Concerned about brook

Magnapinna · Apr 16, 2024

When I checked on my clownfish this evening I noticed some tears in his fins; one pelvic fin looks almost totally gone & is held close to his body. There seems to be a little tear in the pectoral fin on the same side and one on the anal fin as well. The others look fine. Around the damaged pectoral fin, there appears to be a patch of... stuff? That I'm worried could be brooklynella. However he won't sit still long enough for me to look at it, much less take a photo. This developed very very suddenly as less than 20hrs ago he was looking perfect. Activity levels and appetite are both still good as ever. The skin looks clear in all other areas and I haven't noticed any flashing.

What should I do? It's 12:00 AM and I can't set up QT until tomorrow. I have a few different meds on hand but none that will work for brook afaik --- my LFS does not carry formalin and I'm having a hard time finding any without shipping restrictions

Jay Hemdal · Apr 16, 2024

Magnapinna Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

The #fishmedic team and other knowledgeable members of our community will do our best to help you resolve your questions. Please provide as much of the following as you are able:

Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:
- How long have you had the fish with the condition?
- Did you quarantine with medication when you first acquired the fish? (If Yes, which medication?)
Current water quality measurements
Clear photos of the issue taken using WHITE light and/or a short video of any behaviors (post in your response or on YouTube).

If you can help us by providing as much of the above info as possible, it will make diagnosing and providing recommendations for treatment MUCH easier! The Fish Medic team will get back to you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, other members of our community may also share their experience with similar situations and advice that they may have regarding your situation.

You may also feel free to provide a more detailed description of the condition if you wish to share more info than the above list.

Additionally, these links may be useful while you await a response:

Magnapinna · Apr 16, 2024

Should also mention he is the sole inhabitant of the tank other than 2 blueleg hermits

Magnapinna · Apr 16, 2024

Jay Hemdal said:
Magnapinna Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

The #fishmedic team and other knowledgeable members of our community will do our best to help you resolve your questions. Please provide as much of the following as you are able:

Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:

How long have you had the fish with the condition?

Did you quarantine with medication when you first acquired the fish? (If Yes, which medication?)

Current water quality measurements

Clear photos of the issue taken using WHITE light and/or a short video of any behaviors (post in your response or on YouTube).

If you can help us by providing as much of the above info as possible, it will make diagnosing and providing recommendations for treatment MUCH easier! The Fish Medic team will get back to you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, other members of our community may also share their experience with similar situations and advice that they may have regarding your situation.

You may also feel free to provide a more detailed description of the condition if you wish to share more info than the above list.

Additionally, these links may be useful while you await a response:

CURRENT QT PROTOCOL LINK

HOW TO ASK FOR DISEASE DIAGNOSIS HELP LINK

1. About 3 months
2. Did not quarantine as he is the sole inhabitant but no signs of illness before now
3. NH3 0ppm; NO2 0ppm; NO3 ~15ppm; PO4 0ppm; pH 8.0; SG 1.025
4. See original post for video + description of issue

Magnapinna · Apr 16, 2024

I do also want to mention that last night I startled him when going to bump down the light, he darted around the tank and struck his underside against the rock in the process. It was definitely accidental and not intentional rubbing/flashing. I didn't see any signs of injury at the time but admittedly didn't get a good look. So I can't be sure this isn't injury-related but I don't want to delay treatment if it is brook --- should I do a FW dip as a less aggressive treatment in the meantime? He would still have to go back into the DT afterwards though

vetteguy53081 · Apr 16, 2024

Fish has that wobbly swim pattern and rash from injury which typically heals on its own. Not seeing fin damage. FW dip is temporary relief from mucus associated with brook. You can safely treat with Ruby Rally Pro to address these issues.
May be early indication of brook from swim pattern. Is fish eating?
Disregard nitrite reading which is FW specific.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 16, 2024

I don't see any clear symptoms of Brooklynella. The fish does seem a bit hyper. How is it this morning? Give it some food and see how it eats.

Jay

Magnapinna · Apr 16, 2024

vetteguy53081 said:
Fish has that wobbly swim pattern and rash from injury which typically heals on its own. Not seeing fin damage. FW dip is temporary relief from mucus associated with brook. You can safely treat with Ruby Rally Pro to address these issues.
May be early indication of brook from swim pattern. Is fish eating?
Disregard nitrite reading which is FW specific.

The wobbly swim is nothing new, he's had that since I got him. The fin damage is more apparent in person but is still limited to a few fins on the ventral side. Anal and pectoral fins look better today but his left pelvic fin (where the lesion is) looks pretty beat up. He's eating normally.

Magnapinna · Apr 16, 2024

Jay Hemdal said:
I don't see any clear symptoms of Brooklynella. The fish does seem a bit hyper. How is it this morning? Give it some food and see how it eats.

Jay

He always gets hyper when I'm near the tank! He's still doing well today, still can't get a good look at the lesion but it doesn't look to have spread. His appetite is 100% normal, he's eaten everything I've offered. I got my QT set up but right now I'm more inclined to monitor since I'm not seeing appetite loss, respiratory distress, etc.

Magnapinna · Apr 16, 2024

I turned off his light and got him to rest so I could get a better look and I definitely think it's injury related now, it's kind of reddish in color like a scrape and looks better today, no sign of mucus. The fins have mostly healed. Breathing looks perfect. Going to continue to monitor in case it's bacterial or to watch for secondary infection. But I'm not too worried about brook at this point. He's hunting some pods right now as ferociously as ever

Magnapinna · Apr 20, 2024

Clown is still doing well, lesion is still there but no signs of progression/spread or development of any new symptoms. Is there anything I can do (other than water quality) to promote healing and prevent secondary infection? In FW I'd give a methylene blue bath but not sure if it's useful in SW or if it wouldn't be worth the stress. I don't like my fish having an open wound. Keeping him well-fed on a varied diet supplemented with VitaChem in the meantime

Jay Hemdal · Apr 20, 2024

Magnapinna said:
Clown is still doing well, lesion is still there but no signs of progression/spread or development of any new symptoms. Is there anything I can do (other than water quality) to promote healing and prevent secondary infection? In FW I'd give a methylene blue bath but not sure if it's useful in SW or if it wouldn't be worth the stress. I don't like my fish having an open wound. Keeping him well-fed on a varied diet supplemented with VitaChem in the meantime

That's the problem with using dips and baths, each time you do that, it causes a bit more "wear and tear" on the fish. I would skip methylene blue, it is really not very effective.

I'd give it a bit more time, as long as the fish seems stable.