Please help me identify what’s going on with my clownfish!

Deej1534

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
65
Reaction score
13
Location
Notthfield, NJ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Pleas help me identify what is going on with my clown fish. He was fine this morning and I have I checked him multiple times but after work I realized that he seems to have something happening to his skin. I am really hoping it’s not velvet or ich
FC7BC8C0-3B6E-459D-935B-D8CC71B8AC96.jpeg
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,815
Reaction score
200,035
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
Pleas help me identify what is going on with my clown fish. He was fine this morning and I have I checked him multiple times but after work I realized that he seems to have something happening to his skin. I am really hoping it’s not velvet or ich
FC7BC8C0-3B6E-459D-935B-D8CC71B8AC96.jpeg
Clownfish has brooklynella. Often confused with ich, looks like Skin lesions appearing which is a sign of secondary bacterial infection. As the disease progresses, a thick whitish mucus covers the body. This will usually start at the head and spread outward across the entire body.
Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from 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.
 
OP
OP
Deej1534

Deej1534

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
65
Reaction score
13
Location
Notthfield, NJ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Clownfish has brooklynella. Often confused with ich, looks like Skin lesions appearing which is a sign of secondary bacterial infection. As the disease progresses, a thick whitish mucus covers the body. This will usually start at the head and spread outward across the entire body.
Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from 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.
Will this infect other fish in my tank? Do I need to worry about a bacterial spread? Also how long does the qt usually take? I sadly just jumped from my 50 gallon to a 210 and don’t have a quarantine tank set up yet. Is this something that needs to be done asap or will tomorrow or Saturday work?
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,275
Reaction score
25,175
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Pleas help me identify what is going on with my clown fish. He was fine this morning and I have I checked him multiple times but after work I realized that he seems to have something happening to his skin. I am really hoping it’s not velvet or ich
FC7BC8C0-3B6E-459D-935B-D8CC71B8AC96.jpeg

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Can you get better photos, and maybe a short video? I pulled this picture up on my desktop and I can see discrete white spots, which is a symptom of ich, not Brooklynella. Some background information about the fish and the tank is also needed. We have a note about what info is helpful here:


Jay
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,815
Reaction score
200,035
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Can you get better photos, and maybe a short video? I pulled this picture up on my desktop and I can see discrete white spots, which is a symptom of ich, not Brooklynella. Some background information about the fish and the tank is also needed. We have a note about what info is helpful here:


Jay
I too thought ich but was not widespread on body
 
OP
OP
Deej1534

Deej1534

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
65
Reaction score
13
Location
Notthfield, NJ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Can you get better photos, and maybe a short video? I pulled this picture up on my desktop and I can see discrete white spots, which is a symptom of ich, not Brooklynella. Some background information about the fish and the tank is also needed. We have a note about what info is helpful here:


Jay
Hey Jay,

this tank is pretty new. I just moved from my 50 gallon to my new 210 gallon which has about 250 gallons moving through the sump to my basement. I tried to upload a video but for some reason the site keeps showing them as black unloadable images. I am not sure if I am doing it wrong :/ but I have had one dragon wrasse die recently who I just found his skeleton below one of my large base rocks (impossible to get out of the tank sadly without destroying the rocks) Before he disappeared he was breathing heavy but did mot show any signs of disease or discoloration on his skin. I owned him for 3 months (photo attached).

I have had this fish for over a year and she has been healthy the whole time. No issues. She just recently showed this white spotting and I have noticed a bit of a slow down but still eating and moving around the tank quiet easily. I uploaded a new photo below which hopefully help a bit. When you get a close look it almost looks like skin peeling or little breaks in her coat. Some thing to add I recently started dosing iodide and magnesium into the at recommended doses for size and have always doses alkaline and calcium. All products are seachem. See pics below. The tanks parameters are completely level with a little nitrates 10 ppm to be exact. But no ammonia
8CEE2928-B36D-4ED0-98D4-67F4C991E5C2.jpeg
42376DB7-ED26-4B04-9220-2DA8B2A78B8F.jpeg
45BB49F6-B7DE-4BFB-BC23-8821658192CB.jpeg
EA7BDCD4-5D8E-4350-98C9-6924EFA48EEB.jpeg
1E573DFB-8D7D-416B-A766-9789B7221891.jpeg
483FF25C-8A7F-44FC-940A-6DE930DFFF76.jpeg
CB0C0D2E-428A-43FB-91E0-3204BF068FB5.jpeg
05ECFAED-27AA-4699-89D6-037261FEF75F.jpeg
13715178-8D61-4ABA-AC05-DF340D82815D.jpeg
5C43ADF0-E31A-47B9-9B39-69ADEC1095F0.jpeg
B6319477-274E-4D8A-B999-6D798CC65801.jpeg
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,275
Reaction score
25,175
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I too thought ich but was not widespread on body
Some of the spots look too large and raised to be ich - could be those mucus plugs, but I've been fooled before, not realizing the fish was small, making the spots look larger (grin). Look at the clear portion of the soft dorsal fin - see the four or so spots there? Mucus plugs don't normally develop on fins like that.

Jay
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,275
Reaction score
25,175
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hey Jay,

this tank is pretty new. I just moved from my 50 gallon to my new 210 gallon which has about 250 gallons moving through the sump to my basement. I tried to upload a video but for some reason the site keeps showing them as black unloadable images. I am not sure if I am doing it wrong :/ but I have had one dragon wrasse die recently who I just found his skeleton below one of my large base rocks (impossible to get out of the tank sadly without destroying the rocks) Before he disappeared he was breathing heavy but did mot show any signs of disease or discoloration on his skin. I owned him for 3 months (photo attached).

I have had this fish for over a year and she has been healthy the whole time. No issues. She just recently showed this white spotting and I have noticed a bit of a slow down but still eating and moving around the tank quiet easily. I uploaded a new photo below which hopefully help a bit. When you get a close look it almost looks like skin peeling or little breaks in her coat. Some thing to add I recently started dosing iodide and magnesium into the at recommended doses for size and have always doses alkaline and calcium. All products are seachem. See pics below. The tanks parameters are completely level with a little nitrates 10 ppm to be exact. But no ammonia
8CEE2928-B36D-4ED0-98D4-67F4C991E5C2.jpeg
42376DB7-ED26-4B04-9220-2DA8B2A78B8F.jpeg
45BB49F6-B7DE-4BFB-BC23-8821658192CB.jpeg
EA7BDCD4-5D8E-4350-98C9-6924EFA48EEB.jpeg
1E573DFB-8D7D-416B-A766-9789B7221891.jpeg
483FF25C-8A7F-44FC-940A-6DE930DFFF76.jpeg
CB0C0D2E-428A-43FB-91E0-3204BF068FB5.jpeg
05ECFAED-27AA-4699-89D6-037261FEF75F.jpeg
13715178-8D61-4ABA-AC05-DF340D82815D.jpeg
5C43ADF0-E31A-47B9-9B39-69ADEC1095F0.jpeg
B6319477-274E-4D8A-B999-6D798CC65801.jpeg

This highlights the trouble with diagnosing from photos - in these shots, the spots look more diffuse to me. That then points more towards mucus plugs or Brooklynella....possibly even bacterial (but that is rare)

No other fish show symptoms?
Do you have a treatment tank you could move this clown into?

Jay
 
OP
OP
Deej1534

Deej1534

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
65
Reaction score
13
Location
Notthfield, NJ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
This highlights the trouble with diagnosing from photos - in these shots, the spots look more diffuse to me. That then points more towards mucus plugs or Brooklynella....possibly even bacterial (but that is rare)

No other fish show symptoms?
Do you have a treatment tank you could move this clown into?

Jay
Hey Jay,

I posted these pics on another forum and a lot of ppl are sayings it’s velvet disease which has me very worried. I have only added one fish to the tank which is looking super healthy and shows no sickness. This is a new tank which I just started a little over 2 weeks ago almost 3. I have no idea how this could have happened already. I am going to go buy a qt tank today and get him moved over a 1 gallon tank I have in the mean time. Here are some new pics of her I took this morning. The bumps seem to be smaller today but is this velvet!?!
B7CCE5AD-8F0B-4C49-852F-39C54690776D.jpeg
341DB102-8F08-4F19-A93F-F640A3FB5A9B.jpeg
830B1807-C760-4B36-A1FB-19590451D38F.jpeg
1FBB3265-09BA-45F3-A33E-712A75943BF1.jpeg
 
Last edited:

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,275
Reaction score
25,175
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hey Jay,

I posted these pics on another forum and a lot of ppl are sayings it’s velvet disease which has me very worried. I have only added one fish to the tank which is looking super healthy and shows no sickness. This is a new tank which I just started a little over 2 weeks ago almost 3. I have no idea how this could have happened already. I am going to go buy a qt tank today and get him moved over a 1 gallon tank I have in the mean time. Here are some new pics of her I took this morning. The bumps seem to be smaller today but is this velvet!?!
B7CCE5AD-8F0B-4C49-852F-39C54690776D.jpeg
341DB102-8F08-4F19-A93F-F640A3FB5A9B.jpeg
830B1807-C760-4B36-A1FB-19590451D38F.jpeg
1FBB3265-09BA-45F3-A33E-712A75943BF1.jpeg

Velvet (Amyloodinium) will always show rapid breathing, sometimes with no other symptoms. Without rapid breathing, it isn't velvet. Try counting the gill beats in 15 seconds and multiply that by four. That gives you gill beats per minutes. If it is below about 120, it isn't velvet. If it is above 150 it is likely velvet (or water quality issues).

If you see anything on the skin of a fish with velvet, it would be like a very fine dusting of tiny spots, not big spots like this.

Jay


Jay
 

Reckless

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 13, 2021
Messages
33
Reaction score
13
Location
Bay Area
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Its definitely not ich, most likely brooklynella or velvet but it looks like brook to me. Either way get it out of your display tank and start treating it. Maracyn Two, Rid Ich Plus are some over the counter meds that have formalin in it to help in a QT tank until you can get you hands on Formalin solution. I ordered mine on amazon. I lost a few fire fish and another that was really thin but my clowns and tangs survived. Formalin is harsh on fish and the tank water must be heavily aerated or it will burn there gills. I had two large air stones in a 10 gallon QT tank for 30-60 minutes before adding fish and the whole time fish were in the solution without light. The link below helped me a lot.

 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,275
Reaction score
25,175
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Its definitely not ich, most likely brooklynella or velvet but it looks like brook to me. Either way get it out of your display tank and start treating it. Maracyn Two, Rid Ich Plus are some over the counter meds that have formalin in it to help in a QT tank until you can get you hands on Formalin solution. I ordered mine on amazon. I lost a few fire fish and another that was really thin but my clowns and tangs survived. Formalin is harsh on fish and the tank water must be heavily aerated or it will burn there gills. I had two large air stones in a 10 gallon QT tank for 30-60 minutes before adding fish and the whole time fish were in the solution without light. The link below helped me a lot.


I don't think that Maracyn 2 has formalin in it, it is a chlortetracycline antibiotic. Rid Ich has a small amount of formalin, but it is heavy with malachite green - I don't like to use that on marine fish. For Brooklynella, I prefer using regular formalin (37% formaldehyde gas in water with a methanol stabilizer). Some people use Ruby Reef, but I have problems figuring an effective dose with that product.

Jay
 
OP
OP
Deej1534

Deej1534

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
65
Reaction score
13
Location
Notthfield, NJ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I am using fits copper safe to dose a 10 gallon qt tank I followed directions on bottle. Should I add air stones too? For extra o2 during at period? To be exact I added 2.5 tsp’s to the tank and did a ro/di fresh water dip before adding into the tank to help kill and active parasites
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,275
Reaction score
25,175
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I am using fits copper safe to dose a 10 gallon qt tank I followed directions on bottle. Should I add air stones too? For extra o2 during at period? To be exact I added 2.5 tsp’s to the tank and did a ro/di fresh water dip before adding into the tank to help kill and active parasites
Using coppersafe without a copper test kit is tricky. Your ten gallon tank may only hold about 8 gallons of water, and you need to dose for the actual water volume not the "tank capacity".

Copper doesn't require additional aeration, but all aquariums need some form of aeration - depends on the filter system that you are using, some supply aeration, but others don't. There should be bubbles breaking the water's surface at some point in the tank.

Jay
 
OP
OP
Deej1534

Deej1534

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
65
Reaction score
13
Location
Notthfield, NJ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Using coppersafe without a copper test kit is tricky. Your ten gallon tank may only hold about 8 gallons of water, and you need to dose for the actual water volume not the "tank capacity".

Copper doesn't require additional aeration, but all aquariums need some form of aeration - depends on the filter system that you are using, some supply aeration, but others don't. There should be bubbles breaking the water's surface at some point in the tank.

Jay
What brand test do you recommend? Is API okay?

fish seems to be doing great today in the amount I put in which was closer to the 10 gallon mark. But he is swimming happy and I am seeing his coat beginning to clear a bit already!! Pic below

4A9ED76F-4360-4122-8876-BDFA940B5F79.jpeg FB613F7C-6D29-40D2-996B-533ACB267DB2.jpeg
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,275
Reaction score
25,175
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
What brand test do you recommend? Is API okay?

fish seems to be doing great today in the amount I put in which was closer to the 10 gallon mark. But he is swimming happy and I am seeing his coat beginning to clear a bit already!! Pic below

4A9ED76F-4360-4122-8876-BDFA940B5F79.jpeg FB613F7C-6D29-40D2-996B-533ACB267DB2.jpeg

The API kit works well, but it is difficult for me to read. I use a lab spectrophotometer to read the color changes (grin).

I prefer the Salifert or Seachem test kit, but the gold standard is the Hanna Checker (very expensive though).

Jay
 
OP
OP
Deej1534

Deej1534

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
65
Reaction score
13
Location
Notthfield, NJ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have looked I to the Hanna’s before and I would do that but that’s pretty expensive when I am only going to be using it every now and again. Hoping I do t have to quarantine more fish haha but I’ll grab an api test today and make sure the amounts are okay. I have read a few different reviews. Should I be shooting for between 2.0-2.4?
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,275
Reaction score
25,175
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have looked I to the Hanna’s before and I would do that but that’s pretty expensive when I am only going to be using it every now and again. Hoping I do t have to quarantine more fish haha but I’ll grab an api test today and make sure the amounts are okay. I have read a few different reviews. Should I be shooting for between 2.0-2.4?

All full dose for coppersafe is 2.5 ppm. Below 2 ppm and it won't work. Try edging up from 2.25 to 2.5

Jay
 
OP
OP
Deej1534

Deej1534

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
65
Reaction score
13
Location
Notthfield, NJ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
E5F68A6D-5AD6-44A7-868C-08FC40875D0F.jpeg
6BFCE5AA-8137-4D66-90A3-ED73E8B973B8.jpeg


Do you know much about dosing with Kordon rid ich? I recently dosed my tank for the 3rd time on top of the copper safe and my clown fish is beginning to act up a bit and seems to be losing some life. He is floating up on his side and breathing very heavy. Any help would be great!
 

Attachments

  • 375ADC7E-1A33-4C29-B9B9-3ACA7F4F6A57.jpeg
    375ADC7E-1A33-4C29-B9B9-3ACA7F4F6A57.jpeg
    160.6 KB · Views: 28

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 68 37.4%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 61 33.5%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.7%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 15.4%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top