White slime on my midnight clown

[boosst]

I have a midnight and a naked clown. This morning the midnight has a white slime over most of his head and more on one side of his face. There have been a few outbreaks of a gel/snot algae in my tank the last week or so and I thought he just got some on him. After work, I took him out and tried to wipe off a little of it. I made an improvement. But still worried. His is still active and eating. The naked one is fine. What should I do? I would hate to loose this fish.

[b0bab0ey]

White slime on a clownfish makes me think Brooklynella. Post a pic if you can. Here's an example of a clown w/Brook:

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q1/Brooklynella2.JPG

[boosst]

That looks like it. I will look into it.

[b0bab0ey]

Some links to aid in your research...

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/brooklynella.htm

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/ichparasiticdiseases/a/aabrooklynella.htm

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2037295&highlight=brooklynella

[boosst]

Well I just got home to check on him and he was already gone. Happened in one day. I only have a naked clown and a prawn goby...will they get this? Anything I can do to prevent it?

[b0bab0ey]

Well I just got home to check on him and he was already gone. Happened in one day. I only have a naked clown and a prawn goby...will they get this? Anything I can do to prevent it?

Brook is highly contagious. Your only option is to QT ALL your fish, treat with Formalin and leave your DT fallow (fishless) for 8-10 weeks to starve out the remaining Brook parasites. I know you're reading this saying to yourself right now, "Damn, this is not the answer I wanted to hear." But if you don't do it, all of your fish will likely die as fast as your midnight clown did. And if you keep adding fish they will likely becoming infected with Brook as well.

To prevent this from happening again QT all new fish purchases for 8-10 weeks before adding to the DT.

[boosst]

I don't want to sound like a ***** here. But if I don't have time, place, or money to keep up a QT full time, should I not be in this hobby? I had my nano tank up for over a year and upgraded to this 40 breeder and dumped a ton of money into it. I had a naked clown die about a week ago from this and replaced it with my midnight. That was pretty stupid of me to do without even researching why he died. I am seriously thinking of getting out of this hobby. Sorry about my rant...just frustrated.

[b0bab0ey]

I don't want to sound like a ***** here. But if I don't have time, place, or money to keep up a QT full time, should I not be in this hobby? I had my nano tank up for over a year and upgraded to this 40 breeder and dumped a ton of money into it. I had a naked clown die about a week ago from this and replaced it with my midnight. That was pretty stupid of me to do without even researching why he died. I am seriously thinking of getting out of this hobby. Sorry about my rant...just frustrated.

Hang on. Just calm down for a min and let me help you figure this out. The good news is a QT doesn't have to be anything fancy or expensive. Check out these two threads:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1990651&highlight=setting+qt

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1866770&highlight=setting+qt

If you'll scroll down in those two threads, you'll see how "Indymann99" setup a very simple, inexpensive, yet effective QT. You can do it with just a bare-bottom tank, heater, thermometer, and a powerhead with a sponge filter. A light is optional. That's all you need. The only maintenance required is occasional water changes, and only when you have fish in QT.

I know it kills some of the "excitement" of the hobby... but it's the only way to be 100% sure you aren't adding a sick fish to your DT. I kind of look at adding fish directly to the DT without QT'ing first kinda like having sex with some chick you just picked up at a bar without using a condom. It's a pain but you still do it...

[boosst]

Correct me if I am wrong here. A fish can still carry brooklynella , ick, etc without showing symptoms. If it is a QT for 8 weeks and dOesnt show signs, it could still carry it to your display.
So if I pull my fish and leave the tank with corals and snails only, then it should be disease free in 8 weeks? Then I can add my fsh back and qt fOr 8 weeks any more fish?

[b0bab0ey]

Correct me if I am wrong here. A fish can still carry brooklynella , ick, etc without showing symptoms. If it is a QT for 8 weeks and dOesnt show signs, it could still carry it to your display.
So if I pull my fish and leave the tank with corals and snails only, then it should be disease free in 8 weeks? Then I can add my fsh back and qt fOr 8 weeks any more fish?

If a fish actually has Brook, Ich, etc. they will eventually show symptoms. Now, what can happen is that Brook, Ich, etc. can be present in the water but their natural immune system is able to fend it off for awhile. IMO this best explains why you know you have a disease in your tank but your fish aren't displaying symptoms. Unfortunately, they almost always do... eventually. That's why it's necessary to leave your tank fallow for 8-10 weeks to starve out the disease. Without the possibility of a host (fish) the disease will starve to death and die. IMO all of this is akin to human sickness. If someone has a cold at work, you may or may not get it as your contact with them is limited. But if your wife gets it, you are much more likely to get it too due to your constant close proximity to her and the time you spend around her. An aquarium is a closed environment... the fish has nowhere to go and neither does the disease. Hope this explanation helps you to understand better. ;)

To answer your original questions: It is almost impossible for a fish to go 9 weeks in the presence of a disease, not contract it and not show any symptoms. I've never heard of it happening. So, if you QT your fish for 9 weeks and they don't show any symptoms, I'd say they are disease-free. If you leave your DT fishless for 9 weeks, any disease that was present will have starved to death by then and your DT will also be disease-free.

[MrTuskfish]

Just another crumb of info; never 'wipe'' anything off a fish. it removes the slime coat that protects it from infection, some parasites, etc.

[MrTuskfish]

I don't want to sound like a ***** here. But if I don't have time, place, or money to keep up a QT full time, should I not be in this hobby? I had my nano tank up for over a year and upgraded to this 40 breeder and dumped a ton of money into it. I had a naked clown die about a week ago from this and replaced it with my midnight. That was pretty stupid of me to do without even researching why he died. I am seriously thinking of getting out of this hobby. Sorry about my rant...just frustrated.

I'll bet you can find everything you need for a QT (Craig' s List, etc.) for less than the price of most everyday fish. Not what you want to hear; but (IMO & IME) a HT/QT is as vital for long-term success as any piece of equipment you have. You don't have to keep it set up permanently either, there are easy and cheap ways to always be ready to cycle a HT/QT on a moments notice. Just keep a sponge filter in the flow of your DT. The turnover rate of people in our hobby has been well documented (part of the reason for all the cheap stuff on Craig's list); I'd bet anything that not having a QT/HT is among the top (if not the #1) reasons.

[dunc101]

Just fyi, Petco was recently doing there $1 a gallon sale and it was still going on last week at mine went I went by there. I got my 20 gallon QT from there. You can get a hyrdro II sponge filter on amazon for $7 + 5 shipping or something like that =). All of 30 bucks for a QT =). That is what I did at least. I took a few extra pvc pieces i had lying around and tossed in as well for hiding spots. Simple, cheap, and effective!

[sandwi54]

I'll bet you can find everything you need for a QT (Craig' s List, etc.) for less than the price of most everyday fish. Not what you want to hear; but (IMO & IME) a HT/QT is as vital for long-term success as any piece of equipment you have. You don't have to keep it set up permanently either, there are easy and cheap ways to always be ready to cycle a HT/QT on a moments notice. Just keep a sponge filter in the flow of your DT. The turnover rate of people in our hobby has been well documented (part of the reason for all the cheap stuff on Craig's list); I'd bet anything that not having a QT/HT is among the top (if not the #1) reasons.

Echo that. I don't understand why people think QT is costly. I built the whole QT for around $50. $20 tank, $20 filter, and $10 heater. Then added a powerhead that I replaced with vortech. The whole QT setup costs less than any equipment in my DT. Like what Bob Fenner put it, if you can't afford a QT, you can't afford this hobby.

[sandwi54]

I kind of look at adding fish directly to the DT without QT'ing first kinda like having sex with some chick you just picked up at a bar without using a condom. It's a pain but you still do it...

Best quote ever! Cracked me up and made my day. I even called my gf to tell her what I read and we both had a good laugh!

[b0bab0ey]

Best quote ever! Cracked me up and made my day. I even called my gf to tell her what I read and we both had a good laugh!

Thanks! Although in hindsight it probably was a bit inappropriate and I apologize if anyone was offended. I just felt like I had ruined the guy's day by telling him he needed to leave his DT fallow for 9 weeks and QT'ing for 9 weeks. He seemed ready to throw in the towel so I thought if I infused a little humor into the situation it might snap him out of it. We all have our ups and downs in this hobby, and sometimes when everything seems to be going wrong we need to find a little humor in the situation. :)

[boosst]

I was kind of in a bad mood last night and I appreciate you talking me out of it. I am going to look intO a qt tank. I think the biggest problem will be my wife...lol. How many fish can I qt at one time? What size tank do I need? If there is only fish and water and I do frequent water changes, do I really need to monitor anything but temp and salinity? I will look up info later on all this if you don't want to answer all of it.
Oh...also, can these diseases be living on corals or snails? That is all that will be in the tank , but I don't want to leave it fish less for 9 weeks and find out my snails were carrying brook.

[b0bab0ey]

I was kind of in a bad mood last night and I appreciate you talking me out of it. I am going to look intO a qt tank. I think the biggest problem will be my wife...lol. How many fish can I qt at one time? What size tank do I need? If there is only fish and water and I do frequent water changes, do I really need to monitor anything but temp and salinity? I will look up info later on all this if you don't want to answer all of it.
Oh...also, can these diseases be living on corals or snails? That is all that will be in the tank , but I don't want to leave it fish less for 9 weeks and find out my snails were carrying brook.

No problem, I understand how you felt. Several months ago I was pulling my hair out dealing with a PB Tang that had Flukes, Ich, a bacterial infection, Lymphocystis... pretty much every disease a fish can get. To make matters worse, if she eats too much nori she starts swimming in circles at the surface. But now "Typhoid Mary" is the star of my reef tank and is on a very strict diet. :spin1:

Being you have a 40 gal DT, I would get a 20 gal QT if you can (although you could probably get away with a 10 gal). If you go with the 20 gal, you could probably QT 2 or 3 small fish at a time. Or 1 medium sized. If you're going to QT 2 or 3 at a time, I suggest buying them all at the same time (preferably out of the same tank) so the 9-week QT period doesn't have to start over every time you buy a new fish.

Temp and salinity is important, but you also need to closely monitor ammonia in your QT. You can buy one of these to make it easy for you:

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/AmmoniaAlert.html

These diseases can exist on corals/snails (think of them as hitchhikers) but without a fish to feed on, the disease will starve out after 9 weeks. Any disease present on corals/snails will be dead after 9 weeks.

[snorvich]

Excellent advice in this thread about fish (and other things).

:spin2:

[sandwi54]

I was kind of in a bad mood last night and I appreciate you talking me out of it. I am going to look intO a qt tank. I think the biggest problem will be my wife...lol. How many fish can I qt at one time? What size tank do I need? If there is only fish and water and I do frequent water changes, do I really need to monitor anything but temp and salinity? I will look up info later on all this if you don't want to answer all of it.
Oh...also, can these diseases be living on corals or snails? That is all that will be in the tank , but I don't want to leave it fish less for 9 weeks and find out my snails were carrying brook.

Don't feel bad and definitely don't give up. If you give up like this, you'd be one of those hobbyists who quit the hobby after frustration and sell their equipment for 1/4 of the original cost (though we love to buy those things cheap :spin2:).

If this makes you feel better, I just recently went through an ich problem in my DT (even though I have treated/cured close to a hundred fish by now). I had to cut prophylactic treatment short on my french angel since she showed distress after two weeks into the treatment. Turns out, ich stayed on her unnoticed by me, and was brought into DT. Sometimes things happen and you just have to deal with it, but once you go through it once, you learn the experience, gain insight, and you will feel like you just grew. Well, hopefully you only have to go through this once :)