Looking for help with an ID and treatment plan..

[gideon2086]

Hey all,

Registered here for the sole purpose of seeking help.. LFS is fairly stumped.

The black clown started with a white patch over one eye. It has since spread to his chin and a small part of a fin. Unsure if it's fungal, bacterial or a parasite. I appreciate any and all advice.

 

[HotRocks]

Man, I am a bit stumped by this one.

Looks like lympho on the fins. The eye is more concerning. Have you given the fish a 5 min FW dip to see if you can provide any relief? The eye looks infected.

@4FordFamily @Humblefish

Lymphocystis

Lymphocystis What You Need To Know: * This is a virus that many fish carry for life. The white nodules (cauliflower-like growths) can grow both externally and internally; so symptoms are not always visible. * There is no known cure for Lympho. However, feeding vitamin-enriched foods and...

www.reef2reef.com

Freshwater Dip

Freshwater Dip What It Treats – Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases: 1) Marine Velvet Disease (Amyloodinium ocellatum) 2) Brooklynella hostilis 3) Uronema marinum 4) Flukes (Monogeneans) 5) Black Ich (Turbellarians) Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes (see video...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[melanotaenia]

I would get him out of the tank so he can be treated properly and not infect the other fish

 

[gideon2086]

Man, I am a bit stumped by this one.

Looks like lympho on the fins. The eye is more concerning. Have you given the fish a 5 min FW dip to see if you can provide any relief? The eye looks infected.

@4FordFamily @Humblefish

Lymphocystis

Lymphocystis What You Need To Know: * This is a virus that many fish carry for life. The white nodules (cauliflower-like growths) can grow both externally and internally; so symptoms are not always visible. * There is no known cure for Lympho. However, feeding vitamin-enriched foods and...

www.reef2reef.com

Freshwater Dip

Freshwater Dip What It Treats – Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases: 1) Marine Velvet Disease (Amyloodinium ocellatum) 2) Brooklynella hostilis 3) Uronema marinum 4) Flukes (Monogeneans) 5) Black Ich (Turbellarians) Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes (see video...

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks for the reply. I haven’t tried a FW dip. I’m new to the hobby and this is my first issue so I’m learning a lot as I go here. I’ve been alternating myaplex and kanoplex (sp for both) mixed with focus in their food as I have coral and inverts in the tank.

I’m having serious issues getting the clown out of the tank because of the rockwork.

 

[HotRocks]

It will probably take antibiotics in the water column to get this cleared up from the looks of it. You would only want to use antibiotics in a QT.

You might try a fish trap, they work pretty well.

 

[gideon2086]

It will probably take antibiotics in the water column to get this cleared up from the looks of it. You would only want to use antibiotics in a QT.

You might try a fish trap, they work pretty well.

Thank you, is there an antibiotic and a fish trap that you recommend? Is the seachem antibacterial that I mentioned sufficient?

 

[Humblefish]

That's either a Columnaris-like (Flavobacterium) bacterial infection or a rare marine fungal infection.

I would give the fish either a 90 minute Ruby Reef Rally bath (Acriflavine is very effective against fungus) OR a 60 minute Methylene Blue bath.

Afterwards you'll want to treat in QT with a ABX that has both antibacterial + antifungal properties:

• Any of the sulfa drugs e.g. Sulfaplex or Triple Sulfa
• Kanaplex + Furan-2 OR AAP Spectrogram

No matter which ABX you use, I would also add Metroplex to the mix because these are clowns so Brook could be the underlying problem.

 

[gideon2086]

That's either a Columnaris-like (Flavobacterium) bacterial infection or a rare marine fungal infection.

I would give the fish either a 90 minute Ruby Reef Rally bath (Acriflavine is very effective against fungus) OR a 60 minute Methylene Blue bath.

Afterwards you'll want to treat in QT with a ABX that has both antibacterial + antifungal properties:

• Any of the sulfa drugs e.g. Sulfaplex or Triple Sulfa
• Kanaplex + Furan-2 OR AAP Spectrogram

No matter which ABX you use, I would also add Metroplex to the mix because these are clowns so Brook could be the underlying problem.

Thank you very much, lots of big words that I am not yet familiar with. Out of the two bath options.. which do you recommend?

 

[4FordFamily]

That's either a Columnaris-like (Flavobacterium) bacterial infection or a rare marine fungal infection.

I would give the fish either a 90 minute Ruby Reef Rally bath (Acriflavine is very effective against fungus) OR a 60 minute Methylene Blue bath.

Afterwards you'll want to treat in QT with a ABX that has both antibacterial + antifungal properties:

• Any of the sulfa drugs e.g. Sulfaplex or Triple Sulfa
• Kanaplex + Furan-2 OR AAP Spectrogram

No matter which ABX you use, I would also add Metroplex to the mix because these are clowns so Brook could be the underlying problem.

This man I will defer to always. I was thinking this one might actually be fungal as well, which is quite uncommon in marine fish. Thanks Bobby!

 

[gideon2086]

Thanks for all the help fellas. I should add that he’s acting completely fine. eating and swimming as normal.

 

[Humblefish]

Thank you very much, lots of big words that I am not yet familiar with. Out of the two bath options.. which do you recommend?

The 90 min Ruby Reef Rally bath would be optimal. API Fungus Cure also contains acriflavine and might be easier to find.

 

[gideon2086]

The 90 min Ruby Reef Rally bath would be optimal. API Fungus Cure also contains acriflavine and might be easier to find.

Thank you. I ordered Ruby on amazon. Setting up a QT now.

 

[gideon2086]

Looking through everything and I feel very confident that this is Lympho. Is it possible that it grew over his eye? It’s certainly raised on his eye and body, and it has a cauliflower appearance.

 

[gideon2086]

As an update: I was able to get the clown into a QT. I dosed it with Kanaflex and saw results in less than an hour. The white (including on the eye) spots are almost entirely gone at this point. I'm going to give it two days and hit him with one more dose to play it safe.. but wow, that stuff worked fast. The Ruby Reef comes in tomorrow as does the other anti fungal. I'll likely do the 30 min bath before I return him to the tank on Monday.. if all goes as expected.

Thanks again for the help everyone.

 

[Humblefish]

@gideon2086 For Kanaplex to work that fast it has to be fungus. Antibiotics are notoriously slow acting with bacterial infections and have no efficacy against viruses.

I would keep him in Kanaplex (dosing every 48 hours) for at least 10 days. It wouldn’t surprise me for small infections to pop up where the fungus was, so being in ABX is the best thing for him right now.

 

[gideon2086]

@gideon2086 For Kanaplex to work that fast it has to be fungus. Antibiotics are notoriously slow acting with bacterial infections and have no efficacy against viruses.

I would keep him in Kanaplex (dosing every 48 hours) for at least 10 days. It wouldn’t surprise me for small infections to pop up where the fungus was, so being in ABX is the best thing for him right now.

Doh, I put him back in the main tank. He seemed to be acting distressed in the QT. A QT tank will be safe for 10 days with just a heater and an air stone, correct? Sorry for the amateur questions - new to this.

 

[Humblefish]

Doh, I put him back in the main tank. He seemed to be acting distressed in the QT. A QT tank will be safe for 10 days with just a heater and an air stone, correct? Sorry for the amateur questions - new to this.

You will need to control ammonia either via water changes and/or Prime or Amquel.

 

[gideon2086]

@gideon2086 For Kanaplex to work that fast it has to be fungus. Antibiotics are notoriously slow acting with bacterial infections and have no efficacy against viruses.

I would keep him in Kanaplex (dosing every 48 hours) for at least 10 days. It wouldn’t surprise me for small infections to pop up where the fungus was, so being in ABX is the best thing for him right now.

Once again, thank you. Unsure how that happened.. conditions in the tank are pristine. Weekly water changes, protein skimmer, oversized HOB filter...