What's wrong with my Chromis?

[RichInLesta]

Several weeks ago I noticed that one of my Chromis appeared to be developing a growth at the fin joint on both sides of its body. This was accompanied by what looked like an enlargement of the abdomen. The fish seems otherwise healthy; it eats normally and is active. This fish has been the dominant Chromis of a group of 5. They were all introduced about two years ago and I've not had (to my knowledge) any diseases in the tank. I'm wondering if it's something I can address, or will it possibly resolve itself, or should I remove the fish.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Here's a link to a youtube video that I think adequately shows the area of concern.

 

[beth]

Not sure I could say what is going on there. Perhaps an internal growth. Have you notice this fish pooping? What is he eating and how frequently?

 

[RichInLesta]

Thanks for the reply.

I haven't specifically noticed anything different than the others Chromis regarding the poop question, but he eats as regularly as the other four. I feed them a mix of pellets and flakes (Omega One) once a day, an occasional sprinkling of bloodworms, and a piece of seaweed perhaps once a week. I've fed them this way since I've had them for the past couple of years. My biggest concern is if it's suffering, although it doesn't act like it is. But then I'd be concerned if it was something that could spread to the others. It's the matron/patron so I just don't want to remove it if I don't have to.

 

[beth]

I don't see this as being something contagious, so I wouldn't worry overmuch on that. Have you observed this fish's poop? If not see if you can keep an eye on that and see if he's actually pooping as he should. Otherwise, I think this is something internally going on with him, such as a tumor. I think the fin irritation is likely due to the bloating. One thing you can try is antibiotics (perhaps a gastro infection) but this fish will require being placed in a quarantine tank for that. Don't try that in the display.

 

[RichInLesta]

OK. I'll give that a shot. These guys are pretty inexpensive to replace, but I don't want that to determine this particular fish's outcome....it's a living, breathing animal after all. I'll try the antibiotic treatment to see if that helps.

Thanks.

 

[RichInLesta]

Just an update to this thread for future reference.

I never figured out what the issue was with this particular Chromis. I quarantined it and tried an antibiotic treatment, but that didn't help, so I had to put it to sleep (clove oil method). BUT, whatever it was quickly spread to the remaining Chromis and affected the rest of the tank. As of now, two weeks after the first death, I've lost six additional fish; three relatively new Banghai Cardinals, one two-year old anthias, and two more Chromis. Both Chromis started showing scale issues similar to the one I posted and the fish only lasted a day or two from the time I first noticed it. And there are two Chromis left that are also starting to show the same symptoms with spots on their bodies so I expect they'll be next to go. I'm now left with three Pajama Cardinals and one Clownfish as well as the various crabs and snails. They all hover behind a rocky area on one end of the tank (55 gal) and rarely eat....both of these are unusual behaviors.

It doesn't seem to be a water quality problem; all the measures are within where they should be although Nitrates are a bit high--but they've been high forever (about 40 ppm). Tank is 3 years old and I've had no issues up until this mass extinction, so I'm at a loss.

I suspect there's not much I can do at this point but let it run its course. I'm uncertain if I can then just drain the tank and start from scratch, because I don't know if the disease (or whatever it is) will survive or not. I'll have to do some research, but if there are any suggestions I'm all ears.

 

[beth]

I'm baffled myself. Did the fish act normal other than this problem? Maybe don't euthanize until other symptoms display. I agree that this may be contagious somehow. If you break down the tank, you will need to sanitize all. Do you have live rock and sand? You could leave the tank dormant for 3 mos as well and see if that will clear out any potential pathogen. Perhaps the problem is with feeding/food (since there was no obvious signs of other problems with the fish).

 

[RichInLesta]

My wife JUST showed me this link while we were having dinner, and I came here to post it for others' possible use. I see you just came here as well.

I now believe this to be the issue: https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/402464-uronema-fish-disease-information/

I only euthanized the first two chromis because they were floating upside down anyway and were barely breathing so I wanted to end their pain. The others were found laying on the bottom or stuck to the inlet of the filter and skimmer and were no longer breathing. They appeared to go rather quickly.

Assuming this is--in fact--the problem, I don't know if I can save the remaining fish. The tank must surely be infected. Perhaps I can set up a parallel tank, but it wouldn't have time to cycle and where would I keep the fish while waiting? So I'm stuck, I think.

Yes, it's a fish only tank and was built with live rock and sand. I replaced the substrate about 3 months ago. I suppose it's possible I introduced the problem at that time (I used a high-quality sand from a reputable company). Not sure how I could have removed any potential pests from the sand, so that's another area for me to research.

Anyway, I'll have to see if I can save what's left and if/how I can resolve it.

Thanks for keeping up with my dilemna!

 

[beth]

That disease does not feature the bloating. Are your other fish bloating as well, or are they getting the red inflamation under the scales?

 

[RichInLesta]

No. The first one was the only one who experienced the bloating. Perhaps it was just coincidence that it had another problem as well? I lost another one this morning, and have attached a picture. Ignore the "dots," that's algae on the side of the glass which is magnified by the camera. But you can clearly see the patches on the fish itself. This is precisely what the others looked like.

 

[beth]

I suppose the choice then is between letting all your fish die and then breaking down your tank, or trying to treat the fish with dips, but still breaking down the tank.

This is testament to the use of quarantine prior to fish going into display tanks.

 

[RichInLesta]

Nowhere did I say that I didn't quarantine any fish prior to to inclusion in the tank, so I'm not sure of the reason for the subtle preaching.