Is the this the ill fated uronemea?

Gianluca

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My roommate put some chromis i ordered into my DT Instead of QT while I was out. When I got back one of the five chromis I ordered had this nasty cut on it. I am hoping it isn't uronemea. Is it? I'm gonna try and look at it under a microscope tomorrow. If it is.. what now?
(I managed to get all the chromis out of the DT and into QT)

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mguantes

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I’ve had fish with Uronema before but never an open wound. That looks terrible, do the other chromis have any signs?
 

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Uronema causes sores. That looks like a wound, and a pretty nasty one. I can't see how the fish would manage to do that to itself, so do you have any tangs or pistol shrimp in the tank?
 
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Gianluca

Gianluca

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Uronema causes sores. That looks like a wound, and a pretty nasty one. I can't see how the fish would manage to do that to itself, so do you have any tangs or pistol shrimp in the tank?
Only livestock in the tank are other chromis, Clownfish, cleaner shrimp, snails, dwarf hermits, and an emerald crab. I don't think the crab could do that kind of damage. Could I have a secret hitchhiker?
 

blecki

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Maybe. A hermit or emerald crab could take a chunk out of a fish if they caught it. It's hard to tell from the picture how large (or small) this guy is - I'm looking at my chromis that are all 3.5" but I know these guys are usually sold tiny. Maybe a really bad net injury by your roommate? Maybe the fish was already on the way out allowing the crab to get at it? Maybe it died of something else entirely and the cut is post-mortem? Or I could just be wrong and it's uronema BUT if it was then the fish had that in the bag - the sore does not develop instantly.

I only asked about tangs because the yellow tang I used to have would occasionally slice open a new addition he didn't like.
 
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Gianluca

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Maybe. A hermit or emerald crab could take a chunk out of a fish if they caught it. It's hard to tell from the picture how large (or small) this guy is - I'm looking at my chromis that are all 3.5" but I know these guys are usually sold tiny. Maybe a really bad net injury by your roommate? Maybe the fish was already on the way out allowing the crab to get at it? Maybe it died of something else entirely and the cut is post-mortem? Or I could just be wrong and it's uronema BUT if it was then the fish had that in the bag - the sore does not develop instantly.

I only asked about tangs because the yellow tang I used to have would occasionally slice open a new addition he didn't like.
Yeah the fish is real young, maybe a little over an inch. I could see my roommate injuring him with the net and the crab taking advantage of that. According to my roommate no marking were on him in the bag so yeah maybe the crab got them. I am relieved to hear it's not uronema. It didn't look like it but that is a relief. I am gonna keep my eye out for the crab and I might sump him for now if I can find him again
 

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My roommate put some chromis i ordered into my DT Instead of QT while I was out. When I got back one of the five chromis I ordered had this nasty cut on it. I am hoping it isn't uronemea. Is it? I'm gonna try and look at it under a microscope tomorrow. If it is.. what now?
(I managed to get all the chromis out of the DT and into QT)

image.jpg
This is Uronema yes which is an elongated oval ciliated motile protozoan which causes this sore and angled downwards developing a red mark forming in the skin and muscle area of fish. Often it can be caused by exposure to other fish as well as low salinity, uneaten food in bedding and poor water quality and mainly affects newer acquired chromis
 

vetteguy53081

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Oh man I really hope not. I got them back into QT, is there anything I can do if this is the case? I'll hopefully find out for sure tomorrow when I look under a microscope
Often not once it occurs as medication will not reach area which the issue is spreading inside the fish’s tissue. Chloroquine Phosphate is good for prevention along with maintaining a clean tank bottom
 
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This is Uronema yes which is an elongated oval ciliated motile protozoan which causes this sore and angled downwards developing a red mark forming in the skin and muscle area of fish. Often it can be caused by exposure to other fish as well as low salinity, uneaten food in bedding and poor water quality and mainly affects newer acquired chromis
I got the survivors out of the DT as fast as possible and into a QT, what can I do from here? Is my tank now contaminated? They were in shipping for about 3 days so I could see that resulting in the infection. I did check my prams and everything looks normal
 

vetteguy53081

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I got the survivors out of the DT as fast as possible and into a QT, what can I do from here? Is my tank now contaminated? They were in shipping for about 3 days so I could see that resulting in the infection. I did check my prams and everything looks normal
You can use chloroquine phosphate or a 60 min Ruby Rally Pro bath. Formalin is the best treatment but hard to find as long as its not spreading within tissue of fish. You will see early signs of that if present
 
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Gianluca

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Often not once it occurs as medication will not reach area which the issue is spreading inside the fish’s tissue. Chloroquine Phosphate is good for prevention along with maintaining a clean tank bottom
Would that harm any of my inverts? If I were to treat the DT, would it help to put in the QT? Or do I just wait it out
 

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Would that harm any of my inverts? If I were to treat the DT, would it help to put in the QT? Or do I just wait it out
CP not invert safe but ruby Rally Pro is and best as a preventative but if other fish look clear- Ruby is a good gamble
 

To(meany)Tang

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Oh man I really hope not. I got them back into QT, is there anything I can do if this is the case? I'll hopefully find out for sure tomorrow when I look under a microscope
It not the end of the world. I thought it was when i first got it lol....Bleach everything and start over or learn to coexist with it. My tank got it from a purple queen anthias. Killed a couple of my fish but then calmed down. I've been running uronema for about 8 months now with no fish loss so far. Healthy diet and water quality helps manage.
 

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Screams wound to me from the photos. Uronema is blotchy pink streaks with missing scales.

Either case, if your keeping chromis (or even anthias) for that matter the chance is high that uronema is in the display, ime. Its just one of those I dont worry about too much.
 

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My roommate put some chromis i ordered into my DT Instead of QT while I was out. When I got back one of the five chromis I ordered had this nasty cut on it. I am hoping it isn't uronemea. Is it? I'm gonna try and look at it under a microscope tomorrow. If it is.. what now?
(I managed to get all the chromis out of the DT and into QT)

image.jpg

Rarely do I give 100% definitive diagnoses, but in this case, it is clearly Uronema. The angled lesion, the species involved and the open mouth all point to that. You likely will not see any of these protozoans in the lesion the day after the fish has died unless you kept the fish in seawater.

While other green chromis in the group may develop this issue (they may already be carrying it) it is not super contagious to the other fish.

Here is my article on this topic:


Jay
 

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