Help w/ Brooklynella(?)

[stewdogg]

Hello. I have had a tank setup for 15+ years, fortunate to have not needed a QT tank until now, lesson learned the hard way.

I added 2 clownfish recently to my tank (no QT), and lost one of them within a few days. He was breathing heavy after a few days and a day or 2 later was no more. Not thinking much of it I brought him back, LFS checked the water and I got another clownfish. A few days later the original clownfish started to show heavy breathing along with my Lemonpeel Angel was now hiding and not eating. I could see some very light spots on the fins, thinking Ich I setup a QT tank, added most of the fish (couldn’t catch the Angel), and slowly got the Coppersafe up to 2.0 with a Hannah meter. I also dosed General Cure twice a week apart and dosed it in the food with Focus.

Angel died after a few days, did not see any spots, lost all its color, gave it a freshwater dip to see if any flukes were present- saw nothing in water.

We are 2 1/2 weeks in to the Copper once it reached above 1.5. Newest clownfish started breathing heavy 2 days ago and was no longer when I got home last night. Original clownfish from 1st purchase seems fine. Has had 2 freshwater dips and no signs of flukes. Had a hazy eye and what looked like peeling skin at one point about a week ago for a few days.

At this point I am thinking brooklynella rather than ich or flukes. I believe the spots I saw on fins were more mucuous coating as they weren’t pronounced speckles. I have read more than I ever have expected on all of these diseases and treatments and my head is spinning.

Main tank has been fallow for 3 1/2 weeks. Will continue to keep it fallow for 6+ weeks.

The Midas blenny has been a champ through all of this. No signs of anything. Poop looks like poop. The remaining clownfish seems to be doing fine but if Brook I have not done any treatment that would have addressed that so far. He has white stringy poop. Midas Blenny likes to eat it.

I think at this point I need a 2nd QT tank so I can keep the Clownfish separate to treat internal parasites for the poop with prazi or metro and formalin for brook? How do I ensure the Midas Blenny doesn’t bring a disease back to main tank? 2nd QT with Midas and a black molly, treat based on what happens with molly?

 

[NJDragonet]

Brooklynella does not affect angels, What are your parameters?, Could we get pictures of the diseased fish? I believe this is rapid breathing meaning the fish are not getting enough oxygen high levels of ammonia could also cause breathing like this. How large is your tank?

 

[stewdogg]

Brooklynella does not affect angels, What are your parameters?, Could we get pictures of the diseased fish? I believe this is rapid breathing meaning the fish are not getting enough oxygen high levels of ammonia could also cause breathing like this. How large is your tank?

Main tank is 75 gallons. Ammonia is 0, nitrate is .2.

QT is 20 gallons. Ammonia is 0 on the Seachem Alert badge, I do a 10% water change every other day. QT is also running an air stone.

The remaining clownfish had shown some symptoms last week (cloudiness on one eye, breathing heavy) but shows no symptoms for the past week. Midas Blenny has not shown any symptoms, just seems super bored in the QT. I did get him a Bikini Bottom pineapple house but he doesn’t love it as much as I had hoped!

Not knowing what I am dealing with is the biggest concern. I don’t know how long to fallow for, and if my remaining fish that currently look fine are hosting something that once I start to buy new fish (and QT them) will be passed on in the main tank down the road. At which point the fallow period is a waste of time.

None of the fish (including deceased) ever showed any rubbing or itching. In all my reading it seems that brook, ich, and velvet would have probably been a much quicker death typically. I honestly thought I was getting in the clear at this point until the clownfish showed signs and died a day or two later last night.

 

[stewdogg]

Tough to get good pics, any tips would be great.

 

[NJDragonet]

I am bit stumped @Jay Hemdal

 

[Jekyl]

@vetteguy53081

 

[NJDragonet]

Do the clownfish look like this the angel could have gotten brook but brook in fish besides clowns is rare but still possible. Another suspect could be HLLE both of these would be easy to medicate if it isn't either of these I believe it could be bacterial.

 

[stewdogg]

Do the clownfish look like this the angel could have gotten brook but brook in fish besides clowns is rare but still possible. Another suspect could be HLLE both of these would be easy to medicate if it isn't either of these I believe it could be bacterial.

They do not. What I saw for visible symptoms besides the heavy breathing my wife could not see, it was very minor. Even when I saw the minor spots in the beginning (which I now question were spots and may have been mucuous as I could only see it on the clear parts of the fins at certain angles) she could not see.

If bacterial is fallow required? Mix up some food with metro (or other) and quarantine the clown until the poop looks poopie? Should I toss a black molly in the QT and see what happens?

 

[NanoJHB]

Hi, Im busy going through exactly what you did. After a few days my new clown started breathing heavily and had some minor spots on its fins, it died this morning but now my other clown and 1 cardinal are showing the same symptoms. All my tank parameters are fine and cant figure out whats causing it.

Did you manage to figure it out and if so what treatment worked ?

 

[stewdogg]

I had no luck and lost the fish. I had them in Coppersafe and dosed food with General Cure as well as dosed the QT 2x with GC. I hope you have better luck. I tried a black molly, consensus was 16 hour acclimation but I read a post that someone just dropped the Molly’s in with success so I went that route. Molly didn’t make it 2 days but showed no signs of spots or illness, I just don’t think it liked being put directly in the saltwater.

I have new fish in QT and am almost at the end of my fallow period, looking forward to putting them in my display tank and enjoying it again! (No offense to my snails and hermit crab display tank for the past few weeks).