshwater fish that can do this, but I could not find a marine analog for it.

Jay

 

[RobertFo]

Did you ever figure out what was wrong and how to treat it? I have a clown with the same issue. He’s in QT all other fish appear to be fine.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Did you ever figure out what was wrong and how to treat it? I have a clown with the same issue. He’s in QT all other fish appear to be fine.

Can you post a picture or short video? Not all similar cases have the same causes.....

Jay

 

[RobertFo]

I noticed other fish flashing I think I may have Brook. How do you deal with Brook? I know copper power qt but how to do that with six large tangs to keep fallow for 76 days

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I noticed other fish flashing I think I may have Brook. How do you deal with Brook? I know copper power qt but how to do that with six large tangs to keep fallow for 76 days

Copper doesn't work well for Brooklynella, but flashing is not a primary symptom for that disease. I think you should start a full disease thread with pictures/video and other background information. This link explains that:

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www.reef2reef.com

Jay