Uronema Marinum Help!

[AxeMedix15]

I bought these Chromis 2 days ago and its starting to be the worst decision ive ever made! 1 Chromis died today and the other I noticed had this wound on its side. Pretty sure its Uronema Marinum and im FREAKING out. Im pretty new to saltwater tanks and have not set up a QT tank yet. No other fish are showing symptoms yet but everything im reading is leading down the road of all my fish are doomed and im going to have to start the tank over from scratch. Is this true? Has anyone had a success story of a couple fish getting sick with Uronema Marinum and all other fish were okay without any QT or treatment?? Guess im looking for a little peace of mind cause im tore up about this!!!!!

 

[winxp_man]

At that stage it will die in a few hours. Nothing you can do. It’s internal. Had a Eibli pass from that wretched disease! Metroplex in froze dried brine shrimp if the fish is still eating, might help it. The creatures that have uronema external formalin bath for 30-40 min. At .5ml to 6ml max

 

[bluemon]

This is why a lot of people avoid chromis.

They are Uronema magnets.

If you wanted a schooling fish, there are better options

 

[vetteguy53081]

I bought these Chromis 2 days ago and its starting to be the worst decision ive ever made! 1 Chromis died today and the other I noticed had this wound on its side. Pretty sure its Uronema Marinum and im FREAKING out. Im pretty new to saltwater tanks and have not set up a QT tank yet. No other fish are showing symptoms yet but everything im reading is leading down the road of all my fish are doomed and im going to have to start the tank over from scratch. Is this true? Has anyone had a success story of a couple fish getting sick with Uronema Marinum and all other fish were okay without any QT or treatment?? Guess im looking for a little peace of mind cause im tore up about this!!!!!

This is indeed uronema and may not be treatable in this stage. Uronema which is an oval ciliated motile protozoan which causes tissue necrosis as seen on fish. What other fish are in the tank?
This can also be triggered by low salinity levels as well as excess food waste on tank bottom which this protozoan can feed on as often prevention can be more valuable than cure for this.
Fish will have to be quarantined and treated with formalin based treatment which is harder to find, so next option is Ruby rally Pro. Chloroquine Phosphate will also work but must be used precisely. Uronema is not an obligate parasite, and can thrive on bacteria, uneaten food, and waste so besides treatment also maintain a clean tank removing waste daily.
Ruby rally Pro is a good treatment choice. Chloroquine Phosphate will also work but must be used precisely.
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. When buying these fish, give them first a 60 minute ruby rally bath

 

[MnFish1]

It looks like uronema - and is not really treatable at this point. Some people try high dose metronidazole.

 

[AxeMedix15]

At that stage it will die in a few hours. Nothing you can do. It’s internal. Had a Eibli pass from that wretched disease! Metroplex in froze dried brine shrimp if the fish is still eating, might help it. The creatures that have uronema external formalin bath for 30-40 min. At .5ml

This is indeed uronema and may not be treatable in this stage. Uronema which is an oval ciliated motile protozoan which causes tissue necrosis as seen on fish. What other fish are in the tank?
This can also be triggered by low salinity levels as well as excess food waste on tank bottom which this protozoan can feed on as often prevention can be more valuable than cure for this.
Fish will have to be quarantined and treated with formalin based treatment which is harder to find, so next option is Ruby rally Pro. Chloroquine Phosphate will also work but must be used precisely. Uronema is not an obligate parasite, and can thrive on bacteria, uneaten food, and waste so besides treatment also maintain a clean tank removing waste daily.
Ruby rally Pro is a good treatment choice. Chloroquine Phosphate will also work but must be used precisely.
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. When buying these fish, give them first a 60 minute ruby rally bath

I have 2 clowns
Blue eye tang
Hoevens wrasse
Coral beauty
Spotted mandarin

They all are acting and eating just fine so far but I have that impending doom feeling that is making me sick to my stomach!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have 2 clowns
Blue eye tang
Hoevens wrasse
Coral beauty
Spotted mandarin

They all are acting and eating just fine so far but I have that impending doom feeling that is making me sick to my stomach!

You can safely add Ruby Rally pro to tank even with coral and inverts as a safeguard

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

There is some data from humble fish that hydrogen peroxide may eliminate one of the Uronema (not sure which one) in a display than. But the idea and data are still in their infancy.

 

[winxp_man]

I have 2 clowns
Blue eye tang
Hoevens wrasse
Coral beauty
Spotted mandarin

They all are acting and eating just fine so far but I have that impending doom feeling that is making me sick to my stomach!

The CB angel is the other fish that is prone to this. I have tangs 5 of them, and a CB, and clowns. Nothing of that sort has affected them. It’s been like a 3 weeks to a month since that even. This disease is a holding tank issue. It is not something that is in the wild from what the vet guys here have discussed with me and from other research I have done.

 

[MnFish1]

The CB angel is the other fish that is prone to this. I have tangs 5 of them, and a CB, and clowns. Nothing of that sort has affected them. It’s been like a 3 weeks to a month since that even. This disease is a holding tank issue. It is not something that is in the wild from what the vet guys here have discussed with me and from other research I have done.

Uronema is definitely seen in wild fish - however, it seems to cause problems when conditions are poor (and the same in our tanks). Below is an interesting article concerning various parasites/diseases present in the Gulf of Mexico - mainly studying the effects of the oil spill from several years ago. Uronema is present in many tanks and wild areas and often does not cause any problems unless there is a stress event, high stocking levels, etc. As others have mentioned, certain fish are more susceptible.

I do not think it's needed or helpful to try to eradicate uronema - as the next rock, coral, fish, etc may be carrying it. The most helpful thing for Fish keepers is avoiding high stocking density, detritus removal, overall cleaner conditions. Perhaps avoiding fish that tend to carry the infection. Multiple drugs have. been tired - but it's thought that once the disease spreads internally there is little chance of cure.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4939-3456-0_6

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have 2 clowns
Blue eye tang
Hoevens wrasse
Coral beauty
Spotted mandarin

They all are acting and eating just fine so far but I have that impending doom feeling that is making me sick to my stomach!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Inter-cellular Uronema doesn't seem to be very contagious, if at all. It is common for a percentage of fish in a group to die from it (Chromis, anthias, yellow wrasse mostly) but it almost never spreads to established fish in an aquarium. You also CANNOT treat it by adding medication to the water - it consumes the fish from the inside, so by the time you see external lesions, it is too late. Possibly, oral medications could help before a fish is showing symptoms, but that hasn't been proven.

Here is an article I wrote on it:

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

 

[winxp_man]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Inter-cellular Uronema doesn't seem to be very contagious, if at all. It is common for a percentage of fish in a group to die from it (Chromis, anthias, yellow wrasse mostly) but it almost never spreads to established fish in an aquarium. You also CANNOT treat it by adding medication to the water - it consumes the fish from the inside, so by the time you see external lesions, it is too late. Possibly, oral medications could help before a fish is showing symptoms, but that hasn't been proven.

Here is an article I wrote on it:

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

Like in my case a few weeks ago.

 

[winxp_man]

Uronema is definitely seen in wild fish - however, it seems to cause problems when conditions are poor (and the same in our tanks). Below is an interesting article concerning various parasites/diseases present in the Gulf of Mexico - mainly studying the effects of the oil spill from several years ago. Uronema is present in many tanks and wild areas and often does not cause any problems unless there is a stress event, high stocking levels, etc. As others have mentioned, certain fish are more susceptible.

I do not think it's needed or helpful to try to eradicate uronema - as the next rock, coral, fish, etc may be carrying it. The most helpful thing for Fish keepers is avoiding high stocking density, detritus removal, overall cleaner conditions. Perhaps avoiding fish that tend to carry the infection. Multiple drugs have. been tired - but it's thought that once the disease spreads internally there is little chance of cure.

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4939-3456-0_6

Good info. I’m referring to the internal version. As in being a silent killer to. Yes there is a version that is in most tanks and sea. But does not harm as the internal one. And clean tank should be what we all strive for if we are going to own pets like this. Imagine not cleaning up your cat litter box or back yard from dog poo! Haha.

 

[MnFish1]

Good info. I’m referring to the internal version. As in being a silent killer to. Yes there is a version that is in most tanks and sea. But does not harm as the internal one. And clean tank should be what we all strive for if we are going to own pets like this. Imagine not cleaning up your cat litter box or back yard from dog poo! Haha.

Of course - both the internal version and the external version are seen in wild fish - In wild fish - when they are 'sick ' - they are rapidly eaten. (BTW - not trying to be snarky here - its pretty widely accepted that one of the flaws detecting disease in wild fish - is that the sick ones - die or are eaten by other fish)

Second - there are many people on the forum that believe in leaving detritus in sumps, etc. The point I was making was that if you have uronema - cleaner is likely better. @Lasse

 

[Lasse]

Second - there are many people on the forum that believe in leaving detritus in sumps, etc. The point I was making was that if you have uronema - cleaner is likely better.

It is easy to turn that around too - the cleaner it is - the more free space any pathogenic microorganisms have to settle on (and multiply). Is the space occupied by organisms that the fish has resistance to - then the new pathogens have no room.

I don't know which way of thinking is most correct - but it is clear that science seems to be moving towards the idea that moderate cleanliness is the best approach.

However - if there is indication of uronema infection - then you should treat it appropriately and fish with the disease should be removed as soon as possible because they will become the breeding ground and the source of infection . My way of thinking is to make it more difficult for pathogens to cause a disease if they already is present or introduced in small numbers

Imagine not cleaning up your cat litter box or back yard from dog poo! Haha.

IMO - its impossible to make that comparison. Terrestrial animals are not adapted in the same way as aquatic animals to cope with an environment that is the favorite environment of microorganisms. In addition, if you make sure that you have good oxygenation, "poop" breaks down quickly and the dangerous anaerobic bacteria die quickly. If the comparison were true, either mine or many others' "no WC" aquariums would be pure latrine containers today without any life. Mine has now gone about 8 years without regular water changes - three years ago I did an approximate 60% WC for 2 weeks and the replacement for skimmed water may correspond to a daily WC of about 0.1% or less. That´s all

Sincerely Lasse