Uronema stays forever in the tank

[potatocouch]

How many of us had Uronema in our tank? I'm sure lots of us.
How many of us believe they never ever have Uronema in their tank but in fact they do?
I mean Uronema can come in any form or shape, right? It can be from fishes, corals, live rocks or even live sands or substrates.

From what I understood from my "Google Research" for the past few days or so, the only way to tackle Uronema is by doing formalin, right?
And of course you will never QT your corals with formalin? fishes maybe but even so, formalin is so dangerous to humans that we normally leave it to the experts to do it.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that how can a reefer tank be completely free from Uronema in this hobby? I feel like it is just impossible. We keep the passion and fire in this hobby by every now and then introducing new inhabitants otherwise being stagnant is just ..... what they say boring. When you introduce anything really into your tank, there is a chance that Uronema comes with it. Formalin everything?

Once you have Uronema in the tank, there is no fallow period to tackle it. Perhaps if you're keen then to take out everything from your DT and then formalin the hell your DT, rinse, burn it then start over but how many of us really do that?

This post is out of frustration from debating with a friend of mine who insists that in this hobby, you can be Uronema-free which I completely disagree and perhaps you can back him up or back me up here.

Ich-free, Brook-free yes perhaps, just fallow it but Uronema-free? really? I think even your LFS may have traces of Uronema in their tanks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

How many of us had Uronema in our tank? I'm sure lots of us.
How many of us believe they never ever have Uronema in their tank but in fact they do?
I mean Uronema can come in any form or shape, right? It can be from fishes, corals, live rocks or even live sands or substrates.

From what I understood from my "Google Research" for the past few days or so, the only way to tackle Uronema is by doing formalin, right?
And of course you will never QT your corals with formalin? fishes maybe but even so, formalin is so dangerous to humans that we normally leave it to the experts to do it.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that how can a reefer tank be completely free from Uronema in this hobby? I feel like it is just impossible. We keep the passion and fire in this hobby by every now and then introducing new inhabitants otherwise being stagnant is just ..... what they say boring. When you introduce anything really into your tank, there is a chance that Uronema comes with it. Formalin everything?

Once you have Uronema in the tank, there is no fallow period to tackle it. Perhaps if you're keen then to take out everything from your DT and then formalin the hell your DT, rinse, burn it then start over but how many of us really do that?

This post is out of frustration from debating with a friend of mine who insists that in this hobby, you can be Uronema-free which I completely disagree and perhaps you can back him up or back me up here.

Ich-free, Brook-free yes perhaps, just fallow it but Uronema-free? really? I think even your LFS may have traces of Uronema in their tanks.

Uronema while it can spread is generally confined to a fish and is an oval ciliated motile protozoan which causes tissue necrosis on fish. It 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.

 

[cdnco2004]

It can be removed from a tank. I have read reports of people who have done so, and proof was via the eDNA tests that look for the presence in the tank water. A lot more about it on Humble.fish. Number of threads that go into different treatments.

 

[threebuoys]

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

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

How many of us had Uronema in our tank? I'm sure lots of us.
How many of us believe they never ever have Uronema in their tank but in fact they do?
I mean Uronema can come in any form or shape, right? It can be from fishes, corals, live rocks or even live sands or substrates.

From what I understood from my "Google Research" for the past few days or so, the only way to tackle Uronema is by doing formalin, right?
And of course you will never QT your corals with formalin? fishes maybe but even so, formalin is so dangerous to humans that we normally leave it to the experts to do it.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that how can a reefer tank be completely free from Uronema in this hobby? I feel like it is just impossible. We keep the passion and fire in this hobby by every now and then introducing new inhabitants otherwise being stagnant is just ..... what they say boring. When you introduce anything really into your tank, there is a chance that Uronema comes with it. Formalin everything?

Once you have Uronema in the tank, there is no fallow period to tackle it. Perhaps if you're keen then to take out everything from your DT and then formalin the hell your DT, rinse, burn it then start over but how many of us really do that?

This post is out of frustration from debating with a friend of mine who insists that in this hobby, you can be Uronema-free which I completely disagree and perhaps you can back him up or back me up here.

Ich-free, Brook-free yes perhaps, just fallow it but Uronema-free? really? I think even your LFS may have traces of Uronema in their tanks.

Uronema is a protozoan that normally is free living and feeds on bacteria. Nobody knows how it gets inside of fish and acts as a parasite, but it seems to happen during the fish's travel through the supply chain. Virtually all internal uronema cases we see here are in newly acquired fish (less than 40 days).

Uronema is found free living in most established aquariums.

Jay

 

[exnisstech]

This post is out of frustration from debating with a friend of mine who insists that in this hobby, you can be Uronema-free which I completely disagree and perhaps you can back him up or back me up here.

No scientific evidence but I have multiple tanks and have never had uronema in 8 years. So I'm siding with your friend

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

No scientific evidence but I have multiple tanks and have never had uronema in 8 years. So I'm siding with your friend

Have you sent samples out to AquaBiomics? You won't get internal Uronema infections in long term captive fish, just the newly acquired ones. That means that the Uronema organism may well be living passively in your tanks, just feeding on bacteria.

Here is a story: when I was an aquarist at the Shedd Aquarium, my curator let me start to do some necropsies. I found that a good proportion of them showed Uronema microscopically on the dead fish. I began logging the deaths as due to "Uronema". My curator smiled and had me hang a piece of smelt in one of the tanks overnight. Indeed, the next day it was covered in Uronema. He explained that they moved onto the smelt to feed on the bacteria that was living on it.

Jay

 

[exnisstech]

Have you sent samples out to AquaBiomics? You won't get internal Uronema infections in long term captive fish, just the newly acquired ones. That means that the Uronema organism may well be living passively in your tanks, just feeding on bacteria.

Here is a story: when I was an aquarist at the Shedd Aquarium, my curator let me start to do some necropsies. I found that a good proportion of them showed Uronema microscopically on the dead fish. I began logging the deaths as due to "Uronema". My curator smiled and had me hang a piece of smelt in one of the tanks overnight. Indeed, the next day it was covered in Uronema. He explained that they moved onto the smelt to feed on the bacteria that was living on it.

Jay

Very interesting. I've have not sent out a sample. I'm the kind of person that only addresses known issues and does not look for possible issues. Probably not wise but at 63 years old I haven't seen a doctor in over 35 years so I'm sticking with the plan

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Very interesting. I've have not sent out a sample. I'm the kind of person that only addresses known issues and does not look for possible issues. Probably not wise but at 63 years old I haven't seen a doctor in over 35 years so I'm sticking with the plan

I guess my point it: Uronema free living in an aquarium isn't an issue at all, so no reason to look for it!

 

[exnisstech]

I guess my point it: Uronema free living in an aquarium isn't an issue at all, so no reason to look for it!

Thanks for clarifying . I misunderstood, which is nothing new for me

 

[dennis romano]

Have you sent samples out to AquaBiomics? You won't get internal Uronema infections in long term captive fish, just the newly acquired ones. That means that the Uronema organism may well be living passively in your tanks, just feeding on bacteria.

Here is a story: when I was an aquarist at the Shedd Aquarium, my curator let me start to do some necropsies. I found that a good proportion of them showed Uronema microscopically on the dead fish. I began logging the deaths as due to "Uronema". My curator smiled and had me hang a piece of smelt in one of the tanks overnight. Indeed, the next day it was covered in Uronema. He explained that they moved onto the smelt to feed on the bacteria that was living on it.

Jay

After reading your posts, can we theorize that possible rough handling, such as being hit with a net, during the supply chain may be a cause of Uronema death? A relatively dainty fish such as a chromis, as opposed to a more substantial fish like an angel, may sustain an internal bruise that may be attacked by the Uronema.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

After reading your posts, can we theorize that possible rough handling, such as being hit with a net, during the supply chain may be a cause of Uronema death? A relatively dainty fish such as a chromis, as opposed to a more substantial fish like an angel, may sustain an internal bruise that may be attacked by the Uronema.

My current hypothesis is that the fish develop an internal bacterial infection, and then the Uronema get inside the fish during crowded shipping conditions. There, the Uronema multiply to feed on the bacteria, and just don't stop, soon consuming the fish muscle tissue as well.

Jay

 

[potatocouch]

He explained that they moved onto the smelt to feed on the bacteria that was living on it.

Are we saying that they (the Uronema) moved onto the smelt and you can take out that smelt from the tank and Uronema gone from your tank?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Are we saying that they (the Uronema) moved onto the smelt and you can take out that smelt from the tank and Uronema gone from your tank?

No - they reproduce way too fast to do that. My point was just that Uronema is a natural part of the microfauna in marine aquariums.

 

[potatocouch]

No - they reproduce way too fast to do that. My point was just that Uronema is a natural part of the microfauna in marine aquariums.

right, so prevention (of Uronema that is) is almost impossible then in his reefing hobby.

So I win in this debate/discussion with my fellow friend. I need to show him this thread.

 

[piranhaman00]

Are we saying that they (the Uronema) moved onto the smelt and you can take out that smelt from the tank and Uronema gone from your tank?

lol for real?

 

[potatocouch]

lol for real?

I thought it's for real, mate

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

right, so prevention (of Uronema that is) is almost impossible then in his reefing hobby.

So I win in this debate/discussion with my fellow friend. I need to show him this thread.

Prevention of active internal Uronema infections is accomplished by avoiding the species that are prone to it when first shipped in: green chromis, orange anthias, yellow wrasse make up the vast majority of cases…if you do buy these, buy them at least 45 days after importation, like buying them pre quarantined.

 

[cdnco2004]

They are opportunistic and mostly are only able to affect fish with a weakened immune system, which is pretty standard with fish traversing the supply chain from the stress of it all. I think its extremely common in aquaria.

You can treat fish that have the infection. I was able to treat a number of my chromis who had a number of the open red wounds but we were able to save them.