Physical Scrape? Or infection?

[Resilient]

I just got some lytertail anthias and one has a vertical injury on its side. Does this look like a physical scrape or something else? They were very jumpy trying to net and transfer so he easily could have gotten caught on the net. But just wanted to make sure this wasn't something else going on.

Other than that white line, he is acting very normal and eating happily.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just got some lytertail anthias and one has a vertical injury on its side. Does this look like a physical scrape or something else? They were very jumpy trying to net and transfer so he easily could have gotten caught on the net. But just wanted to make sure this wasn't something else going on.

Other than that white line, he is acting very normal and eating happily.

This is a scrape injury which should heal on its own but do keep an eye on it for healing and not becoming sore or redness

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I just got some lytertail anthias and one has a vertical injury on its side. Does this look like a physical scrape or something else? They were very jumpy trying to net and transfer so he easily could have gotten caught on the net. But just wanted to make sure this wasn't something else going on.

Other than that white line, he is acting very normal and eating happily.

That’s a classic symptom of internal Uronema. It runs at an angle like that due to the underlying muscle tissue that this protozoan infects.

The internal version really isn’t treatable.

Here is an article I wrote about this:

Uronema / Red Band Disease - Hemdal

Red Band Syndrome in Marine Fishes: Caused by the Protozoan; Uronema sp. Jay Hemdal Introduction: This moderately common disease of certain species of marine fish is so often misdiagnosed that most aquarists apply incorrect treatment methods...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Resilient]

Hrmm, I was worried it might be uronema. I am hoping it is just an injury from the transfer last night, but I will see if I can catch him and isolate him. It sounds like there isn't any treatment so I will just hope it might not be uronema. Unfortunately this showed up the morning after he went in. Is there anything that should be done for the other fish in the DT in case it is uronema? The article makes it sound like it isn't likely to spread, so I supposed that is an up side.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hrmm, I was worried it might be uronema. I am hoping it is just an injury from the transfer last night, but I will see if I can catch him and isolate him. It sounds like there isn't any treatment so I will just hope it might not be uronema. Unfortunately this showed up the morning after he went in. Is there anything that should be done for the other fish in the DT in case it is uronema? The article makes it sound like it isn't likely to spread, so I supposed that is an up side.

It could be an injury, but I doubt it, the symptoms here are classic.

Very unlikely to spread to other fish, but other fish acquired from the same source at the same time could also be harboring it.

 

[Resilient]

He is still alive, now in a QT tank. He hides immediately behind the filter when I come in the room so I am having a hard time inspecting him .

But I did put a sample of a little bit of food that was at the bottom of the tank under the microscope.

Does this look like uronema? I believe this is 10x10 magnification.



I am a little surprised he is still alive and will come out to eat if I watch from the door after 4 days given what I have read about uronema.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

He is still alive, now in a QT tank. He hides immediately behind the filter when I come in the room so I am having a hard time inspecting him .

But I did put a sample of a little bit of food that was at the bottom of the tank under the microscope.

Does this look like uronema? I believe this is 10x10 magnification.



I am a little surprised he is still alive and will come out to eat if I watch from the door after 4 days given what I have read about uronema.

The timeline here may change my diagnosis - Uronema usually kills a fish within 3 days of seeing the vertical lesion. If your anthias is doing well and the lesion hasn't gotten deeper/redder, then this doesn't sound like Uronema after all.

Yes, that organism in the video is a ciliate, very likely Uronema.

Here is my story: back in the 1980's, I worked for the Shedd Aquarium. I was working in the lab doing preliminary necropsies on fish for the curator. I would take the fish that died overnight and look at them under a microscope. I kept seeing Uronema in case after case. I went to my curator with my concern. He just told me - take this piece of frozen smelt and leave it in one of the tanks overnight. The next day, he had me look at it - covered in Uronema! His point was, don't worry about these, they are just scavengers......