Velvet... I think...

[Indytraveler83]

Today was an off day as far as meds. Just fed and observed. The clowns started the morning looking really ragged and appeared to have some fuzziness on them, but again improved through the day. I can’t tell if they are fighting infection, or if it’s damaged cells that come off in the morning, then heal during the day.

Breathing remains steady, though they were a tad more lethargic today than yesterday. Still readily eating.

The mollies remain free of symptoms, and at this point I cannot tell they were sick at all. All other fish remain symptom free.

 

[Auto-pilot]

Have you given them a freshwater dip??If so did it help??

 

[Indytraveler83]

Have you given them a freshwater dip??If so did it help??

I performed a freshwater bath when I very first noticed symptoms. It seemed to remove most of the visual white tufts/spots, but did little to assist in breathing/behavior.

At the 24 hr mark, I did a ruby reef rally bath, which dramatically improved respiratory distress and seemed to cause them to regain their appetite that night.

I have not performed any further baths, as behavior has remained consistent and no further signs of respiratory distress.

Each day seems to start with the clowns looking sort of ragged and disheveled, but by evening they look almost unaffiliated. The good news is each day they look better and better. For now, I’m just going to continue the every other day metro treatment, unless something seems off or others recommend something different.

As it is, I’d say mon/tues was the worst, and they’ve been slowly gaining since then.

 

[Auto-pilot]

That's good! Don't be afraid to perform another FW dip to relieve the fish if they are stressed. Might help speed up their recovery especially if they have brook

 

[Indytraveler83]

That's good! Don't be afraid to perform another FW dip to relieve the fish if they are stressed. Might help speed up their recovery especially if they have brook

Will do, I’ll keep that tool available.

I’m still unsure of what actually happened. I’m wondering if there was aggression involving the blenny that I didn’t see. I assumed velvet or brook because of how fast he went downhill, but I discounted the possibility of injuries.

I’ve been red light hunting at night, and haven’t seen any devious hitchhikers- so I’m still not entirely sure what is going on

Doesn’t help that the clowns are white, so I can’t really tell what’s going on, and the mollies are black and prone to sliming up whenever stressed.

 

[Indytraveler83]

Will do, I’ll keep that tool available.

I’m still unsure of what actually happened. I’m wondering if there was aggression involving the blenny that I didn’t see. I assumed velvet or brook because of how fast he went downhill, but I discounted the possibility of injuries.

I’ve been red light hunting at night, and haven’t seen any devious hitchhikers- so I’m still not entirely sure what is going on

Doesn’t help that the clowns are white, so I can’t really tell what’s going on, and the mollies are black and prone to sliming up whenever stressed.

Today everyone looked good. It’s an off day for meds, but as they are now I wouldn’t have known they were sick. Going to do a water change tomorrow as the qt water is looking a bit cloudy.

Tomorrow is the last day of meds, then I’ll probably observe for at least another 7 days.

 

[Indytraveler83]

Today was the last day of treatment. I gave them one more measure of metro. Decided against the water change today, as I want to use it tomorrow to help dilute the meds out. (Also screwed up and need to make more saltwater...)

We are symptom free for 2 days and so far no other fish have showed any symptoms at all.

 

[Auto-pilot]

Wow that's great! Glad to hear you were able to get your clowns back into shape.

 

[Indytraveler83]

Wow that's great! Glad to hear you were able to get your clowns back into shape.

I’m still wondering if it was actually Brooke or velvet, or if it was a severe bacterial issue I didn’t notice right away.

I think tomorrow I’m gonna do a large water change in qt, then give them at least week longer to be sure they don’t display symptoms before returning them to the display.

 

[Auto-pilot]

I would guess brook not velvet. If it were velvet everyone would have been effected. Velvet is super contagious. Velvet can also kill a fish in one or two days after it shows symptoms. Sometimes even if you treat for velvet they still die. I would say it's not velvet as copper is what really takes care of it.

 

[Indytraveler83]

Well I was hoping to return the fish from QT this weekend...

But today one of the clowns started showing what appears to be signs of a fungal infection. I did another water change, then started treating with Kanaplex. Hopefully I caught this early enough to not dramatically alter the outcome for them.

Btw- keeping a bare bones qt tank stable is far more challenging than keeping an established tank, ugh...

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Well I was hoping to return the fish from QT this weekend...

But today one of the clowns started showing what appears to be signs of a fungal infection. I did another water change, then started treating with Kanaplex. Hopefully I caught this early enough to not dramatically alter the outcome for them.

Btw- keeping a bare bones qt tank stable is far more challenging than keeping an established tank, ugh...

Can you post a pic of the clown? Fungal infections are extremely rare in SW. bacterial are much more common.

 

[Indytraveler83]

Can you post a pic of the clown? Fungal infections are extremely rare in SW. bacterial are much more common.

I tried to get a pic but it’s moving around far too much. It’s just a little white patch on the underside of the mouth

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

I tried to get a pic but it’s moving around far too much. It’s just a little white patch on the underside of the mouth

Is he still in QT?

 

[Indytraveler83]

Is he still in QT?

Yes. Both clowns and both mollies are still in QT, I was hoping to at least get 7 days without meds or symptoms before putting back in the DT

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

If he’s developing a bacterial infection I would continue the Metro with the Kanaplex and also add Furan 2 so you have a very broad spectrum treatment. Here is a link on what is called the trifecta. Obviously would need to be done in QT

. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dosing-the-trifecta.386582/

 

[Indytraveler83]

Thanks. I’ll watch closely to see how things go, and get some more extensive treatment in the tank. Thought they were clear... ugh!

 

[Terry Mattson]

On catching DT fish needing removal, buy a good fish trap. They work.... with a little patience.

 

[Indytraveler83]

Finally got a picture of the clown with the growth on its lip. It appeared overnight and so far has gotten very slowly better. Is this an injury rather than an illness?

(Ignore the animals position in the tank. The only way I could photograph it was to flip on the lights when it was sleeping)

 

[Auto-pilot]

Hey it still looks like brook to me. Not 100% sure but maybe others have a little bit of input for you. Do another FW dip and see if it helps