New Yellow Tangs w/ Crypto (possible entry vector - Live Sand?)

[Lividfanatica]

So the female clown(the male that I pictured earlier is still alive) and one of the tangs dies. Not sure if anyone can spot disease on them at this point but here they are for reference. I am completely shocked that I have had these clowns for 5+ years and one of them is dead. Was it the tangs that brought brook in? Have they had it all along? All my experience and I feel helpless at this point.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The Tangs don't have spots anymore. The clowns did get "normal" looking Ich spots at the very beginning before copper was at therapeutic levels, but those have since subsided.

I have had the clowns for a VERY long time (5+ years) - is it possible they had brook all along and it just popped up due to stresss?

Appreciate any help! I am going to start with a water change tonight to help reduce any stress from ammonia/nitrate.

I’ve never had long term captive clowns get velvet, almost always see it in newly imported ones, or ones exposed to newly imported ones…..
Jay

 

[Lividfanatica]

My male clown died overnight. Down to one tang now. Tang has no visible sign of infection but is breathing heavily.

I did a water change and reduced the copper concentration slightly. It was at 2.6 (copper power).

Pic of the clown in case it can help with a diagnosis.

 

[mcgullen]

This is very strange. It is odd to see clear ich signs early on, but sudden mucous coating suggesting brook on clownfish 8 days later in QT.

Even stranger to have sudden death.

Do you have access to a microscope? Can you see if the unfortunate dead fish have infected gills?

 

[Lividfanatica]

This is very strange. It is odd to see clear ich signs early on, but sudden mucous coating suggesting brook on clownfish 8 days later in QT.

Even stranger to have sudden death.

Do you have access to a microscope? Can you see if the unfortunate dead fish have infected gills?

Sadly, I don't. Could I visually see something on the gills without one?

 

[mcgullen]

If you have a pair of small scissors, can you remove a branchial arch from the gill of each of the dead fish and place it on dark background and take a high resolution photo? There is some chance that we get clues this way.

Sudden death probably suggests inability to breathe.

 

[Lividfanatica]

If you have a pair of small scissors, can you remove a branchial arch from the gill of each of the dead fish and place it on dark background and take a high resolution photo? There is some chance that we get clues this way.

Sudden death probably suggests inability to breath.

I'll have to dig the clown from this AM out of the trash I just took out... worth it though if we can diagnose and save the last tang. I did just do a 5 minute FW dip of that tang as a last-ditch/preventative effort in case it is a parasite in the gills. No change in behavior yet... still hanging in an upper corner of the tank breathing pretty heavily.

 

[mcgullen]

NVM if it's too much efforts. But if you can see clear gill issues (strange and numerous discoloration etc), it's usually more helpful to post a pic of that.

 

[Lividfanatica]

NVM if it's too much efforts. But if you can see clear gill issues (strange and numerous discoloration etc), it's usually more helpful to post a pic of that.

Well here it is… it is t easy to dissect a small male clownfish… so take the pics for what they are worth. I almost puked, not so much that it was gross but rather doing this to my deceased pet made me sick. I hope I got pics of the right stuff…

 

[mcgullen]

Very sorry for your loss.

Do you see the discoloration in the clownfish's gill filament? That's rather clear. Healthy fish filaments have no discoloration. See comparison photo.

This also kills too quickly to be fluke. High likelihood to be velvet.

 

[Lividfanatica]

Very sorry for your loss.

Do you see the discoloration in the clownfish's gill filament? That's rather clear. Healthy fish filaments have no discoloration. See comparison photo.

This also kills too quickly to be fluke. High likelihood to be velvet.

Looking at the more recent photo i posted of this fish (still in the tank), I was debating between Brook and Velvet. I kind of thought that copper at 2.5+ppm would have killed that off though. Was i just too late? Or the fish was too stressed to recover?

 

[mcgullen]

Brooklynella usually creates patches of mucous "coats" that gradually grow larger in size. There is usually a chance to see a progression/worsening of the symptoms.

Copper cannot kill velvet trophonts that are already encysted on gill filaments.

 

[Lividfanatica]

Brooklynella usually creates patches of mucous "coats" that gradually grow larger in size. There is usually a chance to see a progression/worsening of the symptoms.

Copper cannot kill velvet trophonts that are already encysted on gill filaments.

Thanks for that. How does one kill them off once on the gills?

 

[Lividfanatica]

the last remaining fish is slowly taking a turn for the worse. I also noticed it’s fins are starting to rot a bit. I don’t see signs of ich or velvet (no spots). Any additional recommendations on treatment? I’m going to do another FW dip and I have some Ruby Red Reef on the way for a bath, but I’m not sure if this guy will make it to tonight.

 

[mcgullen]

Is the fish eating? If you are maintaining copper at therapeutic concentration, you have already performed the recommended steps for. Reducing stress for the fish may be more important than adding more medicine.

 

[Lividfanatica]

Is the fish eating? If you are maintaining copper at therapeutic concentration, you have already performed the recommended steps for. Reducing stress for the fish may be more important than adding more medicine.

No, it hasn’t been eating for a couple days. Sadly the last tang kicked it. I did a WC and reduced copper slightly from 2.6 to 2.1 hoping that less medication might mean less stress. I tried and I appreciate everyone’s advice. Now I just need to wait for my display to fallow out and then I’ll get a canary to try it out.

Sometimes this hobby kicks you square in the soft bits.