Velvet or Brooklynella?

[dynagirl]

How do you tell the difference? I have a b&w ocellaris that is not looking good...he has a whitish coating on him although he is eating and swimming normally. He looks very much like the photos of brook in the disease section. However, I have not added any new fish in over a month, just some new corals. Can brook be brought in on corals like velvet? And how do you tell the difference? None of my other fish seem to be affected. :help:

 

[beth]

Is there any peeling? Heavy breathing? Can you post a picture?

 

[dynagirl]

No peeling or heavy breathing...The clown is acting normally and eating well. It is sort of a
mottled haziness all over including its eyes. These pictures are the best I can do....
The strange thing is that I have had him for 3 or 4 months and he has always been healthy
and I have not added any new fish for at least 2 months. I did add some new corals at the end of last week though...
I have had ich in the tank before but the dots seemed more distinct and larger...not so hazy.
I have purchased some formalin and some malachite green to do a dip but I hesitate to
treat him without knowing what is going on. I do not want to needlessly stress him out.

 

[beth]

What are your water readings, including pH, temp, salinity and all the other readings? That is a stress symptom typical of poor environment. It may be a prelude to a bacterial infection. Do you have a cycled QT?

 

[dynagirl]

Beth,
Thanks for your response.
My water parameters are:
pH 8.2
ammmonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate between 10 and 20
temp range 79-82 (warms up as day goes on)
salinity 1.025
I have been battling slime algae and trying to reduce nitrate levels and have made a few changes....could any of these things be stressing him out?
Reduced feeding
Changed bulbs
Reduced lighting time
Added refugium with chaeto
Weekly water changes of 3-5 gallons
Also, the clown has been hosting my Trachyphyllia Geoffroyi which is declining, and I wrote Bob Fenner who suggested that all his cuddling and wiggling is causing tissue degradation. I moved the coral hoping to reduce this but after reading your post, I moved it back. I am much more fond of the fish than the coral. Mr. Fenner also suggested I remove the bioballs in my trickle filter to help reduce nitrates but I am reluctant to make any more changes if my fish are stressed.
I do not have a cycled QT tank.
Thanks for your time.

 

[milomlo]

Beth is definately the expert here.
I say if you have QT tank then you could do a water change and use your tank water for the QT. That should help some withe the cycle. If you have a filter that will be on the QT u could put some of the media (sponge or something) in the main tank for at least 24 hours and then put it in the QT filter so that you have some bacteria.
Good luck! I just recently lost a clown and I know how sad it is.
I wish you luck with your baby.

 

[dynagirl]

I think he has ick. Today I see 2 distinct white spots on him.
When I started this tank in FEB, my LFS told me that ick is always present and that a fishes immune system with fight it off. My chromis had ick when I first started the tank and it went away. Now I have read that it will keep coming back once present in the tank. So what do I do? Do I need to start a QT tank that will hold all my fish? I have 3 chromis, 1 clown, 1 yellow wrasse and 1 flame angel. Or do I try to catch and put all my inverts in QT and hypo the main tank? Can live rock and corals take hypo? My cleaner shrimp is very active and will clean all willing fish but I don't know if that is enough. This is not the first time my lfs has steered me wrong....

 

[dynagirl]

I would like to up a QT tank to hypo all my fish and to let my tank
go fallow to rid it of ick once and for all. How large a tank would I need?
3 chromis
1 yellow wrasse
1 flame angel
1 ocellaris clown
And how long would I need to cycle it? Would I need to add one fish every two weeks or so? Could I use some sort of chemical filtration to speed the process or would that not be good? I guess basically I would have to set up a whole other system like the first?

 

[milomlo]

You may be able to put those fish in like a 30 gallon (not sure though) I had 7 fish in a 29 for about 8 months before I upgraded and they were fine.
Your fish won't be in there that long so I would think you would be fine....however IDK for sure so wait and see if someone else answers on that. You could still do what I suggested earlier and put your current tank water in the QT and use the sponge soaked in the mt for 24/48 hours for your bacteria. You can also use bacteria starter in the new tank.
Just watch your levels. You will be killing any ich that is in the QT water w/ hypo so no worries there.

 

[beth]

Originally Posted by dynagirl
Bob Fenner who suggested that all his cuddling and wiggling is causing tissue degradation. I moved the coral hoping to reduce this but after reading your post, I moved it back. I am much more fond of the fish than the coral. Mr. Fenner also suggested I remove the bioballs in my trickle filter to help reduce nitrates but I am reluctant to make any more changes if my fish are stressed.
I do not have a cycled QT tank.
Thanks for your time.
What post did I make that suggested that clowns hosting corals is a good thing? I actually don't believe that clowns should host corals. Go ahead and move the coral. That may be the problem here since the nematocysts of anemones are not the same as those in corals.
Try separating the fish and coral to see if the issues are resolved for both fish and coral. Yes, clowns can kill corals.
Below is a picture of my clown hosting a leather. The 2nd picture you see the end result of clown hosting.

 

[dynagirl]

Beth,
I just read in your post that the clown's condition was due to stress, and thought that perhaps I stressed him out by moving the coral...thats all.

 

[sac10918]

Dyna girl,
If you quarantine the fish and do hypo in a separate quarantine display, and leave your main tank fishless for 6-8 weeks, then all the ich in that tank will die off and you can add your fish back into that tank. You cannot hypo a main tank with corals, live rock and sand because it will kill off everything. I think a 30 gallon would work for a QT if thats all you have.
I have never QT'd that many fish, but I did three fish in a 10 gallon. I also did not have a QT set up. I did it all from scratch. I agree that you should use water from your display, add a sponge for 24 hours and let some of those bacteria colonize into the QT. They will help prevent a cycle. For me, when I did the QT, I did diligent water changes once or twice a day for the entire length of the QT in order to prevent cycling. I would also vacuum out any food, poop, etc as soon as I noticed it. My fish are all fine now!
I hope you can save your fish! Watch closely though, maybe your clown is just reacting to the coral and doesn't have ich at all. Look for strange behavior or spots on any other fish also. Also, its a good idea to feed vitamins and garlic if you don't already to boost the immune system.

 

[dynagirl]

Thanks for your reply. When you set up your QT, did you add all your fish at once or did you add them to the QT slowly over time? I have a friend who will lend me a 55 for a while so all I have to buy is a filter. I was thinking of getting a Emperior 400 biowheel...

 

[milomlo]

The biowheel will be good and u can float them in your tank for at least 24 hours to get some bacteria on them. I would say you just put the fish in the QT, but again here I am not positive. If you do a water change right before you put them in the QT and use that water for the QT u shouldn't even have to acclimate them.