My clownfish got velvet/brooklynella

jzaki · Jul 20, 2023

I recently bought a coral beauty about 2 weeks. I didn’t have the space around my house to put a QT so I put it in my main tank. I went on vacation for about a week and I noticed that one of my clownfish (8 years old) had white spots all over him. I suspected it was either velvet/brooklynella because he had whites spots all over the place and I couldn’t count it. I decided to use ICH attack by kordon since it was safe for all the snail, invertebrates which helped initially but keeps coming back worse in terms of the white spots. All the fish in my tank are eating well and swimming around with no issues and I have no corals. My clownfish with the white spots is breathing a little heavy but is still eating normally with no issues. today, I noticed that the white spots around the fish got significantly worse and im not sure what to do. I upped the dosing to twice daily. I’ve been told that velvet or brooklynella is hard to treat. Im just really concerned for the clownfish I had it since 2015 and I really don’t want it to die. I also bought rapid cure by kordon but I was told it wasn’t safe for the invertebrates in the tank. I also increased the temp to around 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) I also saw some mixed reviews on ICH attack and it wasn’t very clear that it worked perfectly. I have never encountered a parasite in this hobby and I’d really like some advice on this issue. I attached a video of my clownfish and coral beauty. Also the coral beauty that I got his eyes are bulging a bit. Initially saw white spots around his eyes but there gone now. I was thinking of increasing the temperature again to around 84 degrees Fahrenheit and maybe increasing the dose to 3 times daily since it’s not getting any better. Or should I just wait patiently for the treatment to work. I also heard that ICH-X was good for it as well.

vetteguy53081 · Jul 20, 2023

jzaki said:
I recently bought a coral beauty about 2 weeks. I didn’t have the space around my house to put a QT so I put it in my main tank. I went on vacation for about a week and I noticed that one of my clownfish (8 years old) had white spots all over him. I suspected it was either velvet/brooklynella because he had whites spots all over the place and I couldn’t count it. I decided to use ICH attack by kordon since it was safe for all the snail, invertebrates which helped initially but keeps coming back worse in terms of the white spots. All the fish in my tank are eating well and swimming around with no issues and I have no corals. My clownfish with the white spots is breathing a little heavy but is still eating normally with no issues. today, I noticed that the white spots around the fish got significantly worse and im not sure what to do. I upped the dosing to twice daily. I’ve been told that velvet or brooklynella is hard to treat. Im just really concerned for the clownfish I had it since 2015 and I really don’t want it to die. I also bought rapid cure by kordon but I was told it wasn’t safe for the invertebrates in the tank. I also increased the temp to around 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) I also saw some mixed reviews on ICH attack and it wasn’t very clear that it worked perfectly. I have never encountered a parasite in this hobby and I’d really like some advice on this issue. I attached a video of my clownfish and coral beauty. Also the coral beauty that I got his eyes are bulging a bit. Initially saw white spots around his eyes but there gone now. I was thinking of increasing the temperature again to around 84 degrees Fahrenheit and maybe increasing the dose to 3 times daily since it’s not getting any better. Or should I just wait patiently for the treatment to work. I also heard that ICH-X was good for it as well.

Looking at coverage on clown and cloudy eyes on coral beauty, This appears to be indeed velvet and I would not react as proposed. No need to raise temp and if you do- 80.5 is sufficient. As for your issue, Treatment will have to be in a separate quarantine tank.
Velvet spots on the fish are much finer than the spots seen in Ich making it harder to catch until in cases too late to treat.
Some behaviors associated with a fish with velvet are :
- Scratching body against hard objects
- Fish is lethargic
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Rapid, labored breathing
- Fins clamped against the body
- rapid breathing and mucus around the gills

Fish with velvet will typically stay at the surface of the water, or remain in a position where a steady flow of water is present in the aquarium. As the disease progresses outwards from the gills, the cysts then become visible on the fins and body. Although these cysts may appear as tiny white dots the size of a grain of salt, like the first sign of Saltwater Ich or White Spot Disease, what sets Oodinium apart from other types of ich is that at this point the fish have the appearance of being coated with what looks like a whitish or tan to golden colored, velvet-like film, thus the name Velvet Disease.
Remove fish from main tank and give them a FW dip or bath and then place them into a QT with vigorous aeration provided. Treat the fish in the QT with a copper-based medication. Although many remedies contain the general name as ich or ick treatments, read the box to be sure it targets Oodinium. My choice is coppersafe or copper power at 2.25-2.5 therapuetic level at 80 degrees for a FULL 30 days monitored by a reliable copper test kit such as Hanna Brand (no api brand). Assure the medication you use states treats Oodinum.

jzaki · Jul 20, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Looking at coverage on clown and cloudy eyes on coral beauty, This appears to be indeed velvet and I would not react as proposed. No need to raise temp and if you do- 80.5 is sufficient. As for your issue, Treatment will have to be in a separate quarantine tank.
Velvet spots on the fish are much finer than the spots seen in Ich making it harder to catch until in cases too late to treat.
Some behaviors associated with a fish with velvet are :
- Scratching body against hard objects
- Fish is lethargic
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Rapid, labored breathing
- Fins clamped against the body
- rapid breathing and mucus around the gills

Fish with velvet will typically stay at the surface of the water, or remain in a position where a steady flow of water is present in the aquarium. As the disease progresses outwards from the gills, the cysts then become visible on the fins and body. Although these cysts may appear as tiny white dots the size of a grain of salt, like the first sign of Saltwater Ich or White Spot Disease, what sets Oodinium apart from other types of ich is that at this point the fish have the appearance of being coated with what looks like a whitish or tan to golden colored, velvet-like film, thus the name Velvet Disease.
Remove fish from main tank and give them a FW dip or bath and then place them into a QT with vigorous aeration provided. Treat the fish in the QT with a copper-based medication. Although many remedies contain the general name as ich or ick treatments, read the box to be sure it targets Oodinium. My choice is coppersafe or copper power at 2.25-2.5 therapuetic level at 80 degrees for a FULL 30 days monitored by a reliable copper test kit such as Hanna Brand (no api brand). Assure the medication you use states treats Oodinum.

Is there any treatment that’s reef safe or there is no good options at all. Getting a QT tank is gonna be hard since I don’t have any available space for it

vetteguy53081 · Jul 20, 2023

jzaki said:
Is there any treatment that’s reef safe or there is no good options at all. Getting a QT tank is gonna be ha

A 20 gallon long turned lengthwise will take up 13" of space. Most reef safe options dont work.
You can use both polyp Lab medic and ruby Rally pro which is a gamble but will also be costly (Medic is $40 IF it works and both will take longer than conventional coppersafe
Often you can find a tank deal on craigslist Or thrift store and walmart starter tank kits have many of the essentials