Brooklynella Casualty

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gringo161

Guest
I just had an oscellaris clown die from what I can only imagine was brooklynella. He started getting the discoloration on his dorsal fin area yesterday, and by this morning, he was dead. He didn't appear listless or lose his appetite or anything (of course he didn't really have time to). Here is my question... Where in the world did it come from? I have had him and his mate (who at this point isn't showing any signs of brooklynella) for over 2 years. I go about this hobby very slowly, so the 2 clowns have basically been the only 2 fish I've had in my 55g since I started. I did add a coral beauty almost a month ago, but other than that, nothing has changed. At this point, I just hope the other one doesn't get it.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
I doubt it was brooklynella. What were the symptoms? Describe what you saw. There are examples of brooklynella in the Diseased Fish Thread.
 
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gringo161

Guest
Yesterday afternoon I noticed grayish discoloration on his dorsal area. I didn't notice him acting differently. By this morning, he was dead. There really isn't a lot to tell b/c it happened so quickly.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by Gringo161
Yesterday afternoon I noticed grayish discoloration on his dorsal area. I didn't notice him acting differently. By this morning, he was dead. There really isn't a lot to tell b/c it happened so quickly.
Brook is usually on new clowns that were wild caught. Please describe what you saw on him. Can you tell us your EXACT water readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, temp, salinity? Have there been any changes in your system recently? Any large fluctuations of anything? These are all VERY important to help determine the death.
 
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gringo161

Guest
I don't know how to explain the condition he had other than light grayish colored discoloration along his dorsal line. It was one continuous splotchy area.
Water paramaters:
Temp: 79
pH- 8.1
Sal. 1.025
NH3- 0
PO4- 0
NO3- 0
NO2- 0
Ca- 420
dKH- 8.4
I noticed the problem on Saturday afternoon, and Saturday morning, I had just performed a 5 Gal. water change using the same method and products that I have done about a thousand times before. None of the other fish were affected in any way. Thanks for the help.
 
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gringo161

Guest
That is possible. When I fished the corpse out, it kinda appeared he was peeling, but I wasn't sure how much of that was attributable to the crabs that had obviously been munching on him... Unpleasant.
 
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gringo161

Guest
If it was a bacterial infection, that still brings me back to the original issue... What caused it? And maybe more importantly, what can I do to keep it from happening to the ones I have left; Subquestion, what should I do if it happens again.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Sorry!! Bacterial infections are easily cured. If you catch it quickly when it first starts, you can just dose the food with garlic and vitamines. Boost the fish's immune system. If it gets to the stage where there is actual damage to the body, fins, etc., then chemical treatment is usually required in a quarantine tank. Keep your fish's immune system high all of the time by feeding them nutritious foods and rotating vitamines and bacterial infections should not be a probem in the future. :happyfish
 
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gringo161

Guest
The other clownfish just died. Super.
I also have a coral beauty. He's fairly new, so I don't have a lot of experience with what he looks like, so I can't tell if he's having problems or not. He's hiding right now, so I can't get a picture of him. He looks like he MAY have a little grayish discolored patch around his head, but it's tough to tell under actinics. Would a bacterial infection wipe out an entire tank?
Should I treat the CB just in case? If so, what would be my best bet?
Thanks for the help.
 
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gringo161

Guest
I forgot to ask... I don't have an established QT, so can I treat the display tank with antibiotics. At this point, the only thing left in the tank is the CB and a bunch of snails and crabs.
I suppose I need to act quickly since the others died so suddenly.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
What does the Coral Beauty look like now? What did the second clown look like when it died? Pealing? If it was Brook then it was likely to take the other clown anyway. How long have you had the Coral Beauty?
 
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gringo161

Guest
It was ich. I couldn't see it on the clownfish. The Coral Beauty had been hiding a lot, and I hadn't seen him under full light in a few days. When I got a look at him on Friday night, there was no doubt it was ich. I tried to treat him, but he was dead by Saturday morning. My entire tank was wiped out within about 4 days.
 
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