Is this Brooklynella on my clownfish?

[jmanzzz]

I have a small clownfish in my 55 gal reef and he has some blotchy white patches on his body. Hoping it’s not Brook but can someone please tell me? There are 3 other clowns in the tank as well and 1 shows some slight aggression to him. Could it just be aggression? Pics below

 

[Sharkbait19]

How recently has it or any other fish been added?
Video isn’t playing on my end (iPhone) but from the pic brook does look to be possible.
Be prepared to move all fish into a separate qt tank to treat.
#fishmedic

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have a small clownfish in my 55 gal reef and he has some blotchy white patches on his body. Hoping it’s not Brook but can someone please tell me? There are 3 other clowns in the tank as well and 1 shows some slight aggression to him. Could it just be aggression? Pics below

Hi,

I got the video to play. It isn't super clear, but the rapid breathing plus the shimmy and folded fins shows it has some issue. There also seems to be some white congestion on its body that could indicate Brooklynella. This will be difficult to treat in your main tank. Do you have a treatment tank available? Formalin is the best treatment, but it is difficult to get. You could try Ruby Reef Rally Pro - that can be dosed in most display tanks, but because it is a low dose, it isn't always successful.

Jay

 

[Labridaedicted]

Certainly looks like it. Did you do any kind of quarantine on it?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Blowing up the image, looks very much like Brook. The most significant sign is the amount of slime on its body. The thick mucus on its body is a second sign which is noticeable on the fish. This mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Typical treatment is a formalin solution is mixed with in a separate container with either fresh or saltwater. Start with a quick dip in the formalin at a higher concentration then performing treatment in a prolonged bath of formalin base at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the formalin treatment the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
If a formalin solution is not available for immediate use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

 

[MnFish1]

I agree - I will say one thing that seems common - every time a clown has a problem - the go to is 'brooklynella'. I wonder - aside from the original post - I agree with the responses. is there any website - or data - that says - the incidence of brook vs CI vs velvet - so that when a person sees symptoms on day 1 - a likelyhood - can be surmised. My comment based on the pictures - without knowing for sure - the length of time the fish was there, etc - it could be brooklynella - or multiple other things

 

[jmanzzz]

Hi,

I got the video to play. It isn't super clear, but the rapid breathing plus the shimmy and folded fins shows it has some issue. There also seems to be some white congestion on its body that could indicate Brooklynella. This will be difficult to treat in your main tank. Do you have a treatment tank available? Formalin is the best treatment, but it is difficult to get. You could try Ruby Reef Rally Pro - that can be dosed in most display tanks, but because it is a low dose, it isn't always successful.

Jay

I have a 20 gal qt tank that I could treat him in and I checked the other fish no signs in the other fish. Should I just move him?

 

[jmanzzz]

How recently has it or any other fish been added?
Video isn’t playing on my end (iPhone) but from the pic brook does look to be possible.
Be prepared to move all fish into a separate qt tank to treat.
#fishmedic

The fish has been in the tank for about 2-3 months

 

[MnFish1]

I have a 20 gal qt tank that I could treat him in and I checked the other fish no signs in the other fish. Should I just move him?

While we wait for jay to answer - prepare the tank - and treat. What I have learned - and my experience - the quicker you take action - the quicker you will have a potential positive outcome

 

[jmanzzz]

Blowing up the image, looks very much like Brook. The most significant sign is the amount of slime on its body. The thick mucus on its body is a second sign which is noticeable on the fish. This mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Typical treatment is a formalin solution is mixed with in a separate container with either fresh or saltwater. Start with a quick dip in the formalin at a higher concentration then performing treatment in a prolonged bath of formalin base at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the formalin treatment the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
If a formalin solution is not available for immediate use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

Yea just threw some food in the tank and he is still swimming around and eating. Still going to do the fw bath and if no parasites fall off then it would not be brook or still could be?

 

[MnFish1]

A freshwater dip is only a diagnostic test IF you see flukes dropping off. If they do not - no - it is not a diagnosis of 'no flukes' or brook. IMHO - you should treat empirically for the likely organisms. Freshwater dips are at best temporary - and at worse can kill fish outright

 

[jmanzzz]

While we wait for jay to answer - prepare the tank - and treat. What I have learned - and my experience - the quicker you take action - the quicker you will have a potential positive outcome

I’m fw dipping the fish rn. What should I look for to fall off of the fish?

 

[jmanzzz]

A freshwater dip is only a diagnostic test IF you see flukes dropping off. If they do not - no - it is not a diagnosis of 'no flukes' or brook. IMHO - you should treat empirically for the likely organisms. Freshwater dips are at best temporary - and at worse can kill fish outright

No flukes fell off of the fish and I have him in the qt tank but all the sudden he’s not doing so good. What should I do?

 

[jmanzzz]

Yea just threw some food in the tank and he is still swimming around and eating. Still going to do the fw bath and if no parasites fall off then it would not be brook or still could be?

Can I make the formalin solution?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Can I make the formalin solution?

You will not see anything drop off if the issue is Brooklynella (only one species of fluke would be visible - Neobenedenia).

Formaldehyde is available here, but the shipping time might be too long:


You might be better off trying to source the Ruby Reef Rally Pro locally, if you can get it faster.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yea just threw some food in the tank and he is still swimming around and eating. Still going to do the fw bath and if no parasites fall off then it would not be brook or still could be?

FW dip only offers relief from mucus. Nothing will fall off as brook is not a fluke issue but rather a parasite known as Brooklynella hostilis which specifically attacks the gills of marine fish.

 

[jmanzzz]

FW dip only offers relief from mucus. Nothing will fall off as brook is not a fluke issue but rather a parasite known as Brooklynella hostilis which specifically attacks the gills of marine fish.

Noticed that the mucus fell off of him when I dipped him and noticed that his fins are a little beat up. I have a clownfish in my tank that will sometimes shove him in the body and bites him sometimes. Could that be the cause of the mucus?

 

[jmanzzz]

Noticed that the mucus fell off of him when I dipped him and noticed that his fins are a little beat up. I have a clownfish in my tank that will sometimes shove him in the body and bites him sometimes. Could that be the cause of the mucus? This is a pic of what he looks like now

 

[vetteguy53081]

Noticed that the mucus fell off of him when I dipped him and noticed that his fins are a little beat up. I have a clownfish in my tank that will sometimes shove him in the body and bites him sometimes. Could that be the cause of the mucus?

Stress from the other clown, may be contributor but Not cause.

 

[jmanzzz]

Stress from the other clown, may be contributor but Not cause.

So your saying that this is definitely brook?