Is the this the ill fated uronemea?

Gianluca · Aug 30, 2023

My roommate put some chromis i ordered into my DT Instead of QT while I was out. When I got back one of the five chromis I ordered had this nasty cut on it. I am hoping it isn't uronemea. Is it? I'm gonna try and look at it under a microscope tomorrow. If it is.. what now?
(I managed to get all the chromis out of the DT and into QT)

mguantes · Aug 30, 2023

That honestly looks like a bit or he got frightened and hit a rock.

mguantes · Aug 30, 2023

I’ve had fish with Uronema before but never an open wound. That looks terrible, do the other chromis have any signs?

blecki · Aug 30, 2023

Uronema causes sores. That looks like a wound, and a pretty nasty one. I can't see how the fish would manage to do that to itself, so do you have any tangs or pistol shrimp in the tank?

Gianluca · Aug 30, 2023

blecki said:
Uronema causes sores. That looks like a wound, and a pretty nasty one. I can't see how the fish would manage to do that to itself, so do you have any tangs or pistol shrimp in the tank?

Only livestock in the tank are other chromis, Clownfish, cleaner shrimp, snails, dwarf hermits, and an emerald crab. I don't think the crab could do that kind of damage. Could I have a secret hitchhiker?

blecki · Aug 30, 2023

Maybe. A hermit or emerald crab could take a chunk out of a fish if they caught it. It's hard to tell from the picture how large (or small) this guy is - I'm looking at my chromis that are all 3.5" but I know these guys are usually sold tiny. Maybe a really bad net injury by your roommate? Maybe the fish was already on the way out allowing the crab to get at it? Maybe it died of something else entirely and the cut is post-mortem? Or I could just be wrong and it's uronema BUT if it was then the fish had that in the bag - the sore does not develop instantly.

I only asked about tangs because the yellow tang I used to have would occasionally slice open a new addition he didn't like.

Gianluca · Aug 30, 2023

blecki said:
Maybe. A hermit or emerald crab could take a chunk out of a fish if they caught it. It's hard to tell from the picture how large (or small) this guy is - I'm looking at my chromis that are all 3.5" but I know these guys are usually sold tiny. Maybe a really bad net injury by your roommate? Maybe the fish was already on the way out allowing the crab to get at it? Maybe it died of something else entirely and the cut is post-mortem? Or I could just be wrong and it's uronema BUT if it was then the fish had that in the bag - the sore does not develop instantly.

I only asked about tangs because the yellow tang I used to have would occasionally slice open a new addition he didn't like.

Yeah the fish is real young, maybe a little over an inch. I could see my roommate injuring him with the net and the crab taking advantage of that. According to my roommate no marking were on him in the bag so yeah maybe the crab got them. I am relieved to hear it's not uronema. It didn't look like it but that is a relief. I am gonna keep my eye out for the crab and I might sump him for now if I can find him again

To(meany)Tang · Aug 30, 2023

I would say that's uronema

Gianluca · Aug 30, 2023

To(meany)Tang said:
I would say that's uronema

Oh man I really hope not. I got them back into QT, is there anything I can do if this is the case? I'll hopefully find out for sure tomorrow when I look under a microscope

vetteguy53081 · Aug 30, 2023

Gianluca said:
My roommate put some chromis i ordered into my DT Instead of QT while I was out. When I got back one of the five chromis I ordered had this nasty cut on it. I am hoping it isn't uronemea. Is it? I'm gonna try and look at it under a microscope tomorrow. If it is.. what now?
(I managed to get all the chromis out of the DT and into QT)

This is Uronema yes which is an elongated oval ciliated motile protozoan which causes this sore and angled downwards developing a red mark forming in the skin and muscle area of fish. Often it can be caused by exposure to other fish as well as low salinity, uneaten food in bedding and poor water quality and mainly affects newer acquired chromis

vetteguy53081 · Aug 30, 2023

Gianluca said:
Oh man I really hope not. I got them back into QT, is there anything I can do if this is the case? I'll hopefully find out for sure tomorrow when I look under a microscope

Often not once it occurs as medication will not reach area which the issue is spreading inside the fish’s tissue. Chloroquine Phosphate is good for prevention along with maintaining a clean tank bottom

Gianluca · Aug 30, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
This is Uronema yes which is an elongated oval ciliated motile protozoan which causes this sore and angled downwards developing a red mark forming in the skin and muscle area of fish. Often it can be caused by exposure to other fish as well as low salinity, uneaten food in bedding and poor water quality and mainly affects newer acquired chromis

I got the survivors out of the DT as fast as possible and into a QT, what can I do from here? Is my tank now contaminated? They were in shipping for about 3 days so I could see that resulting in the infection. I did check my prams and everything looks normal

vetteguy53081 · Aug 30, 2023

Gianluca said:
I got the survivors out of the DT as fast as possible and into a QT, what can I do from here? Is my tank now contaminated? They were in shipping for about 3 days so I could see that resulting in the infection. I did check my prams and everything looks normal

You can use chloroquine phosphate or a 60 min Ruby Rally Pro bath. Formalin is the best treatment but hard to find as long as its not spreading within tissue of fish. You will see early signs of that if present

Gianluca · Aug 30, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Often not once it occurs as medication will not reach area which the issue is spreading inside the fish’s tissue. Chloroquine Phosphate is good for prevention along with maintaining a clean tank bottom

Would that harm any of my inverts? If I were to treat the DT, would it help to put in the QT? Or do I just wait it out

vetteguy53081 · Aug 30, 2023

Gianluca said:
Would that harm any of my inverts? If I were to treat the DT, would it help to put in the QT? Or do I just wait it out

CP not invert safe but ruby Rally Pro is and best as a preventative but if other fish look clear- Ruby is a good gamble

Gianluca · Aug 30, 2023

mguantes said:
I’ve had fish with Uronema before but never an open wound. That looks terrible, do the other chromis have any signs?

Other chromis show no signs as of right now

To(meany)Tang · Aug 30, 2023

Gianluca said:
Oh man I really hope not. I got them back into QT, is there anything I can do if this is the case? I'll hopefully find out for sure tomorrow when I look under a microscope

It not the end of the world. I thought it was when i first got it lol....Bleach everything and start over or learn to coexist with it. My tank got it from a purple queen anthias. Killed a couple of my fish but then calmed down. I've been running uronema for about 8 months now with no fish loss so far. Healthy diet and water quality helps manage.

blecki · Aug 31, 2023

Uronema manifesting in a single day as a bloody gash? Still seems unlikely.

The normal symptoms are a red sore with scale loss around the edges. The fish can continue to swim and eat normally with this sore for days. https://www.google.com/search?sca_e...4BHU6hCcIQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=1920&bih=973&dpr=2

Lbrdsoxfan · Aug 31, 2023

Screams wound to me from the photos. Uronema is blotchy pink streaks with missing scales.

Either case, if your keeping chromis (or even anthias) for that matter the chance is high that uronema is in the display, ime. Its just one of those I dont worry about too much.

Jay Hemdal · Aug 31, 2023

Gianluca said:
My roommate put some chromis i ordered into my DT Instead of QT while I was out. When I got back one of the five chromis I ordered had this nasty cut on it. I am hoping it isn't uronemea. Is it? I'm gonna try and look at it under a microscope tomorrow. If it is.. what now?
(I managed to get all the chromis out of the DT and into QT)

Rarely do I give 100% definitive diagnoses, but in this case, it is clearly Uronema. The angled lesion, the species involved and the open mouth all point to that. You likely will not see any of these protozoans in the lesion the day after the fish has died unless you kept the fish in seawater.

While other green chromis in the group may develop this issue (they may already be carrying it) it is not super contagious to the other fish.

Here is my article on this topic:

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...

www.reef2reef.com