Brooklynella Mary

[Sixdinnersquid]

Y'all, got a question re: an undiagnosed disease that probably was Brooklynella.

I've had a spate of clowns dying from a disease that I suspect was Brooklynella. The last clown died before I could really do anything about it, and about 3 weeks ago.

Here's what I'm confused about: I still have a Watchman Goby who was, and who remains, unaffected. (Also a Pistol Shrimp and a Peppermint Shrimp, but I imagine they're irrelevant to this discussion.) My understanding was that Brooklynella is a broad-spectrum parasite, able to infect many kinds of fish. Am I wrong? Are Gobies an exception?

If Gobies aren't afflicted, but are still a carrier, I'm in for some hurt. But if the Goby's lack of obvious susceptibility to this is an indicator that it's not a carrier, I'll be more optimistic.

(To be clear, I'm not 100% sure it was Brooklynella. But is sure seemed like.)

 

[fishguy242]

Hi, need more info , pics, short video ?
@Jay Hemdal #fishmedic

 

[Sixdinnersquid]

Jay, I wish I could do better than these. They're not great. I'm sorry.

But the meta part of the question is maybe more useful in light of my poor data collection: what diseases are Gobies immune to, that Clowns are not?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Jay, I wish I could do better than these. They're not great. I'm sorry.

But the meta part of the question is maybe more useful in light of my poor data collection: what diseases are Gobies immune to, that Clowns are not?

Brooklynella is a bit more host specific than ich or velvet is. You see it mostly in clownfish, but you don’t see it in damselfish, despite them being in the same family. I don’t know all of the succeptable species, but I have heard of gobies surviving an outbreak.
Generally, you should wait 45 days beyond any fish loss before adding anything new, just to be safe.
Jay

 

[Sixdinnersquid]

That's the plan on new livestock.

Admitting that it's not clear that this was Brooklynella, this is definitely a case of whatever felled the Clownfish not having any impact on the Goby. Not sure if that's good enough for anecdotal evidence, though.

Thanks for your input, Jay!

 

[Sixdinnersquid]

I waited about two months to get any new fish, but alas, the cycle has repeated.

So this time around I've lost a yellow coris wrasse and two clowns. The wrasse and one clown disappeared without me noticing, so I'm not technically sure that they were felled by the same thing that took out the other clown - but that clown exhibited rapid breathing, a milky sheen on its extremities, and a clear aversion to light. (It spent much of its time hiding in a cave, in contrast with behavior soon after I got it, and it would scurry away whenever I directed my phone light towards it.) Based on those observations and filling in with some circumstantial evidence, I suspect Amyloodinium. Please correct me if you believe this diagnosis is in error.

Critical readers will note that a Watchman Goby survived my last outbreak, technically violating the Fallow rule. That Watchman Goby survived this outbreak, too. I made the optimistic assumption that by not being susceptible to whatever it is that's killing my fish, it's not a carrier. (Even going into this I knew that that was a stupid assumption.)

My questions for the group:
1. Amlyoodinium, maybe? Or other ideas? (I'll try to change the thread title to suit.)
2. Is it possible that the Watchman Goby really is an unaffected carrier?
2. a. If the Goby is a problem, any ideas how I might treat the tank without destroying the rockwork completely in order to get the beast and its commensal Pistol Shrimp out?

Scott

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I waited about two months to get any new fish, but alas, the cycle has repeated.

So this time around I've lost a yellow coris wrasse and two clowns. The wrasse and one clown disappeared without me noticing, so I'm not technically sure that they were felled by the same thing that took out the other clown - but that clown exhibited rapid breathing, a milky sheen on its extremities, and a clear aversion to light. (It spent much of its time hiding in a cave, in contrast with behavior soon after I got it, and it would scurry away whenever I directed my phone light towards it.) Based on those observations and filling in with some circumstantial evidence, I suspect Amyloodinium. Please correct me if you believe this diagnosis is in error.

Critical readers will note that a Watchman Goby survived my last outbreak, technically violating the Fallow rule. That Watchman Goby survived this outbreak, too. I made the optimistic assumption that by not being susceptible to whatever it is that's killing my fish, it's not a carrier. (Even going into this I knew that that was a stupid assumption.)

My questions for the group:
1. Amlyoodinium, maybe? Or other ideas? (I'll try to change the thread title to suit.)
2. Is it possible that the Watchman Goby really is an unaffected carrier?
2. a. If the Goby is a problem, any ideas how I might treat the tank without destroying the rockwork completely in order to get the beast and its commensal Pistol Shrimp out?

Scott

It could be Amyloodinium, but that is a lot rarer than people think. Watchman's are not immune to Amyloodinium. It also may be that your tank was not the "carrier", but rather, the new fish brought the disease in with them.

Jay