Parasite/lymphocystis not sure? Please help

[Handofjah]

Hello reef to reef,
I desperately need some help identifying what’s going on with my clown fish.... So pictured below is my female clown fish, of a pair. I have had them in my tank for about 4 years now. It’s a 28g bio cube. I have now fw dipped the female twice for 4 minutes each time. Didn’t see much come off of her during the dip process. Not sure if it can still be flukes or a parasite or lymphocystis...? I do have a frag tank that can be made into a qt if needed. Any advice is appreciated!

A little recent background-
Last week I lost my biota captive bread mandarin goby of almost two years. I noticed a light discoloration mark on his side, at night time, and he was missing the next day. I recently added a helfrichs fire fish, say a month ago.
Those are the only fish in the system, 2x clowns, 1 fire fish, and the mandarin who is no longer here, unfortunately.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

@ngoodermuth @HotRocks

 

[Mjrenz]

That looks like it could be brooklynella to me, I'm going to add @4FordFamily to the list also

 

[ngoodermuth]

I agree, brooklynella is possible. Could also be something viral or bacterial, but being a clownfish not sure I’d take the chance not to treat it.

Ruby reef rally bath (90-minutes, temp-controlled and aerated)

Followed by 14 days of Metroplex in QT.

Edit. I’m looking at the pictures a bit more closely... I actually don’t think it’s brook. It looks more like something viral or bacterial.

The rally bath is a good idea, and then maybe feed really well and observe a little longer. Vita-chem/selcon soaked foods, live or quality frozen.

How long have symptoms been there, and how is the clown behaving otherwise? Eating/breathing normally? Any scratching, yawning, darting, etc?

 

[Handofjah]

Agree, don’t think it’s brook...
Thanks for the reply! I noticed this on the clown for the last two days... but could have been missing it until then. She is acting pretty normal otherwise, eating swimming as if perfectly fine. Woke up this morning and it seems like half of the lumpy objects are gone, but definitely still some there.
I will be hitting the town here shortly for your recommendations.

 

[Handofjah]

Eating, breathing, swimming, all seems normal... no darting or scratching that I have seen yet either.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Ok, I think boosting nutrition and giving a rally bath would be good first steps. And observe from there.

If the white fluffy areas start to become red or look like sores, QT and antibiotics would be necessary. If he develops white filmy patches, slime that looks like it’s peeling, fast breathing, scratching, etc... I’d be more concerned about brook or another parasite.

 

[4FordFamily]

Ok, I think boosting nutrition and giving a rally bath would be good first steps. And observe from there.

If the white fluffy areas start to become red or look like sores, QT and antibiotics would be necessary. If he develops white filmy patches, slime that looks like it’s peeling, fast breathing, scratching, etc... I’d be more concerned about brook or another parasite.

I agree as usual.

I would emphasize most to look for increasing size of the affected tissue and redness.

 

[Handofjah]

Ok so I picked up the ruby reef rally, I have a qt tank but you had mentioned a bath... any advice on bath directions? Should I do a bath and add some to qt also? Thoughts?
Also picked up some vita chem for food supplement as I will be soaking some frozen mysis for future feeding.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Ok so I picked up the ruby reef rally, I have a qt tank but you had mentioned a bath... any advice on bath directions? Should I do a bath and add some to qt also? Thoughts?
Also picked up some vita chem for food supplement as I will be soaking some frozen mysis for future feeding.

I would do the bath in a 5 gallon bucket. It’s 5ml per gallon, you want an airline to keep it aerated and a small heater. I usually go 90 minutes.

You can move the clown to the QT for observation, just in case. But, if it’s viral the only thing you can do is boost the immune system and let it ride its course. Unless symptoms change or get worse.

 

[Handofjah]

Thank you so much! Implementing advice now...

 

[Handofjah]

Freshly mixed salt water with matching parameters ok for the bath? Or tank water?

 

[ngoodermuth]

Freshly mixed salt water with matching parameters ok for the bath? Or tank water?

Fresh saltwater, temp and salinity matched

 

[Handofjah]

Ok, so I am 40 mins into the bath... fish is swimming around quite aggressively, and also losing some color. Several organic objects are ate the bottom of the bucket now.
Do you have any concerns about the swimming or color loss?

 

[Handofjah]

So I think the bath went pretty well! She is currently in the qt and looking normal as far as breathing, swimming, and eating. The whitish objects have diminished in size and quantity as well.
I will be keeping a close eye...
Thanks again for all of the help and advice!!