Help identifying

Shanephillips27 · May 19, 2026

I got these new clowns about a week ago and woke up today to this not sure if it’s ich or velvet but the Midas Blenny I bought same day also has it as well strange thing is my pre existing fish are all fine. This is the 3rd round of fish I have lost within a few days to a week of introduction

Jay Hemdal · May 19, 2026

Shanephillips27 said:
I got these new clowns about a week ago and woke up today to this not sure if it’s ich or velvet but the Midas Blenny I bought same day also has it as well strange thing is my pre existing fish are all fine. This is the 3rd round of fish I have lost within a few days to a week of introduction

For certain that is not velvet. Most likely ich, but to see it this severe over night is odd. Could the fish have had spots the last few days and you just missed the early development?

Treatment for this would be coppersafe or hyposalinity of all exposed fish in a hospital tank (or in the display tank if there are not any invertebrates or corals present.

Can you post a video of the fish? That would help confirm my diagnosis.

Shanephillips27 · May 19, 2026

Thanks, Jay for the reply. Yes, it is definitely possible that I may have missed it and they had spots earlier, but I don’t understand is I get all of my fish from a very local reputable fish store who I’ve been doing business with for a long time and he quarantine his fish for at least 3 to 4 weeks before he sells them in copper so I’m not sure why all of a sudden this would happen. This tank had been running for four years no problem and then all of a sudden I started losing fish left and right, except for three fish, a yellow watchman, Gobi, a pajama cardinal and a green Cromie. Those are the last three left now everything else I try to add ends up getting sick or something happens within a week and it dies or sometimes even less here is the video.

vetteguy53081 · May 19, 2026

I agree on this being ich and fish should be treated asap with coppersafe at 2.25ppm for A full 30 days and all other occupants also treated and monitored with a Hanna brand copper test kit

Shanephillips27 · May 19, 2026

Jay Hemdal said:
For certain that is not velvet. Most likely ich, but to see it this severe over night is odd. Could the fish have had spots the last few days and you just missed the early development?

Treatment for this would be coppersafe or hyposalinity of all exposed fish in a hospital tank (or in the display tank if there are not any invertebrates or corals present.

Can you post a video of the fish? That would help confirm my diagnosis.

Thanks, Jay for the reply. Yes, it is definitely possible that I may have missed it and they had spots earlier, but I don’t understand is I get all of my fish from a very local reputable fish store who I’ve been doing business with for a long time and he quarantine his fish for at least 3 to 4 weeks before he sells them in copper so I’m not sure why all of a sudden this would happen. This tank had been running for four years no problem and then all of a sudden I started losing fish left and right, except for three fish, a yellow watchman, Gobi, a pajama cardinal and a green Cromie. Those are the last three left now everything else I try to add ends up getting sick or something happens within a week and it dies or sometimes even less here is the video.

W31Olds · May 19, 2026

I wrote in an earlier Post this morning that I never trust a LFS to QT Fish for me. There are so may failure points in an LFS from low Copper Levels to Biosecurity to Employees that are anything but knowledgeable. I guarantee every employee except maybe the owner (who I rarely see) at my local LFS has no clue how to properly QT a Fish not to mention they have no area to do it and maintain Biosecurity.

Shanephillips27 · May 19, 2026

W31Olds said:
I wrote in an earlier Post this morning that I never trust a LFS to QT Fish for me. There are so may failure points in an LFS from low Copper Levels to Biosecurity to Employees that are anything but knowledgeable. I guarantee every employee except maybe the owner (who I rarely see) at my local LFS has no clue how to properly QT a Fish not to mention they have no area to do it and maintain Biosecurity.

It’s a one man operation the owner himself and that’s it. I mentioned in my earlier post that my tank had been fine for about 4 years then all of a sudden something went wrong. Anywho not to sure what to do now as I don’t have space for quarantine/hospital tanks so are there other alternatives both my tanks are reef tanks. My other tank has been up and running about 3 years now and everything seems fine in that tank.

Jay Hemdal · May 19, 2026

Shanephillips27 said:
Thanks, Jay for the reply. Yes, it is definitely possible that I may have missed it and they had spots earlier, but I don’t understand is I get all of my fish from a very local reputable fish store who I’ve been doing business with for a long time and he quarantine his fish for at least 3 to 4 weeks before he sells them in copper so I’m not sure why all of a sudden this would happen. This tank had been running for four years no problem and then all of a sudden I started losing fish left and right, except for three fish, a yellow watchman, Gobi, a pajama cardinal and a green Cromie. Those are the last three left now everything else I try to add ends up getting sick or something happens within a week and it dies or sometimes even less here is the video.

Sorry, I’m out running errands and can only view the videos on my phone, but it still look like ich to me. Velvet doesn’t cause spots like that, and brooklynella makes clownfish swim differently.

Shanephillips27 · May 20, 2026

Jay Hemdal said:
Sorry, I’m out running errands and can only view the videos on my phone, but it still look like ich to me. Velvet doesn’t cause spots like that, and brooklynella makes clownfish swim differently.

So update I got home from work yesterday and the clowns were dead. But my Midas Blenny was not. All purchased same time. However I noticed that the clowns looked like they had clear stuff peeling from them almost like a sunburn it was coming from all over.

W31Olds · May 20, 2026

When Ich gets this bad, fish need to be in Full Strength Copper ASAP, and still, since it needs time to work the prognosis is not all that great. Takeaway is to observe your Fish every day for body/behavior changes. A Hospital Tank is a must and is not that difficult or expensive to setup. Petco has 50% off Tanks right now. Chances are you will need it anyway because you need to Fallow your Tank for 60 Days

Jay Hemdal · May 20, 2026

Shanephillips27 said:
So update I got home from work yesterday and the clowns were dead. But my Midas Blenny was not. All purchased same time. However I noticed that the clowns looked like they had clear stuff peeling from them almost like a sunburn it was coming from all over.

Sorry to hear that....

I've not seen Brooklynella on Midas blennies, so with just the clowns dying, it could have been that. In life, a clownfish with Brooklynella with breath rapidly, with mucus peeling off their body and will swim with a "stilted" fashion. White spots are not really part of that. Perhaps it was a mix of ich AND Brook? If so, watch for any white pinhead spots on the remaining fish.

Shanephillips27 · May 24, 2026

Jay Hemdal said:
Sorry to hear that....

I've not seen Brooklynella on Midas blennies, so with just the clowns dying, it could have been that. In life, a clownfish with Brooklynella with breath rapidly, with mucus peeling off their body and will swim with a "stilted" fashion. White spots are not really part of that. Perhaps it was a mix of ich AND Brook? If so, watch for any white pinhead spots on the remaining fish.

I just removed all of my fish and I’m going to let it sit for three months just to be safe. I still have corals. Any idea on how to keep nutrients sufficient with no fish?

Jay Hemdal · May 24, 2026

Shanephillips27 said:
I just removed all of my fish and I’m going to let it sit for three months just to be safe. I still have corals. Any idea on how to keep nutrients sufficient with no fish?

Ghost feeding works - just feed the fishless tank as needed for any invertebrates and add perhaps an extra 10% for the bacteria to work on.