Brooklynella???

[misskeeter2766]

I think I've had it with my lfs.....

I wake up this morning and Im doing my morning inspection of fish and aquarium... I have noticed my clownfish hasn't wanted to eat and has been breathing rapidly since early yesterday... this morning I see white spots... like tiny grains of salt or sand... one on the eye... and a few on his sides... he also looks kindof slimy. I remember the other clownfish looked really slimy the day before it died....

I have no quarantine tank ready... I don't know what to do.... I do know that I am angry.. and this is the last straw for me with my lfs.... they apparently spread disease and distruction...


is there ANYTHING I can do? the only other fish I have in the aquarium is my tail spot blenny. he seems very fine. (other creatures are a toadstool leather, a cleaner shrimp, an emerald crab, two scarlet hermit crabs, and some snails.)

 

[misskeeter2766]

here's a pic

 

[austinsdad]

Read this link below and see if it helps. You really need a QT tank for the best treatment I'd think. I have no experience with the treatment, but it sounds like a FW dip may help temporarily relieve him and remove some of the slime, thereby aiding with respiration.

Still, a QT with hyposalinity sounds like your best bet though. See the second link below.

Clownfish Disease - Brooklynella Diagnosis and Treatment

Treating Marine Ich and Brooklynella with Hyposalinity - Reef Health

 

[austinsdad]

Just realized you got a nano. Guess it's hard to think about a QT tank that would likely be as large or larger than your main.

Although hyposalinity is your besy best, and I don't know if you can do it in your nano, but out of desparation, I'm wondering if something like this would help Revive from FishVet, Inc.. Says it isn't harmful to coral and inverts. Turns the water yellow for a day or so I think. I used it years ago after 8 fish died when I first started with the hobby. 5 fish lived and never showed any more signs.

 

[misskeeter2766]

hmmmm.. might try it...

I gave the clown a freshwater dip.. all the white spots are gone... he's swimming around more... still wont eat... the cleaner shrimp has been chasing him around for the last 30 minutes trying to clean him, but he keeps swimming away.

 

[austinsdad]

Add some supplement to his food also to help boost his immune system. It WILL NOT cure, but will help him/her be stronger and aid in the fight and entice feeding.

Seachem Garlic Guard

 

[melosu58]

I gave the clown a freshwater dip.. all the white spots are gone...

Dont make the mistake of thinking the ick is gone. It`s still in the tank and will reinfest your fish very shortly. The only way to get it out of your tank is to break the life cycle and keep the tank fishless for 8 weeks.

 

[misskeeter2766]

oh I knew the sickness wasnt gone...

doesnt matter anyway... he just died.

I won't buy anything from my lfs again... looks like its internet only for me... (or on the occasion when we go to the dfw metroplex for one of my daughter's doctor appointments)

 

[Zer0]

Ah shoot.. I'm really sorry your fish died. Not a very nice way to start off the hobby.. but don't let it get you down. I remember when i almost had a nervous breakdown when my tank was taking a nosedive pretty quickly. But with a little help and encouragement from AA i was back on track and kept on going.

FWIW, you may want to somehow get that blenny back to where he came from and leave your tank fishless for 7-8 weeks to let the parasite die out, then you can put fish back in. I mean, now would seem like a better time than ever since we already know there's ich in the tank, and it's only a matter of time before the blenny develops signs of the parasite as well. That decisions up to you though, although the sooner you make your tank fishless, the sooner the parasite will die, and the sooner you can get some fish again. And at least you will have the coral and inverts to look at right?

Good luck. Sorry for the fish loss.

 

[misskeeter2766]

dang it... don't know what to do about the blenny.. my hubby got pretty mad this morning when I asked him about putting up a QT tank... ... think I might do it anyway...

if it was brookynella, will the blenny get it? I found a list of other fish besides clowns that get it, and blennies weren't on it.

 

[Zer0]

It's possible he may not get it, assuming it is brooklynellosis. But if it's ich.. he'll eventually get it. Keep an eye on him for the next few days, and if you see any white spots...

 

[misskeeter2766]

SHOOT>..

he started breathing rapidly and scratching his gills on the rocks...

Im so bummed out right now... I called hubby and told him I was going to set up a QT tank anyway.. he's pretty mad... I'd rather have that than lose another fish... just hope I can get it up and running in time...

 

[Son of Red]

Easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Sorry to hear about your losses.

 

[Innovator]

With do respect, I would not be so quick to blame the lfs. All fish in every lfs have the potential to carry some kind of parasite or disease and in most cases they indeed do. If you qt your animals from the get-go it shouldn't matter where they come from unless they arrive half past dead

 

[misskeeter2766]

I wouldnt be so quick to blame the lfs... except that one just has to walk in there to know they don't take care of their fish or corals... there is aiptasia EVERYWHERE>.. bubble algae... you name it... they also keep giving me wrong info on just about everything I ask... it's sad... I only went there because they are the only store in town that carries anything for saltwater...

I will take the responsibility for not using a QT to begin with...

I do have a 10 gallon set up and running in my daughter's room. I bought pvc pipe... well I thought.. turns out it is really light plastic pipe that floats.. hmmm... Im thinking about weighing it down with a piece of live rock.

 

[misskeeter2766]

nevermind.. no longer thinking about it... I've done it. LOL...

so I have it all set up, just waiting on the water temp to get high enouh to move the tail spot blenny...

My daughter is very excited about having a fish tank in her room.. even if it is bare except for a couple of peices of white pipe and a hunk of live rock. lol

is there anything wrong with keeping some kind of fish in it once Im finished with it? (by that I mean here in a few months once I'm ich free and have aquired all the new fish I plan on)

 

[misskeeter2766]

I think my blenny is in the tank dying right now...

I moved him to QT so I could treat the ich and leave the tank fishless for however long (4 weeks or 8 weeks? I've seen both) ...

As soon as I released him (the parameters are identical.. I used water from the nano to set up the qt... its about 50/50 new and nano water) he sunk to the bottom, turned white with black spots (didn't know he could do that) and has been sitting in the corner not really moving since...

stupid stupid ich

he didn't have any spots.. but I've seen him scratching on the rock quite a bit yesterday and today

 

[Zer0]

Tank needs to be fishless for 7-8 weeks. Have you started any treatments already? I don't think it would be a good idea to keep him in the tank any longer since it has water from the main tank, which is the tank that had the ich parasite in the first place.

Also, if you set up that tank with new fish after you're done QTing the blenny, then you won't really be able to use it as a QT tank.. right? Unless you take out the fish that you put in there to use it as a QT again. But that seems like a hassle to me..

 

[misskeeter2766]

well he made it through the night... seems okay today, cept he isn't really eating, but I think that may be from being the first day in the new tank...
I added the first dose of ich treatment to the water. I'm hoping I caught it in time to save him. He had no spots yet, just the scratching on the rocks... he was eating really well right up until the time I netted him to move him. Im just hoping I can get him to eat in QT so he won't starve.

 

[misskeeter2766]

the blenny is still there.
apparently he sinks to the bottom and gets really still when he is "sleeping"... he also changes his coloring... guess I didn't see it as much in the main tank. very cool.

I was worried about his eating, so I did go ahead and throw a small chunk of live rock in there that was covered in hair algae... He immediately perched on it and started nibbling... ... so I guess I now need to change my approach from medicating to hyposalinity... I know I should do a big water change first... but I have no idea how to approach it after that (which is why I chose medication first-formalin-.. I figured I trusted myself to read directions on a bottle more than to guess around at changing salinity)...

so I need more info on hyposalinity... do I change the salinity slowly or all at once? how long do I keep it low? how do I raise it once it is time, since I use premixed saltwater?