red sore on green chromis. Ammonia issue or Uronema?

spankyspam · Jul 16, 2023

He’s had this sore for a few days. Test for ammonia are all good. Could it just be bad test and there’s an ammonia issue? Or is it something worse?

spankyspam · Jul 16, 2023

spankyspam said:
He’s had this sore for a few days. Test for ammonia are all good. Could it just be bad test and there’s an ammonia issue? Or is it something worse?

I’ll try to get better pictures right now, just wanted to get something up asap

spankyspam · Jul 16, 2023

spankyspam said:
I’ll try to get better pictures right now, just wanted to get something up asap

threebuoys · Jul 16, 2023

I fear this looks like uronema which is common for this species. Really nothing you can do to effectively treat.

vetteguy53081 · Jul 16, 2023

spankyspam said:
He’s had this sore for a few days. Test for ammonia are all good. Could it just be bad test and there’s an ammonia issue? Or is it something worse?

Unfortunately this is the typical location and oval shape of uronema disease which affects Chromis, butterflies and others. As mentioned , its an oval ciliated motile protozoan which causes tissue necrosis as seen on fish. What other fish are in the tank?
This can also be triggered by low salinity levels as well as excess food waste on tank bottom which this protozoan can feed on as often prevention can be more valuable than cure for this.
Fish will have to be quarantined and treated with formalin based treatment which is harder to find, so next option is Ruby rally Pro. Chloroquine Phosphate will also work but must be used precisely. Uronema is not an obligate parasite, and can thrive on bacteria, uneaten food, and waste so besides treatment also maintain a clean tank removing waste daily.
To touch up more on this disease which is an oval ciliated motile protozoan that causes tissue necrosis as seen on fish.
What other fish are in the tank?
This can also be triggered by low salinity levels as well as excess food waste on tank bottom which this protozoan can feed on as often prevention can be more valuable than cure for this

TunaSpamOnRye · Jul 16, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Unfortunately this is the typical location and oval shape of uronema disease which affects Chromis, butterflies and others. As mentioned , its an oval ciliated motile protozoan which causes tissue necrosis as seen on fish. What other fish are in the tank?
This can also be triggered by low salinity levels as well as excess food waste on tank bottom which this protozoan can feed on as often prevention can be more valuable than cure for this.
Fish will have to be quarantined and treated with formalin based treatment which is harder to find, so next option is Ruby rally Pro. Chloroquine Phosphate will also work but must be used precisely. Uronema is not an obligate parasite, and can thrive on bacteria, uneaten food, and waste so besides treatment also maintain a clean tank removing waste daily.
To touch up more on this disease which is an oval ciliated motile protozoan that causes tissue necrosis as seen on fish.
What other fish are in the tank?
This can also be triggered by low salinity levels as well as excess food waste on tank bottom which this protozoan can feed on as often prevention can be more valuable than cure for this

In similar boat. Have 1 chromis with this. And Have a few snails. What is the best course of action going forward?
(Nice name OP. (; The meat that won the war)

threebuoys · Jul 16, 2023

Jay Hemdal has an excellent article on this subject you should read. Just search for uronema in articles.

TunaSpamOnRye · Jul 16, 2023

TunaSpamOnRye said:
threebuoys said:

Jay Hemdal has an excellent article on this subject you should read. Just search for uronema in

Click to expand...

What about the impacted fish? Should I put him in a QT tank or is it more humane to put him down ?

TunaSpamOnRye · Jul 16, 2023

threebuoys said:
Jay Hemdal has an excellent article on this subject you should read. Just search for uronema in articles.

Thx a lot btw and sorry to hijack thread. Litterally just found this forum. It’s amazing.

Jay Hemdal · Jul 16, 2023

spankyspam said:
He’s had this sore for a few days. Test for ammonia are all good. Could it just be bad test and there’s an ammonia issue? Or is it something worse?

While the species involved and the size and location of the lesion all point to Uronema, the fish having this "for a few days" is not typical of that disease - very often, when you see the lesion, the fish dies the next day or so. Also, this lesion is a bit whiter than I would expect with Uronema.

How long has it had the lesion (in hours)?
Is it still eating?

Jay

MnFish1 · Jul 16, 2023

Could be an odd case or uronema - or an injury. Interesting case

TunaSpamOnRye · Jul 16, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
While the species involved and the size and location of the lesion all point to Uronema, the fish having this "for a few days" is not typical of that disease - very often, when you see the lesion, the fish dies the next day or so. Also, this lesion is a bit whiter than I would expect with Uronema.

How long has it had the lesion (in hours)?
Is it

MikeRowe2024 · Jul 17, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
While the species involved and the size and location of the lesion all point to Uronema, the fish having this "for a few days" is not typical of that disease - very often, when you see the lesion, the fish dies the next day or so. Also, this lesion is a bit whiter than I would expect with Uronema.

How long has it had the lesion (in hours)?
Is it still eating?

Jay

Hey it’s OP, It won’t let me login through Facebook anymore so made new account. Thanks you. He is still eating and still alive. I first noticed the wound on Wednesday, so
About 140hours ago. He swims near the Return pump a lot as well

MikeRowe2024 · Jul 17, 2023

TunaSpamOnRye said:
TunaSpamOnRye said:

In similar boat. Have 1 chromis with this. And Have a few snails. What is the best course of action going forward?
(Nice name OP. (; The meat that won the war)

Click to expand...

What about the impacted fish? Should I put him in a QT tank or is it more humane to put him down

Lol I love spam. How are your fish doing? Is the wound similar or do you think yours is more likely Urenoma?

Jay Hemdal · Jul 18, 2023

Tim Anderzyn said:
Hey it’s OP, It won’t let me login through Facebook anymore so made new account. Thanks you. He is still eating and still alive. I first noticed the wound on Wednesday, so
About 140hours ago. He swims near the Return pump a lot as well

Given that length of time, that is probably something other than Uronema then - but it still may need treatment of some sort.

Swimming into the return pump can be a sign of Velvet (along with rapid breathing) but that is another disease that kills swiftly, not in days.

Be sure the tank is well-aerated, in case the fish is doing that due to low oxygen.
Has the lesion grown larger since yesterday?

It could be a bacterial disease, but the treatment for that would be to move the fish to a treatment tank and dose with a broad spectrum. gram negative antibiotic.

Jay

MikeRowe2024 · Jul 18, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Given that length of time, that is probably something other than Uronema then - but it still may need treatment of some sort.

Swimming into the return pump can be a sign of Velvet (along with rapid breathing) but that is another disease that kills swiftly, not in days.

Be sure the tank is well-aerated, in case the fish is doing that due to low oxygen.
Has the lesion grown larger since yesterday?

It could be a bacterial disease, but the treatment for that would be to move the fish to a treatment tank and dose with a broad spectrum. gram negative antibiotic.

Jay

Hasn’t grown in size, nor decreased. It honestly looks like how a splinter looks in a human hand after you take the splinter out. If that makes sense lol. In terms of air, I have a protein skimmer and the return, Is that enough? You think I should give some time to see if heals naturally? Thanks again

Jay Hemdal · Jul 18, 2023

Tim Anderzyn said:
Hasn’t grown in size, nor decreased. It honestly looks like how a splinter looks in a human hand after you take the splinter out. If that makes sense lol. In terms of air, I have a protein skimmer and the return, Is that enough? You think I should give some time to see if heals naturally? Thanks again

Sounds like the tank has good aeration. If you see any signs of increased issues: lesion growing larger, rapid breathing, not eating, then yes, I think you need to pull it and treat with antibiotics. Otherwise, I would just watch it for now.

Jay

MikeRowe2024 · Jul 18, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Sounds like the tank has good aeration. If you see any signs of increased issues: lesion growing larger, rapid breathing, not eating, then yes, I think you need to pull it and treat with antibiotics. Otherwise, I would just watch it for now.

Jay

Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. Only thing I noticed today was long poop hanging from him. Fell off after about 30minutes of me noticing, don’t know how long it was on before

Jay Hemdal · Jul 18, 2023

Tim Anderzyn said:
Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. Only thing I noticed today was long poop hanging from him. Fell off after about 30minutes of me noticing, don’t know how long it was on before

What color was it? I don’t worry if it is brownish, but white or clear can indicate mucus or parasite issues.
Jay