Ich, Velvet, or brooklynella

[vslivinskis]

Hi all,
I got this clownfish from PetCo (5 days ago). My other clownfish (not from PetCo) seems fine.
The tank has 3 ppm Nitrate, 0 nitrite, 0 ammonia. Salinity is 1.025 sg. pH is 7.9.

This was the clownfish yesterday

This is it today

The fish eats and swims normally. I gave it a freshwater dip before today's photo to see if any of the white dots would fall off but it was to no avail. This clownfish is currently in a different aquarium as my other clownfish seems fine.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi all,
I got this clownfish from PetCo (5 days ago). My other clownfish (not from PetCo) seems fine.
The tank has 3 ppm Nitrate, 0 nitrite, 0 ammonia. Salinity is 1.025 sg. pH is 7.9.

This was the clownfish yesterday

This is it today

The fish eats and swims normally. I gave it a freshwater dip before today's photo to see if any of the white dots would fall off but it was to no avail. This clownfish is currently in a different aquarium as my other clownfish seems fine.

Your clown is a little thin. With brook, it will be wobble swim instead of normal swim motion. Generally there is also loss of appetite and heavy breathing. The color looks a little faded but does not confirm brook. Assure good water quality and if there is question of brook, you can safely add ruby rally pro which is reef safe and will address brook If there is an onset

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi all,
I got this clownfish from PetCo (5 days ago). My other clownfish (not from PetCo) seems fine.
The tank has 3 ppm Nitrate, 0 nitrite, 0 ammonia. Salinity is 1.025 sg. pH is 7.9.

This was the clownfish yesterday

This is it today

The fish eats and swims normally. I gave it a freshwater dip before today's photo to see if any of the white dots would fall off but it was to no avail. This clownfish is currently in a different aquarium as my other clownfish seems fine.

Can you post a video? As @vetteguy53081 mentioned, swimming behavior is a good way to tell if a fish has Brooklynella.

Jay

 

[vslivinskis]

Can you post a video? As @vetteguy53081 mentioned, swimming behavior is a good way to tell if a fish has Brooklynella.

Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That does look like the start of Brooklynella. formalin is the best treatment for that, but it is toxic to people and difficult to source.

Metroplex has been used for this, as well as chloroquine.

Here is a link:

Brooklynella

Brooklynella hostilis What You Need To Know: * This is most often seen in clownfish, but it can afflict any fish. The fish’s skin will appear to be peeling or sloughing off, oftentimes causing excessive white mucous to form around the affected area(s). * Treatment of choice is a 45 minute...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[vslivinskis]

That does look like the start of Brooklynella. formalin is the best treatment for that, but it is toxic to people and difficult to source.

Metroplex has been used for this, as well as chloroquine.

Here is a link:

Brooklynella

Brooklynella hostilis What You Need To Know: * This is most often seen in clownfish, but it can afflict any fish. The fish’s skin will appear to be peeling or sloughing off, oftentimes causing excessive white mucous to form around the affected area(s). * Treatment of choice is a 45 minute...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

Thank you for the information.

What are the chances my other fish has it? It looks very healthy.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

What are the chances my other fish has it? It looks very healthy.

How long were the two fish together - they are isolated now, right?

Jay

 

[vslivinskis]

How long were the two fish together - they are isolated now, right?

Jay

They've been together for 5 days and are now isolated. The other clownfish seems normal and does not have any spots on it.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

They've been together for 5 days and are now isolated. The other clownfish seems normal and does not have any spots on it.

Well - it's a lot like people exposed to germs - you cannot really tell if exposure will lead to an infection or not. Brooklynella is one that is not very infective, I've seen it active in aquariums where only one or two fish out of a group get it. Fingers crossed!

Jay

 

[vslivinskis]

Well - it's a lot like people exposed to germs - you cannot really tell if exposure will lead to an infection or not. Brooklynella is one that is not very infective, I've seen it active in aquariums where only one or two fish out of a group get it. Fingers crossed!

Jay

Update:

I left for Thanksgiving. The snowflake CF had no white dots. I came back and both CF had white dots. I bought Imagitarium Bacterial Remedy as the PetCo near me didn't have the API one.

30min after adding some of the remedy my fish looked 50% better. Today in the morning they looked great with almost no dots and eating a lot.

 

[Spare time]

You can also use paraguard as an alternative to formalin.

 

[MiZuboov]

You can also use paraguard as an alternative to formalin.

How is it possible that the a remedy for parasites kills infusoria (for example, ich), but does not kill biological filtration (as it says on the package)?

 

[Spare time]

How is it possible that the a remedy for parasites kills infusoria (for example, ich), but does not kill biological filtration (as it says on the package)?

First I don't think it's at all helpful for marine ich (it's ingredients are an aldehyde and malachite green). However bacteria are sensitive to different things than protozoans. For example, copper doesn't keep kill off bacteria that maintain nitrogen cycles but harms marine ich. The exact mechanistic difference in why one survives but not the other, I don't know. Also, what may kill, let's say, gram positive bacteria, may not harm gram negative (which I believe nitrifires are).


It's also important to know that companies, like seachem, have been known to make statements without anything to back them up or with poor data.