What did I do wrong

[Cheems]

Hi, ive posted quite a bit on here and i have 3 main saltwater tanks I have running. Within the last few days brooklynella wiped out my whole 75 gallon except for a firefish who seems to be immune and some mollies

I hadn’t added anything in over a month, parameters were fine and nothing changed. I quarantined all fish for over a month using observation and prazipro. And before adding I did a ruby rally pro bath. I don’t understand how brooklynella just popped up out of nowhere and killed my whole tank before proper medication could get here.

I feel so defeated and I was wondering how on earth to avoid this or how you all avoid problems like this.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi, ive posted quite a bit on here and i have 3 main saltwater tanks I have running. Within the last few days brooklynella wiped out my whole 75 gallon except for a firefish who seems to be immune and some mollies

I hadn’t added anything in over a month, parameters were fine and nothing changed. I quarantined all fish for over a month using observation and prazipro. And before adding I did a ruby rally pro bath. I don’t understand how brooklynella just popped up out of nowhere and killed my whole tank before proper medication could get here.

I feel so defeated and I was wondering how on earth to avoid this or how you all avoid problems like this.

Its common with wild caught clowns and can appear out of the clear blue

 

[Cheems]

Its common with wild caught clowns and can appear out of the clear blue

I’ve never had wild caught clowns before though. Most of my fish (certainly not all) are aqua cultured

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’ve never had wild caught clowns before though. Most of my fish (certainly not all) are aqua cultured

If for sure tank raised, others would be exposure to fish and even coral carrying this kidney bean shaped parasite as well as improper tank maintenance

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi, ive posted quite a bit on here and i have 3 main saltwater tanks I have running. Within the last few days brooklynella wiped out my whole 75 gallon except for a firefish who seems to be immune and some mollies

I hadn’t added anything in over a month, parameters were fine and nothing changed. I quarantined all fish for over a month using observation and prazipro. And before adding I did a ruby rally pro bath. I don’t understand how brooklynella just popped up out of nowhere and killed my whole tank before proper medication could get here.

I feel so defeated and I was wondering how on earth to avoid this or how you all avoid problems like this.

Sorry to hear....

Brooklynella is tough to deal with. Ruby Reef dips won't cure it with a single dip (no dips are 100% effective). While Brook is most common in wild caught clowns, often, stores will mix wild and tank raised clowns in their systems, and then the tank raised ones may also catch it.

Also, you may or may not have had brook. It doesn't look like your quarantine process used copper, so the issue could have been some other protozoan issue. Copper doesn't work well against brook, but it can help stem an active infection.

You might consider revising your quarantine protocol going forward:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2024 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed, proactive quarantine process can effectively eliminate these...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[Cheems]

Sorry to hear....

Brooklynella is tough to deal with. Ruby Reef dips won't cure it with a single dip (no dips are 100% effective). While Brook is most common in wild caught clowns, often, stores will mix wild and tank raised clowns in their systems, and then the tank raised ones may also catch it.

Also, you may or may not have had brook. It doesn't look like your quarantine process used copper, so the issue could have been some other protozoan issue. Copper doesn't work well against brook, but it can help stem an active infection.

You might consider revising your quarantine protocol going forward:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2024 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed, proactive quarantine process can effectively eliminate these...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

I would agree if it was anything other than brook but I’m pretty sure it was brooklynella as it was extremely fast and didn’t give me time to react.

But yes I think in the future I’m going to try to use copper. The reason I didn’t want to use copper is because I like quarantining my inverts at the same time. Is there any way to quarantine inverts while also having a good quarantine for fish?

 

[MnFish1]

Hi, ive posted quite a bit on here and i have 3 main saltwater tanks I have running. Within the last few days brooklynella wiped out my whole 75 gallon except for a firefish who seems to be immune and some mollies

I hadn’t added anything in over a month, parameters were fine and nothing changed. I quarantined all fish for over a month using observation and prazipro. And before adding I did a ruby rally pro bath. I don’t understand how brooklynella just popped up out of nowhere and killed my whole tank before proper medication could get here.

I feel so defeated and I was wondering how on earth to avoid this or how you all avoid problems like this.

It is impossible to know for sure whether a fish that is asymptomatic may be carrying a parasite. For this reason, QT with medications is usually the best track

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I would agree if it was anything other than brook but I’m pretty sure it was brooklynella as it was extremely fast and didn’t give me time to react.

But yes I think in the future I’m going to try to use copper. The reason I didn’t want to use copper is because I like quarantining my inverts at the same time. Is there any way to quarantine inverts while also having a good quarantine for fish?

Sorry, I always avoid quarantining fish with invertebrates, it is always best to isolate the two groups during this process.

 

[Cheems]

Sorry, I always avoid quarantining fish with invertebrates, it is always best to isolate the two groups during this process.

Interesting. How do you quarantine inverts?

 

[Dom]

I would suggest extending your time in QT.

I just added a FoxFace to my display. It was in isolation for over 90 days.

No issues.

I know 90 days can be challenging, especially when the excitement of adding a new fish is getting close.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Interesting. How do you quarantine inverts?

You keep them in a fishless system for a minimum of 45 days at 81F; 60-76 days is preferred to be safe (and gives you more leeway with the temperature):

For the highest possible level of biosecurity, yes - 60-76 days QT for anything wet (inverts, corals, rocks, algae, etc.) is recommended.

 

[MnFish1]

You keep them in a fishless system for a minimum of 45 days at 81F; 60-76 days is preferred to be safe (and gives you more leeway with the temperature):

Actually - I would not do this quite this way - Though one can keep inverts at 81, thats more of a fish protocol. Since most inverts and corals come from cooler temps in the store - I would leave an invert tank fallow at 78 for 8 weeks. (agree with the second quote in your post)

 

[Devisissy]

To properly QT it must be with meds and much much longer than 30 days. There was a write up about the proper protocol 15 years ago that I used for ages. But it was intensive and super hands on. Now, after all these years I just drop them in. I have had some die recently in all my years that's a really bad run for me considering most my fish live their life expectancy. The original fish I had for the last 12 years are fine, it was the new additions. So hard to say. A proper protocol would have most likely prevented me possibly infecting all my fish. So do what you will with that knowledge.

TLDR, learn from my mistakes. Proper QT for the right amount of time.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Interesting. How do you quarantine inverts?

Just isolate them for 30 to 45 days. That ensures they aren’t carrying fish parasites from another tank into yours, and also gives you a chance to screen corals for any pests that they might have.

 

[Cheems]

Just isolate them for 30 to 45 days. That ensures they aren’t carrying fish parasites from another tank into yours, and also gives you a chance to screen corals for any pests that they might have.

I’m going to be honest all of that seems incredibly difficult and expensive. I love this hobby but with all of the recommendations people say, like not quarantining multiple fish at once, having separate quarantines for inverts and fish and corals, quarantining for 90 days.

It all is unreasonable. I don’t have the time or the money to set up a billion new tanks that are each individually for quarantining fish, coral, and inverts, that would cost hundreds and take up space I simply don’t have. I understand my thread I made was about what I did wrong, and I’m open for criticism but I feel like people have unrealistic expectations about what the average reef tank keeper can handle.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I’m going to be honest all of that seems incredibly difficult and expensive. I love this hobby but with all of the recommendations people say, like not quarantining multiple fish at once, having separate quarantines for inverts and fish and corals, quarantining for 90 days.

It all is unreasonable. I don’t have the time or the money to set up a billion new tanks that are each individually for quarantining fish, coral, and inverts, that would cost hundreds and take up space I simply don’t have. I understand my thread I made was about what I did wrong, and I’m open for criticism but I feel like people have unrealistic expectations about what the average reef tank keeper can handle.

The main problem is the supply chain - these fish are mixed with other fish in big central systems, and that becomes a melting pot of disease.

You can gamble and not quarantine, that works for some people. You can quarantine yourself, that’s what I do. Or you can buy pre quarantined fish or tank raised fish direct from the breeder.