All my fish are dying

mhartley276 · Apr 27, 2022

Anyone have any clue what this might be effecting my clownfish? A little background… about 1.5 months ago I added a red tail trigger and everything went south from there. The trigger developed what looked like ich. Regal angel also developed same symptoms but not as many or pronounced spots. These spots persisted for about 2.5 weeks until my bimaculatus anthias died, then my regal angel, then the trigger, then my 2 clownfish then all 3 of the disbar anthias. The weirdest part is that my ornate leopard wrasse, scooter blenny, blue cleaner wrasse, and yellow watchman goby all seem to be doing great. My corals also look great and my fromia starfish is still alive. My maxima clam did die though also. The anthias never showed any symptoms of disease and the clownfish looked different from ich… like slime coat was peeling off. My LFS guy tells me that some aerosolized chemical must have gotten into the tank. Did 20% water change and added carbon and poly filter sponge. All 4 fish and corals were looking great for the last couple weeks so I added a new pair of clowns on Saturday. Everyone was fine and eating well until the smaller clown looked like this yesterday afternoon and did not eat. Seemed to be breathing rapidly. Put 8oz of ruby reef rally pro in tank yesterday (too low of a does but that’s all I had 108g tank.) Clown is gone this morning, most likely dead. I’m assuming my CUC ate it because I can’t find it anywhere. Today my other clown has same symptoms but less pronounced and still eating. Any suggestions as to what this might be and what I should do?

\m/reefsnmetal\m/ · Apr 27, 2022

I don't know what kind of disease the fish are fighting but first thing I recommend is to stop adding fish. If it is something like ich you want to let that tank run fallow for a while so the parasites die off.

davidcalgary29 · Apr 27, 2022

I'd pull whatever fish are still in that tank (and you must get them all) and quarantine them. You'll also have to let your tank run fallow (fallow equals "without fish" in this case) for a minimum of 45 days. Treatment may be possible after a proper diagnosis, but you'll probably have to take video under white lights and have @Jay Hemdal and @vetteguy53081 take a look.

landlubber · Apr 27, 2022

if resolving disease is your goal then you should run your tank fallow for the next 10 weeks so the parasite dies off. fish are most likely to be compromised when they're new in the tank so i agree, adding fish would be a bad idea.

Tamberav · Apr 27, 2022

Can we get a photo under the clownfish

looked different from ich… like slime coat was peeling off

This sounds like brook though.

Not all fish die from disease. Some are carriers spreading it but don’t get sick right away themselves. This is the same for humans. Not everyone gets symptomatic covid but they can spread it. The fish you have left are generally more disease resistant and you lost most of the fragile ones.

You can try some ruby rally pro and a peroxide dip (1.25ml per cup of tank water) for 30 min to give temporary relief.

However your fish all be to be caught and removed to a quarantine tank as best practice to fallow the tank (no fish) for min 45 days at 81-82.

Your LFS should not be blaming toxins. Toxins would kill corals and invertebrates and your first clown also had slime and clearly showing symptoms.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 27, 2022

mhartley276 said:
Anyone have any clue what this might be effecting my clownfish? A little background… about 1.5 months ago I added a red tail trigger and everything went south from there. The trigger developed what looked like ich. Regal angel also developed same symptoms but not as many or pronounced spots. These spots persisted for about 2.5 weeks until my bimaculatus anthias died, then my regal angel, then the trigger, then my 2 clownfish then all 3 of the disbar anthias. The weirdest part is that my ornate leopard wrasse, scooter blenny, blue cleaner wrasse, and yellow watchman goby all seem to be doing great. My corals also look great and my fromia starfish is still alive. My maxima clam did die though also. The anthias never showed any symptoms of disease and the clownfish looked different from ich… like slime coat was peeling off. My LFS guy tells me that some aerosolized chemical must have gotten into the tank. Did 20% water change and added carbon and poly filter sponge. All 4 fish and corals were looking great for the last couple weeks so I added a new pair of clowns on Saturday. Everyone was fine and eating well until the smaller clown looked like this yesterday afternoon and did not eat. Seemed to be breathing rapidly. Put 8oz of ruby reef rally pro in tank yesterday (too low of a does but that’s all I had 108g tank.) Clown is gone this morning, most likely dead. I’m assuming my CUC ate it because I can’t find it anywhere. Today my other clown has same symptoms but less pronounced and still eating. Any suggestions as to what this might be and what I should do?

A brighter photo taken under white light is needed here. A short video might also help.

Jay

mhartley276 · Apr 27, 2022

Jay Hemdal said:
A brighter photo taken under white light is needed here. A short video might also help.

Jay

This is the clown I have left today

mhartley276 · Apr 27, 2022

mhartley276 said:
This is the clown I have left today

mhartley276 · Apr 27, 2022

Tamberav said:
Can we get a photo under the clownfish

looked different from ich… like slime coat was peeling off

This sounds like brook though.

Not all fish die from disease. Some are carriers spreading it but don’t get sick right away themselves. This is the same for humans. Not everyone gets symptomatic covid but they can spread it. The fish you have left are generally more disease resistant and you lost most of the fragile ones.

You can try some ruby rally pro and a peroxide dip (1.25ml per cup of tank water) for 30 min to give temporary relief.

However your fish all be to be caught and removed to a quarantine tank as best practice to fallow the tank (no fish) for min 45 days at 81-82.

Your LFS should not be blaming toxins. Toxins would kill corals and invertebrates and your first clown also had slime and clearly showing symptoms.

This was the clownfish I had before that looked like slime coat was coming off

mhartley276 · Apr 27, 2022

Tamberav said:
Can we get a photo under the clownfish

looked different from ich… like slime coat was peeling off

This sounds like brook though.

Not all fish die from disease. Some are carriers spreading it but don’t get sick right away themselves. This is the same for humans. Not everyone gets symptomatic covid but they can spread it. The fish you have left are generally more disease resistant and you lost most of the fragile ones.

You can try some ruby rally pro and a peroxide dip (1.25ml per cup of tank water) for 30 min to give temporary relief.

However your fish all be to be caught and removed to a quarantine tank as best practice to fallow the tank (no fish) for min 45 days at 81-82.

Your LFS should not be blaming toxins. Toxins would kill corals and invertebrates and your first clown also had slime and clearly showing symptoms.

Idk why videos aren’t loading… here’s a pic

vetteguy53081 · Apr 27, 2022

Very bad case of brooklynella which is not confined to the clown(s). Immediate treatment needed in a quarantine setting. The most significant sign is the amount of slime on its body. The thick mucus on its body is a second sign which is noticeable on the fish. This mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Typical treatment is a formalin solution is mixed with in a separate container with either fresh or saltwater. Start with a quick dip in the formalin at a higher concentration then performing treatment in a prolonged bath of formalin base at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the formalin treatment the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
If a formalin solution is not available for immediate use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 27, 2022

mhartley276 said:
This is the clown I have left today

As @vetteguy53081 said, this looks like a severe case of Brooklynella. That would also explain why the wrasses aren't really affected, Brook mainly affects clownfish, and sometimes angelfish first, and sometimes skips other species altogether.

Jay

mhartley276 · Apr 27, 2022

Jay Hemdal said:
As @vetteguy53081 said, this looks like a severe case of Brooklynella. That would also explain why the wrasses aren't really affected, Brook mainly affects clownfish, and sometimes angelfish first, and sometimes skips other species altogether.

Jay

Thank you all for your help! Could the trigger I put in have spread brook to my clowns? I had my other 2 clowns for 2 years with no problems until I bought that dang trigger I do not have any medications on hand… my Amazon delivery of rally pro should be here tomorrow and I can dose that then. I did FW dip tonight and looks like less mucous but more rapid breathing. My LFS is an hour away so I have to order meds online… should I use the rally pro or wait on formalin which will be another couple of days to get here?

mhartley276 · Apr 27, 2022

Pic after FW dip

Jay Hemdal · Apr 27, 2022

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Brook on a triggerfish, but maybe?
I think I would treat with rally pro as opposed to waiting longer for formalin.
Jay

mhartley276 said:
Thank you all for your help! Could the trigger I put in have spread brook to my clowns? I had my other 2 clowns for 2 years with no problems until I bought that dang trigger I do not have any medications on hand… my Amazon delivery of rally pro should be here tomorrow and I can dose that then. I did FW dip tonight and looks like less mucous but more rapid breathing. My LFS is an hour away so I have to order meds online… should I use the rally pro or wait on formalin which will be another couple of days to get here?