Red lesions on yellow damsel, Could someone offer advice, pics included.

[bstone026]

I am worried about this yellow damsel with red spots lesions...I really hope my other fish can not catch whatever this is, the yellow damsel has been acting a little strange to me. here are best pics. Thank you. You may have to zoom in but they are there and this guy is acting odd.

 

[fishguy242]

hi, the more info the better ,to help experts when they arrive.

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

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#fishmedic

 

[bstone026]

I could probably get better pic but its worse than it looks in the photos. I been in saltwater about 2 years and so far have avoided sick fish, I just wish I knew what this was, any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[bstone026]

Here is a few more.

 

[bstone026]

Really all I need to know is what to do with him? He is in a 60G with a lot of fish and rocks, but I have a spare 55G with 6 damsels in it keeping it going. Should I move him and then medicate the other tank? it looks bacterial, I have lots of fish meds on hand but I am not sure which is the best one to go with

 

[vetteguy53081]

beginning of uronema. You will want to get Quick Cure. If none, then Ruby rally Pro.
best treatment choice is a 45 min formalin bath using Quick Cure then finished in a quarantine tank. Once in QT tank, treat and assure that the parasites have been eliminated. You can also soak food in metronidazole . . . Seachem Metroplex for 10-14 days.

 

[MnFish1]

It looks like Injury ---> Infection. I would move it to another tank. it is probably bacterial - it could also be uronema. A metronidazole + kanaplex or a similar broad spectrum antibiotic would be my initial thought.

Edit - after looking at the pictures 'blown up' - It looks like Uronema with a possible bacterial component. @vetteguy53081 had a good idea with regards to the formalin. The key, though, would be speed (I.e. would start treatment ASAP). Also closely monitor your other fish

 

[bstone026]

I have lots of meds let me see what the active ingredent in quick cure is, I may have an off brand. Thank you for your help so much! Is this contagious to the other fish??

 

[MnFish1]

I have lots of meds let me see what the active ingredent in quick cure is, I may have an off brand. Thank you for your help so much! Is this contagious to the other fish??

It can be. Quick Cure is formalin and malachite green

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have lots of meds let me see what the active ingredent in quick cure is, I may have an off brand. Thank you for your help so much! Is this contagious to the other fish??

Foramalin based is best otherwise acriflavine

 

[bstone026]

I have NeoPlex (broad spectrum antibiotic) and Maracyn Oxy, Coppersafe, Will any of these help till can get the proper meds? I live in the sticks, the NeoPlex says it handles external bacterial and fungal.

 

[MnFish1]

I have NeoPlex (broad spectrum antibiotic) and Maracyn Oxy, Coppersafe, Will any of these help till can get the proper meds? I live in the sticks, the NeoPlex says it handles external bacterial and fungal.

Neoplex would help for a bacterial issue. Uronema is best treated with metronidazole or formalin.

 

[bstone026]

Well I did the logical thing, I took just about all my live rock out just to catch the little bugger, euthanasia I think is my only choice I am not going to let him infect another tank and a 10.00 Damsel it,s something I hate to do but I have no access to the meds and amazon would be to long. My only big worry is the tank that he was in..is it forever infected with this Uronema? I read it's very difficult to rid of it. My last question is could someone reccommend a mild medication to dose my tank for a while so my other fish don't pick up this disease? I am so grateful for the advice thus far Saltwater Aquariums really are wonderful

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Neoplex would help for a bacterial issue. Uronema is best treated with metronidazole or formalin.

Actually, I've never found any treatment to work for intracellular Uronema. When you see the skin lesions erupt, that means the infection has already been festering in the muscle tissue for some time. Noga says when this happens, "the prognosis is poor". He just doesn't want to say "100% mortality" - but I will (grin). Chloroquine is the best constant bath for free-living Uronema in an tank. Formalin dips works on external Uronema (the type that seahorses and seadragons get - likely a different species).

Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I am worried about this yellow damsel with red spots lesions...I really hope my other fish can not catch whatever this is, the yellow damsel has been acting a little strange to me. here are best pics. Thank you. You may have to zoom in but they are there and this guy is acting odd.

I may have missed it, but when you say the fish is acting "a little strange", what do you mean?
How long have you had this fish?

It could be Uronema, but the lesions are smaller and more numerous than usually is seen.

Jay

 

[MnFish1]

Actually, I've never found any treatment to work for intracellular Uronema. When you see the skin lesions erupt, that means the infection has already been festering in the muscle tissue for some time. Noga says when this happens, "the prognosis is poor". He just doesn't want to say "100% mortality" - but I will (grin). Chloroquine is the best constant bath for free-living Uronema in an tank. Formalin dips works on external Uronema (the type that seahorses and seadragons get - likely a different species).

Jay

Curious Jay - do you mean 'intracellular' or 'internal'. BTW - I agree with you - either way - it's not easy to treat.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Curious Jay - do you mean 'intracellular' or 'internal'. BTW - I agree with you - either way - it's not easy to treat.

Sorry - it is an intercellular protozoan - it lives inside the fish, between the cells.

So far, every case of a "cure" for this that I've been able to study involved misdiagnosis.

Jay

 

[bstone026]

He was floating sideways swimming in odd ways rubbing against things in the tank, and he is about 3 months since I got him. The Uronema scares me because I have some pretty pricey babies in this 60G tank, And lots of invertebrates. There seems to be a lot of medications that can treat Uronema, All my other fish appear just fine for now, but I read that once it gets in your tank it is very difficult to remove. If you were in this situation what would you do? I mean it seems logical to treat the tank with something as a preventative from it infecting another fish..

Metronidazole​

Malachite Green

Seachem ParaGuard has malachite green,​

Seachem PolyGuard This one seems like pretty good one​

sulfathiazole (75%), malachite green (4%), nitrofurantoin (0.25%), 5-nitro-2-furaldehyde secmicarbazole (0.25%), Quinacrine dihydrochloride (0.5%). Inactive ingredients: magnesium carbonate (20%).

 

[bstone026]

He was floating sideways swimming in odd ways rubbing against things in the tank, and he is about 3 months since I got him. The Uronema scares me because I have some pretty pricey babies in this 60G tank, And lots of invertebrates. There seems to be a lot of medications that can treat Uronema, All my other fish appear just fine for now, but I read that once it gets in your tank it is very difficult to remove. If you were in this situation what would you do? I mean it seems logical to treat the tank with something as a preventative from it infecting another fish..

Metronidazole​

Malachite Green

Seachem ParaGuard has malachite green,​

Seachem PolyGuard This one seems like pretty good one​

sulfathiazole (75%), malachite green (4%), nitrofurantoin (0.25%), 5-nitro-2-furaldehyde secmicarbazole (0.25%), Quinacrine dihydrochloride (0.5%). Inactive ingredients: magnesium carbonate (20%).

Malachite Green by itself is sold in all kinds of brands, how harsh is that stuff? Its easy to come by

 

[Jay Hemdal]

He was floating sideways swimming in odd ways rubbing against things in the tank, and he is about 3 months since I got him. The Uronema scares me because I have some pretty pricey babies in this 60G tank, And lots of invertebrates. There seems to be a lot of medications that can treat Uronema, All my other fish appear just fine for now, but I read that once it gets in your tank it is very difficult to remove. If you were in this situation what would you do? I mean it seems logical to treat the tank with something as a preventative from it infecting another fish..

Metronidazole​

Malachite Green

Seachem ParaGuard has malachite green,​

Seachem PolyGuard This one seems like pretty good one​

sulfathiazole (75%), malachite green (4%), nitrofurantoin (0.25%), 5-nitro-2-furaldehyde secmicarbazole (0.25%), Quinacrine dihydrochloride (0.5%). Inactive ingredients: magnesium carbonate (20%).

Do not put any of those medications in your display tank. Malachite green is a human carcinogen and is also toxic to invertebrates.

As I said, I've never seen an effective cure for internal Uronema. However, that disease, while it does affect chromis, does not usually affect other species of damselfish, and then, when you do see it, it is almost always within 40 days of the fish being shipped from overseas.

Here is an article I wrote on Uronema, back when I was experimenting with some different cures:

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...

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Jay