Help me please! Brooklynella or Ick???

[Seeryous]

My clown has had this for a little over a week.... she/he has been super hungry and hasn't been behaving weirdly, but I don't know what to do. I also don't have a QT tank so am I just screwed or can I help my little one recover?

 

[AutumnReefs]

Looks like brook?

I would do a paraguard bath (or freshwater that is the same temp as the tank) as soon as possible. You could feed them metroplex+focus soaked onto their food afterwards (or dose metro if you have no inverts as it may not be safe for inverts.

Ruby Reef Rally pro dosed into the tank might help.

 

[Seeryous]

Ok, so I just did a freshwater bath, by filling a gallon plastic freezer bag with my ro/di water and floating it for an hour to acclimate to the tank water. The spots fell off of the fish but there's still some stuff left. *kinda hard to see under just the blue light the tank is on right now. Can you explain this metroplex + focus soaked into the food? I currently am feeding them Cyclopod + Spiralina brine shrimp frozen food and they absolutely love it.

My tank has about 18 snails in it and I just recently bought and added a frag that has like 4 different types of zoanths on it.

 

[PSU4ME]

Def looks like brook to me

 

[PSU4ME]

Brooklynella

Brooklynella hostilis (updated 6-9-2023) What You Need To Know: * This is most often seen with clownfish, but it can afflict other fish (usually in the gills) as well. When a clownfish has Brook, the skin will appear to be peeling or sloughing off. Which is actually excess white mucous coming...

humble.fish

 

[Seeryous]

So i'm pretty much screwed since i don't have a QT tank. And I don't want to kill my zoanths or my snails....

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My clown has had this for a little over a week.... she/he has been super hungry and hasn't been behaving weirdly, but I don't know what to do. I also don't have a QT tank so am I just screwed or can I help my little one recover?

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

I couldn't get the pictures to enlarge on Imgur. However, from what I can see, this does not look like typical Brooklynella. Many people don't realize, but after a week or so, Cryptocaryon (saltwater ich) will start to produce coalesced spots that look like mucus. I can still see distinct spots here and Brooklynella doesn't do that. Additionally, a fish with Brook isn't going to still be eating and behaving normally, but they can with ich.

Unfortunately, either way, without a treatment tank, there really isn't anything you can do for it other than FW dips, or perhaps a dip in Ruby Reef Rally.

Does the other clown show any symptoms?

Jay

 

[Seeryous]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

I couldn't get the pictures to enlarge on Imgur. However, from what I can see, this does not look like typical Brooklynella. Many people don't realize, but after a week or so, Cryptocaryon (saltwater ich) will start to produce coalesced spots that look like mucus. I can still see distinct spots here and Brooklynella doesn't do that. Additionally, a fish with Brook isn't going to still be eating and behaving normally, but they can with ich.

Unfortunately, either way, without a treatment tank, there really isn't anything you can do for it other than FW dips, or perhaps a dip in Ruby Reef Rally.

Does the other clown show any symptoms?

Jay

So I lost the partner to this clown last week. But had no clue what caused its death, it didn't have any issues on its skin and it was healthy and eating just like this one. I just got a new clown yesterday from my wife for fathers day and it has no issues or anything on its skin either. But both are aggressively eating and I need to get updated pics of the clown after the freshwater dip as most if not all of the spots fell off in the bag i dipped him in.

If there's literally nothing i can do since I don't have a QT tank up and running... is he just sacrificed... ...

 

[Tamberav]

So I lost the partner to this clown last week. But had no clue what caused its death, it didn't have any issues on its skin and it was healthy and eating just like this one. I just got a new clown yesterday from my wife for fathers day and it has no issues or anything on its skin either. But both are aggressively eating and I need to get updated pics of the clown after the freshwater dip as most if not all of the spots fell off in the bag i dipped him in.

If there's literally nothing i can do since I don't have a QT tank up and running... is he just sacrificed... ...

You can use a 5g bucket and a air stone as a QT.

Unfortunately these diseases are communicable so your new clown may get sick too.

Clowns are typically pretty resistant to ich with the thick slime coat but not immune.

 

[Seeryous]

You can use a 5g bucket and a air stone as a QT.

Unfortunately these diseases are communicable so your new clown may get sick too.

Clowns are typically pretty resistant to ich with the thick slime coat but not immune.

Ok so the 5g bucket, should i fill it with tank water or make new saltwater for it? And what about the ammonia build up... aren't you supposed to quarantine the fish for over a month with the medication?

 

[dkeller22]

Either should work, but personally I'd make new water. An aquarium is just a class box that holds water, the fact it clear is for us not the fish. There is no reason that with a cheap HOB filter, a heater, some bottle bacteria you can't turn a bucket into a QT tank. Put some eggcrate on top to preventing jumpers.

Cylindrical aquariums are actually a thing.

 

[Seeryous]

Either should work, but personally I'd make new water. An aquarium is just a class box that holds water, the fact it clear is for us not the fish. There is no reason that with a cheap HOB filter, a heater, some bottle bacteria you can't turn a bucket into a QT tank. Put some eggcrate on top to preventing jumpers.

Cylindrical aquariums are actually a thing.

Ok so I just got a 20 gallon tank last night that i am going to setup as a QT tank, but it hasn't been cycled and i need to get a heater for it.... can I toss in some bottle bacteria, and get some ammonia eating bacteria to jump start the water and start treating my clown? Cause everything I have read has said you have to fully cycle the tank to safely keep the fish alive. And I don't want to torture my clown.... he/she is already going through enough as it is..... really upset that my lfs didn't tell me it was caught and not tank bred.

 

[dkeller22]

Get some bottle bac and a Seachem ammonia alert badge. If you dose copper the ammonia test will tell you lies and they aren't that accurate anyhow. If you have any filter media in your DT you can steal it for the bacteria, but avoid rock and sand because they'll mess with any copper or meds you dose. If you don't just be prepared to do water changes if the badge shows the ammonia creeping. Prime will help in an ammonia emergency, but if I remember correctly it doesn't play nice with copper and can make it toxic to the fish.

 

[Tamberav]

Ok so I just got a 20 gallon tank last night that i am going to setup as a QT tank, but it hasn't been cycled and i need to get a heater for it.... can I toss in some bottle bacteria, and get some ammonia eating bacteria to jump start the water and start treating my clown? Cause everything I have read has said you have to fully cycle the tank to safely keep the fish alive. And I don't want to torture my clown.... he/she is already going through enough as it is..... really upset that my lfs didn't tell me it was caught and not tank bred.

Biospira works well to cycle it. Water changes also keep ammonia low. Some people don’t cycle it and just do frequent water changes.

I use a air stone with a sponge filter and biospira when I need to get a cycled tank up fast.

 

[Seeryous]

Get some bottle bac and a Seachem ammonia alert badge. If you dose copper the ammonia test will tell you lies and they aren't that accurate anyhow. If you have any filter media in your DT you can steal it for the bacteria, but avoid rock and sand because they'll mess with any copper or meds you dose. If you don't just be prepared to do water changes if the badge shows the ammonia creeping. Prime will help in an ammonia emergency, but if I remember correctly it doesn't play nice with copper and can make it toxic to the fish.

Thank you for the help!! We're going to be going back to the fish store in a little while and I'll be getting things to get the QT tank started. How long should I keep the fish in the QT tank? And what do I do about the other fish in my DT since they arent showing signs of any disease?



****Updated photos****



After the 4-5 minute freshwater bath I gave my clown last night, most if not all of the white spots that were on it have fallen off. I'm starting to think that it is a severe case of ick? But maybe these updated photos with my dslr camera instead of my phone camera can help anyone that's reading to diagnose what it could/is. And what I actually need to treat him.

I have formalin, Rally Pro- and Kick Ick on the way, but the rally pro and kick ick are up to 2 weeks from being delivered... Formalin should arrive on Saturday.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you for the help!! We're going to be going back to the fish store in a little while and I'll be getting things to get the QT tank started. How long should I keep the fish in the QT tank? And what do I do about the other fish in my DT since they arent showing signs of any disease?



****Updated photos****



After the 4-5 minute freshwater bath I gave my clown last night, most if not all of the white spots that were on it have fallen off. I'm starting to think that it is a severe case of ick? But maybe these updated photos with my dslr camera instead of my phone camera can help anyone that's reading to diagnose what it could/is. And what I actually need to treat him.

I have formalin, Rally Pro- and Kick Ick on the way, but the rally pro and kick ick are up to 2 weeks from being delivered... Formalin should arrive on Saturday.

Imgur still isn't allowing me to enlarge the photos...I looked REALLY closely and now, as you said, the individual spots have gone. I still don't see the mucus sheets I would expect to see from Brooklynella. I'd have to stay with ich as the diagnosis, so copper is your best choice. However, copper doesn't work on Brooklynella, so if I'm wrong, you would need to use formalin (maybe Rally Pro) instead.

Jay

 

[Seeryous]

Imgur still isn't allowing me to enlarge the photos...I looked REALLY closely and now, as you said, the individual spots have gone. I still don't see the mucus sheets I would expect to see from Brooklynella. I'd have to stay with ich as the diagnosis, so copper is your best choice. However, copper doesn't work on Brooklynella, so if I'm wrong, you would need to use formalin (maybe Rally Pro) instead.

Jay

Ok, so how long do i need to keep him in the QT tank once i get it setup? I've read varying suggestions everywhere.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Ok, so how long do i need to keep him in the QT tank once i get it setup? I've read varying suggestions everywhere.

I would say a minimum of 14 days in full copper AFTER the last symptoms have gone away (30 days is safer though).

Again, there is still some degree of uncertainty in my mind which way to go with this one.

Jay

 

[AutumnReefs]

Ok, so I just did a freshwater bath, by filling a gallon plastic freezer bag with my ro/di water and floating it for an hour to acclimate to the tank water. The spots fell off of the fish but there's still some stuff left. *kinda hard to see under just the blue light the tank is on right now. Can you explain this metroplex + focus soaked into the food? I currently am feeding them Cyclopod + Spiralina brine shrimp frozen food and they absolutely love it.

My tank has about 18 snails in it and I just recently bought and added a frag that has like 4 different types of zoanths on it.

Well since Jay said its probably ich then this doesnt really mattter but metro is one of the meds that should help with brook. Focus binds the metro to food so that it can be fed in a tank without the medicine dissolving into the water (or at least that is how it should work). You mix it with food. The hard part is how much to use.

 

[JayA]

I have had two fish with ich (at different times). And one has had it twice. Even though this may not be popular, it worked for me. Feed and let fish rest - lights out for 3 days. Stress is a huge ich instigator. A strong fish should be able to rally its immune system. Either I got lucky, or it works. 3/3 for me. (other fish in the tank never got it)