External tag like parasite on clownfish

[westindireefer]

So I recently started up a new IM15 cube and used live rock, sand and water from the ocean to get the tank going. It saves me money by not having to buy rock etc, and time by skipping the cycle. I and people I know have done this multiple times with no issue, however, I guess my luck finally ran out.

Over a week ago I added a goby w/o quarantine to the tank and he ended up having flukes and died the next day (more to this coming). I didnt see any flukes at first until he wasn't looking good and I noticed some string like stuff hanging from the bottom of his mouth. At first I thought it was mucus from brook and gave a fw dip. At this point I saw flukes but also some small shrimp like critters coming out of his mouth and gills (see picture 1). I treated the tank with prazi and added him back, sadly he didn't make it. I believe it was a mix of the flukes and unidentified parasite. His gills were really red and inflamed.

So we now come to today, over a week later, and I had to break down my other tank and move my clowns over to the IM15. I was really hesitant but had to. Sure enough, after a couple hours of the clowns being in the tank I see the unidentified external parasites on the fish. I'm unsure what to do in terms of treatment and afraid as I don't know what I'm dealing with. Clearly the parasite is some sort of invertebrate, hence why prazi didnt affect them.

I'm thinking about giving the fish a fw dip and adding them to a qt with copper or metroplex. I thought I had metroplex but its kanaplex and will have to wait till tomorrow before I can get any.

Parasites that came out goby's mouth:

Parasites on clowns

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

 

[fishguy242]

#fishmedic

 

[vetteguy53081]

So I recently started up a new IM15 cube and used live rock, sand and water from the ocean to get the tank going. It saves me money by not having to buy rock etc, and time by skipping the cycle. I and people I know have done this multiple times with no issue, however, I guess my luck finally ran out.

Over a week ago I added a goby w/o quarantine to the tank and he ended up having flukes and died the next day (more to this coming). I didnt see any flukes at first until he wasn't looking good and I noticed some string like stuff hanging from the bottom of his mouth. At first I thought it was mucus from brook and gave a fw dip. At this point I saw flukes but also some small shrimp like critters coming out of his mouth and gills (see picture 1). I treated the tank with prazi and added him back, sadly he didn't make it. I believe it was a mix of the flukes and unidentified parasite. His gills were really red and inflamed.

So we now come to today, over a week later, and I had to break down my other tank and move my clowns over to the IM15. I was really hesitant but had to. Sure enough, after a couple hours of the clowns being in the tank I see the unidentified external parasites on the fish. I'm unsure what to do in terms of treatment and afraid as I don't know what I'm dealing with. Clearly the parasite is some sort of invertebrate, hence why prazi didnt affect them.

I'm thinking about giving the fish a fw dip and adding them to a qt with copper or metroplex. I thought I had metroplex but its kanaplex and will have to wait till tomorrow before I can get any.

Parasites that came out goby's mouth:

Parasites on clowns

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Only thing I see that jumps out in pic is a Mysid shrimp possibly and in videos, hard to tell on white fish. If isopod or worm, often a FW dip will encourage it to dislodge as will prazi Pro but I dont have full i.d. to pinpoint what you have

 

[westindireefer]

Only thing I see that jumps out in pic is a Mysid shrimp possibly and in videos, hard to tell on white fish. If isopod or worm, often a FW dip will encourage it to dislodge as will prazi Pro but I dont have full i.d. to pinpoint what you have

I thought it could've been mysis shrimp when I first saw it but then I saw it crawling around the mouth of the goby and it didn't look like no shrimp then. I was trying to get a microscope to inspect it but couldn't get my hands one.

Both clowns have the same thing. Also, prazi has been in the tank so don't think its a type of worm

 

[vetteguy53081]

I thought it could've been mysis shrimp when I first saw it but then I saw it crawling around the mouth of the goby and it didn't look like no shrimp then. I was trying to get a microscope to inspect it but couldn't get my hands one.

Both clowns have the same thing. Also, prazi has been in the tank so don't think its a type of worm

Closer/clear images will be helpful

 

[westindireefer]

Thanks for @fishguy242 for the link. see below.

I've already lost a yellow watchman about a week ago. Had little critters crawling out of his mouth when he was dying and flukes.

Aquarium parameters:
Reef tank (RBTA, xenia, some type of encrusting coral)
Tank:15g IM cube
Filtration: filter sock and chemipure elite. also got a mangrove
Light: Noopsyche k7 pro v3 with diffuser
Tank has been up for almost 2 weeks now. Was set up using live rock, sand and water from a nearby reef.

Water quality
Temp: 79 degrees
Salinity: 1025
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: not checked
Nitrate: 0 when checked a couple days ago
Phos: 0
Calc: 440
Kh: 8.15

 

[westindireefer]

Closer/clear images will be helpful

will try to grab some now

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So I recently started up a new IM15 cube and used live rock, sand and water from the ocean to get the tank going. It saves me money by not having to buy rock etc, and time by skipping the cycle. I and people I know have done this multiple times with no issue, however, I guess my luck finally ran out.

Over a week ago I added a goby w/o quarantine to the tank and he ended up having flukes and died the next day (more to this coming). I didnt see any flukes at first until he wasn't looking good and I noticed some string like stuff hanging from the bottom of his mouth. At first I thought it was mucus from brook and gave a fw dip. At this point I saw flukes but also some small shrimp like critters coming out of his mouth and gills (see picture 1). I treated the tank with prazi and added him back, sadly he didn't make it. I believe it was a mix of the flukes and unidentified parasite. His gills were really red and inflamed.

So we now come to today, over a week later, and I had to break down my other tank and move my clowns over to the IM15. I was really hesitant but had to. Sure enough, after a couple hours of the clowns being in the tank I see the unidentified external parasites on the fish. I'm unsure what to do in terms of treatment and afraid as I don't know what I'm dealing with. Clearly the parasite is some sort of invertebrate, hence why prazi didnt affect them.

I'm thinking about giving the fish a fw dip and adding them to a qt with copper or metroplex. I thought I had metroplex but its kanaplex and will have to wait till tomorrow before I can get any.

Parasites that came out goby's mouth:

Parasites on clowns

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Using live rock and sand from inshore waters is risky.

The issue with the clownfish looks like it could just be a skin tag.

The parasite in the goby's mouth was probably a species of Cymothoa:

Cymothoa exigua - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

They also could have just been scavengers, attacking the goby since it was dying.

Here is an article that I wrote on crustacean diseases of fish:

Arthropod Parasites of Aquarium Fish - Hemdal

Parasitic Crustaceans (Copepods, Isopods, and Sea Lice) Jay Hemdal c.2020 This is an excerpt from my upcoming fish disease book - a section on arthropod parasites of fish; isopods and copepods. ------------------ Cause This disease problem is...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[westindireefer]

Closer/clear images will be helpful

I tried getting some better images but I noticed the parasite is off of the orange clown now and when I tried catching the white clown to get a better picture, the parasite fell off during the process. THIS WAS FROM LAST NIGHT, I FORGOT TO CLICK POST.

Checked the fish this morning and the white clown has this parasite on him. I was able to net him and take a picture.

 

[westindireefer]

Here is an article that I wrote on crustacean diseases of fish:

Arthropod Parasites of Aquarium Fish - Hemdal

Parasitic Crustaceans (Copepods, Isopods, and Sea Lice) Jay Hemdal c.2020 This is an excerpt from my upcoming fish disease book - a section on arthropod parasites of fish; isopods and copepods. ------------------ Cause This disease problem is...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

Thanks for this Jay, I figured it was gonna be some type of isopod and this article really helped in confirming that thank you.

I guess its time to have the tank sit 6 weeks fallow?

When transferring the fish over to the qt, I'm assuming I should give the fish a fw bath to knock off any parasites before going into qt? I did one last night so will wait till tonight before giving the fish another one.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for this Jay, I figured it was gonna be some type of isopod and this article really helped in confirming that thank you.

I guess its time to have the tank sit 6 weeks fallow?

When transferring the fish over to the qt, I'm assuming I should give the fish a fw bath to knock off any parasites before going into qt? I did one last night so will wait till tonight before giving the fish another one.

FW dip may or may not as mentioned dislodge it but is worth a shot

 

[westindireefer]

FW dip may or may not as mentioned dislodge it but is worth a shot

Ok I'll keep that in mind.

When treating the fish in QT, what do you recommend? I've got metroplex and copper on hand.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ok I'll keep that in mind.

When treating the fish in QT, what do you recommend? I've got metroplex and copper on hand.

No Metro and for the issue- copper will not help
Use Ruby Rally or seachem sulfaplex

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for this Jay, I figured it was gonna be some type of isopod and this article really helped in confirming that thank you.

I guess its time to have the tank sit 6 weeks fallow?

When transferring the fish over to the qt, I'm assuming I should give the fish a fw bath to knock off any parasites before going into qt? I did one last night so will wait till tonight before giving the fish another one.

Actually, the critter on the clownfish is a different isopod. These are not strict parasites, here is a write up I did on them:

Cirolanid isopods are the most common pest of this group seen in marine aquariums. These micro-predators often make their way into aquariums through the introduction of fresh live rock. Treating the affected fish themselves fails because these predators are capable of leaving the fish and living free in the aquarium until the treatment is concluded. In one European public aquarium, populations of these organisms had become established in their systems over many years. The symptoms of their presence was seen indirectly; each morning, the fish were noted to be hanging near the surface of the aquariums, exhibiting pale coloration and obvious discomfort. What was happening was that each night, these isopods would emerge from the rockwork and begin feeding on the skin of the fish. In this extreme case, the resolution was to use risky, very strong poisons to remove the isopods. Home aquarists typically find that setting nightly baited traps to remove the isopods, although time consuming, is a safer means to control this issue.

Jay

 

[westindireefer]

Actually, the critter on the clownfish is a different isopod. These are not strict parasites, here is a write up I did on them:

Cirolanid isopods are the most common pest of this group seen in marine aquariums. These micro-predators often make their way into aquariums through the introduction of fresh live rock. Treating the affected fish themselves fails because these predators are capable of leaving the fish and living free in the aquarium until the treatment is concluded. In one European public aquarium, populations of these organisms had become established in their systems over many years. The symptoms of their presence was seen indirectly; each morning, the fish were noted to be hanging near the surface of the aquariums, exhibiting pale coloration and obvious discomfort. What was happening was that each night, these isopods would emerge from the rockwork and begin feeding on the skin of the fish. In this extreme case, the resolution was to use risky, very strong poisons to remove the isopods. Home aquarists typically find that setting nightly baited traps to remove the isopods, although time consuming, is a safer means to control this issue.

Jay

Ok noted. Is there a fallow period that I can follow to get rid of these guys or will I have to just bait and trap until I eventually get rid of them?

I've got quite a small sixline wrasse that I can make the sole inhabitant of the tank to maybe help with predation of these critters. He's small enough where I think he can do alright for a short time while I sort this out. Unsure if its worth it though.

Thank you to you and @vetteguy53081 for all of the help.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ok noted. Is there a fallow period that I can follow to get rid of these guys or will I have to just bait and trap until I eventually get rid of them?

I've got quite a small sixline wrasse that I can make the sole inhabitant of the tank to maybe help with predation of these critters. He's small enough where I think he can do alright for a short time while I sort this out. Unsure if its worth it though.

Thank you to you and @vetteguy53081 for all of the help.

catch them if you can. larger wrasse such as melanurus or lunare should eat them but each individual wrasse offers no guarantee

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Ok noted. Is there a fallow period that I can follow to get rid of these guys or will I have to just bait and trap until I eventually get rid of them?

I've got quite a small sixline wrasse that I can make the sole inhabitant of the tank to maybe help with predation of these critters. He's small enough where I think he can do alright for a short time while I sort this out. Unsure if its worth it though.

Thank you to you and @vetteguy53081 for all of the help.

The six line might eat them, I’m not sure. Leaving the tank fallow will NOT work because these isopods are happy just eating other organic material, they don’t die out with no fish present.
Baiting and trapping seems to have worked well for folks - try running a search here to get some ideas.
Jay