Infection in clownfish breeding system!
- Thread starter rcmike
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rcmike
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That's what I am afraid of. I came home from work for a while and cleaned out all the tanks and put all new water in and gave them all a formalin dip. That was the most often recommended treatment I could find. The big question is where did it come from? I would think if it was in the system that long it would have shown up before now. Hopefully I cough it quick enough. I have to go back to work for a while now. Hopefully they will be okay for a while until I get back.
Could be brook; however it also looks "worm-like".
I would start by doing a FW dip to see if any of the things dislodge: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/
I would start by doing a FW dip to see if any of the things dislodge: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/
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rcmike
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Interesting. What I did was a FW dip with formalin for 5 minutes. The fish did look a little better afterwards. I didn't really have time to look in the bottom of the bucket to see if flukes or whatever came off. None of the fish were acting strange before treatment and were eating fine also.
Are all the white appendages still on the fish? Or are some gone now, following the FW dip?
The quagmire is now this: Was it the osmotic shock or formalin which was primarily responsible for the improvement?
How large is your breeding system? Is it something that can be broken down, sanitized and then set back up? Or are you needing an in-tank solution to the problem?
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rcmike
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It could definitely be broken down and sanitized if needed. It is a rack that holds 2 40 breeders on top and 6 10 gal. tanks in the middle with a sump on the bottom. I can shut off whatever tanks I don't need and lift the 10 gal. tanks completely out for cleaning. Right now I only have 4 pairs so I could get it down to 4 10 gal. tanks with the sump if needed. Two of the pairs are lightning maroons and they were in the 40s due the aggressive nature of them. I think theyou are to the point where the female could tolerate the male in a 10 gal. for a while without killing him.
BTW, I got home early due to getting rained out and they look better however I have a black snowflake pair and I noticed some stringy stuff on one of his pectoral fins.
melypr1985
totally addicted
I'm leaning toward brook on this one... though it could be a worm too. Tricky and dangerous for your clown system if it's brook.
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rcmike
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Thanks for all the help everyone. Right now the fish in the picture has no signs of being sick. The skin looks normal. No spots, bumps, or discoloration at all. The black snowflake has some very tiny spots. You almost can't see them. I'm sure it is easier to see on it due to the black coloration. I am not sure if the spots are something on her or just spots left from the parasites that fell off. None of the fish show excess slime and they all are eating good and acting normally. Whatever it is, the dip seems to have knocked most of it off.
Yes Meredith, brook was the first thing that came to mind. I dealt with what I think was brook years ago and it wiped out nearly all the fish in my reef tank in a couple of days. If it is brook or whatever, I want to try to deal with it swiftly before it takes hold.
Yes Meredith, brook was the first thing that came to mind. I dealt with what I think was brook years ago and it wiped out nearly all the fish in my reef tank in a couple of days. If it is brook or whatever, I want to try to deal with it swiftly before it takes hold.
@rcmike I would dose API General Cure into your breeding system. This medication contains praziquantel (for treating worms) and metronidazole (for treating brook). So, best of both worlds.
FYI; you can save some coin by buying straight prazi (7.5 mg/gal) & metro (25 mg/gal).
FYI; you can save some coin by buying straight prazi (7.5 mg/gal) & metro (25 mg/gal).
I actually have some metronidazole and PraziPro.
Mixing those could be a problem due to the Oxybispropanol found in Prazipro. Watch out for a bacterial bloom (cloudy water). Dosing powder prazi w/metro won't cause this issue, but admittedly can be difficult to dissolve without the solubilizing agent.
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rcmike
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Mixing those could be a problem due to the Oxybispropanol found in Prazipro. Watch out for a bacterial bloom (cloudy water). Dosing powder prazi w/metro won't cause this issue, but admittedly can be difficult to dissolve without the solubilizing agent.
Oh great. Well, I dosed them both and this morning they all look well. I only had enough metro for one dose. I have ordered some "general cure" and it should be here tomorrow. If I get a chance today I might see if I can locate some faster but finding the correct meds locally can be hard. If I wanted Melafix I'm sure I could find it.
Btw, where can you get straight metro and prazi? I did a quick search and all I could find was prazi tablets.
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rcmike
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Thanks for the links. I don't know if I would ever use enough to justify buying some in the quantities they have though. I bookmarked the sites.
Today all of the fish are looking great. I don't see any signs of infection. I should get the general cure tomorrow. I will treat them when I get it. Should I just do one more dose since I dosed PraziPRO and metro or would you recommend doing the two doses 48 hours apart like the directions say just to be sure?
Today all of the fish are looking great. I don't see any signs of infection. I should get the general cure tomorrow. I will treat them when I get it. Should I just do one more dose since I dosed PraziPRO and metro or would you recommend doing the two doses 48 hours apart like the directions say just to be sure?
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