Clownfish Pair With Excess Mucus, Brooklynella?

[phishyphrog]

So my clownfish suddenly appeared to have excess mucus as of five days ago, and at first I figured it was as stress related due to my female clownfish having recent aggressions with my royal gramma, but as of today i’ve noticed their mucus coat has gotten slightly thicker. During these past few days all behavior has remained the same as the past several months, eating and swimming are the same and no clamped fins or fast breathing. My tank hasn’t had any new additions that weren’t quarantined other than a cleaner shrimp I added last week, everything else that has gone in has received a quarantine and the newest addition was added two months ago. I’ve been monitoring them for these past few days and have taken a photo of them every other day, I’ll have them included below. Could someone help me identify if it’s brook or maybe something else, I’ve used ai to try and help me figure it out but I don’t trust what it has to say to be honest, it was telling me that it was stress related, then told me that they could be getting ready spawn. I do have a sterilized QT ready for fish if need be! Thank you for any help!

 

[vetteguy53081]

So my clownfish suddenly appeared to have excess mucus as of five days ago, and at first I figured it was as stress related due to my female clownfish having recent aggressions with my royal gramma, but as of today i’ve noticed their mucus coat has gotten slightly thicker. During these past few days all behavior has remained the same as the past several months, eating and swimming are the same and no clamped fins or fast breathing. My tank hasn’t had any new additions that weren’t quarantined other than a cleaner shrimp I added last week, everything else that has gone in has received a quarantine and the newest addition was added two months ago. I’ve been monitoring them for these past few days and have taken a photo of them every other day, I’ll have them included below. Could someone help me identify if it’s brook or maybe something else, I’ve used ai to try and help me figure it out but I don’t trust what it has to say to be honest, it was telling me that it was stress related, then told me that they could be getting ready spawn. I do have a sterilized QT ready for fish if need be! Thank you for any help!

This is brooklynella best treated with ruby rally pro for at least 14 days and it’s safe for coral and invertebrates

 

[christinna77]

Genuine question on the diagnosis, since the timeline confuses me. My understanding is that brook has a direct life cycle with no dormant/cyst stage, only survives a few days without a fish host and usually progresses to death within a few days once it gets a foothold.

These clowns have been in this tank and stable for months, the last quarantined fish went in two months ago and the only recent addition is a cleaner shrimp.

If it's brook, where'd it come from and why was it completely hidden for several months without any symptoms?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Genuine question on the diagnosis, since the timeline confuses me. My understanding is that brook has a direct life cycle with no dormant/cyst stage, only survives a few days without a fish host and usually progresses to death within a few days once it gets a foothold.

These clowns have been in this tank and stable for months, the last quarantined fish went in two months ago and the only recent addition is a cleaner shrimp.

If it's brook, where'd it come from and why was it completely hidden for several months without any symptoms?

Brooklynella, or any protozoan disease, can easily enter a tank through invertebrates (or anything wet) coming from an infected tank. The timing is right for the shrimp to be the culprit.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So my clownfish suddenly appeared to have excess mucus as of five days ago, and at first I figured it was as stress related due to my female clownfish having recent aggressions with my royal gramma, but as of today i’ve noticed their mucus coat has gotten slightly thicker. During these past few days all behavior has remained the same as the past several months, eating and swimming are the same and no clamped fins or fast breathing. My tank hasn’t had any new additions that weren’t quarantined other than a cleaner shrimp I added last week, everything else that has gone in has received a quarantine and the newest addition was added two months ago. I’ve been monitoring them for these past few days and have taken a photo of them every other day, I’ll have them included below. Could someone help me identify if it’s brook or maybe something else, I’ve used ai to try and help me figure it out but I don’t trust what it has to say to be honest, it was telling me that it was stress related, then told me that they could be getting ready spawn. I do have a sterilized QT ready for fish if need be! Thank you for any help!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

It does look like Brooklynella, but if you could post a clear video, that would help confirm the diagnosis.

 

[phishyphrog]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

It does look like Brooklynella, but if you could post a clear video, that would help confirm the diagnosis.

Hi, thank you! Hopefully this video can help!

 

[phishyphrog]

This is brooklynella best treated with ruby rally pro for at least 14 days and it’s safe for coral and invertebrates

Thanks, I bought some last night and it should be arriving tomorrow, I also purchased SeaChem MetroPlex and that’s arriving today. I have a QT up and running so i don’t mind putting them in there and going fallow for whatever that time period may be!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi, thank you! Hopefully this video can help!

Yes, that does look like Brooklynella, but in the early stages....

 

[christinna77]

Brooklynella, or any protozoan disease, can easily enter a tank through invertebrates (or anything wet) coming from an infected tank. The timing is right for the shrimp to be the culprit.

Thanks Jay. So theoretically, if the shrimp or any other invert is placed in an observation tank and they molt the next day, would it be safe to transfer them to DT then?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks Jay. So theoretically, if the shrimp or any other invert is placed in an observation tank and they molt the next day, would it be safe to transfer them to DT then?

Not for all diseases. Since what is happening during these transfers is all microscopic, you can’t really see what’s going on.

The term is depuration. Sometimes, just rinsing algae or snails in clean seawater is enough, but since you can’t see if they are truly clean, there is always some risk.

Here is an article I wrote on this:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/biosecurity.812/

 

[phishyphrog]

My Ruby Reef Rally Pro and MetroPlex have both arrived and all fish are now out of the tank, hopefully they can make a full recovery. Thank you all for the diagnosis and help, I truly appreciate it!