Clownfish Ich or Brook? Help!

lauren_ash · Feb 8, 2021

Hi everyone. I'm stressing over here.
I've had this Picasso clown for about a year now and he's now showing signs of ich or maybe brook. His partner jumped out of the tank a few days ago so I got him a replacement maybe four days later but they seem to be getting along just fine. All the other fish are doing well and my corals are happy too. So I'm not sure what caused this parasite outbreak in my reef tank.

Right now he is swimming and eating fine and I don't see him breathing heavy or showing any signs that he isn't feeling well besides the white spots coating his face and body. I have some pictures for you to see but trying to get him still long enough is impossible.

My question is, is this ick or brook? I have a quarantine tank I can stick him and my other fish in so I can tackle the issue once and for all. I was planning to do the hyposalinity treatment for ich but now I'm not sure if that's the right plan of action. Do any of you know how I should treat him and my other fish? The parasite is all over him so I'm sure if I don't act now the other fish will get it very soon.

Fish in the tank:
Picasso Clown x1
Ocellaris Clown x1
Green Chromis x1
Tailspot Blenny x1

Idoc · Feb 8, 2021

Well, i can't see anything on the pics to say for sure. If the spots look like salt spots that some disappear after a couple days, then ich is a strong possibility.

I have not used the hyposalinity method before. I use copper for ich treatments. Clowns are hardy and handle it well. This more than likely came in on the new clown addition.

30 days with CopperSafe at 2.0ppm should help.

But, some pics under white lights would be better for confirmation.

lauren_ash · Feb 9, 2021

Idoc said:
Well, i can't see anything on the pics to say for sure. If the spots look like salt spots that some disappear after a couple days, then ich is a strong possibility.

I have not used the hyposalinity method before. I use copper for ich treatments. Clowns are hardy and handle it well. This more than likely came in on the new clown addition.

30 days with CopperSafe at 2.0ppm should help.

But, some pics under white lights would be better for confirmation.

Here’s a video with whiter lighting. The sick clown is the darker of the two in the back.

Idoc · Feb 9, 2021

lauren_ash said:
Here’s a video with whiter lighting. The sick clown is the darker of the two in the back.

Well, he definitely swims fast! It is really hard to see with him swimming around, but I do think I was able to see a few spots. If it is only a few spots, then more than likely ich...if it looks like a mucus film over his body then highly suspicious of Brooklynella.

If Ich, then removing and treating all fish in copper would be an option (ich removal)...but this would also require a tank to go fallow for 72-76 days to totally remove it from the system. Others don't treat ich and just feed very nutritious foods to keep immune systems long (ich management).

lauren_ash · Feb 9, 2021

Idoc said:
Well, he definitely swims fast! It is really hard to see with him swimming around, but I do think I was able to see a few spots. If it is only a few spots, then more than likely ich...if it looks like a mucus film over his body then highly suspicious of Brooklynella.

If Ich, then removing and treating all fish in copper would be an option (ich removal)...but this would also require a tank to go fallow for 72-76 days to totally remove it from the system. Others don't treat ich and just feed very nutritious foods to keep immune systems long (ich management).

I noticed this morning the new clown looks to have a little white spot on his forehead that wasn’t there last night. I have a quarantine tank that I’ll put all my fish to later today. The really sick clown looks like it could have a mucous coat that’s covering him which is why I’m leaning towards Brooks. But for the new clown fish I don’t know if it’s the start of Brooks or if it’s ICH starting up. Is there a way that if I put all my fish in a quarantine tank that I can just treat for Brooks and ICH at the same time and just clear it all out? I don’t mind leaving the display tank fallow for 6-8 weeks if I can cure this once and for all.

Idoc · Feb 9, 2021

lauren_ash said:
I noticed this morning the new clown looks to have a little white spot on his forehead that wasn’t there last night. I have a quarantine tank that I’ll put all my fish to later today. The really sick clown looks like it could have a mucous coat that’s covering him which is why I’m leaning towards Brooks. But for the new clown fish I don’t know if it’s the start of Brooks or if it’s ICH starting up. Is there a way that if I put all my fish in a quarantine tank that I can just treat for Brooks and ICH at the same time and just clear it all out? I don’t mind leaving the display tank fallow for 6-8 weeks if I can cure this once and for all.

If you are suspecting Brooklynella, then that is the primary focus at this time since it is the most deadly and can kill the quickest...then focus on Ich if it is present. Brook typically looks like a fine dusting on the head and back region of a clown in the beginning and then starts to look like a mucus sheathing covering the fish. I couldn't see any mucus sheathing in the video, but it can be very subtle at the beginning.

Brooklynella is best treated with a Formulin or Ruby Reef Rally dip, actually. These can be difficult to find quickly, though...and Formulin is actually carcinogenic so you must be careful using it. Typically after the bath, the fish are put in a clean quarantine tank and then treated with Metronidazole in the water column every 48hrs for 10-14 days. If you can't find any of these meds quickly, then a 5 min freshwater dip can relieve the fish of discomfort temporarily to buy you a little more time...but this will not cure it.

Then after this, if other fish are still showing signs of ich, then maybe running them through a copper treatment for 30 days would be advisable since your main tank may be fallow for the 72 days anyhow!

Hope this helps! And for the future...it is advisable to run newly acquired clowns through quarantine with Metrodinazole as mentioned above prophylactically since they (and other damsels) are usually very susceptible to Brooklynella.

lauren_ash · Feb 10, 2021

Idoc said:
If you are suspecting Brooklynella, then that is the primary focus at this time since it is the most deadly and can kill the quickest...then focus on Ich if it is present. Brook typically looks like a fine dusting on the head and back region of a clown in the beginning and then starts to look like a mucus sheathing covering the fish. I couldn't see any mucus sheathing in the video, but it can be very subtle at the beginning.

Brooklynella is best treated with a Formulin or Ruby Reef Rally dip, actually. These can be difficult to find quickly, though...and Formulin is actually carcinogenic so you must be careful using it. Typically after the bath, the fish are put in a clean quarantine tank and then treated with Metronidazole in the water column every 48hrs for 10-14 days. If you can't find any of these meds quickly, then a 5 min freshwater dip can relieve the fish of discomfort temporarily to buy you a little more time...but this will not cure it.

Then after this, if other fish are still showing signs of ich, then maybe running them through a copper treatment for 30 days would be advisable since your main tank may be fallow for the 72 days anyhow!

Hope this helps! And for the future...it is advisable to run newly acquired clowns through quarantine with Metrodinazole as mentioned above prophylactically since they (and other damsels) are usually very susceptible to Brooklynella.

Okay perfect I’m going to buy the ruby reef rally first. I’ve never done this before so I want to make sure I do it correctly. I’m moving all of my fish (4 total) into my QT first. Once they are adjusted can I use the treatment as directed in the QT or should I treat the sick fish in a separate bucket and then put them back in the QT tank?
Will the treatment hurt my other fish that aren’t showing any signs of Ick or Brooklynella?

Idoc · Feb 10, 2021

lauren_ash said:
Okay perfect I’m going to buy the ruby reef rally first. I’ve never done this before so I want to make sure I do it correctly. I’m moving all of my fish (4 total) into my QT first. Once they are adjusted can I use the treatment as directed in the QT or should I treat the sick fish in a separate bucket and then put them back in the QT tank?
Will the treatment hurt my other fish that aren’t showing any signs of Ick or Brooklynella?

Dips with Ruby Reef Rally are done in a separate container for 90 minutes and then transferred into a clean hospital tank.

It is best to do a 5 min freshwater dip first, then 90 min in Ruby Reef Rally. But know that this in itself isn't a complete treatment for Brook... after in the hospital tank, you need to then run Metrodonizole in the water dosing every 48hrs for 10-14 days to Rally attempt to clear it out.

Formulin is best treatment for Brook, but it is harder to find.

lauren_ash · Mar 22, 2021

@Idoc
Hi, so I've got another video for you to watch. I'm roughly six weeks into quarantining my fish after the ich/brook issue with my clowns. I dipped the fish with fresh water and ruby reef rally initially and treated the hospital tank for ten days with metronidazole. After the antibiotic treatment, everyone seemed to be doing very well and the white spots disappeared from both my clowns.
However, a few days ago I started noticing possibly some new white spots on the clowns. I might be overthinking things, but I'd feel a lot better if you would look for me!

Idoc · Mar 22, 2021

lauren_ash said:
@Idoc
Hi, so I've got another video for you to watch. I'm roughly six weeks into quarantining my fish after the ich/brook issue with my clowns. I dipped the fish with fresh water and ruby reef rally initially and treated the hospital tank for ten days with metronidazole. After the antibiotic treatment, everyone seemed to be doing very well and the white spots disappeared from both my clowns.
However, a few days ago I started noticing possibly some new white spots on the clowns. I might be overthinking things, but I'd feel a lot better if you would look for me!

They look very healthy to me. I didn't see any spots that would be concerning at this time. If you are seeing spots, then watch to see if they worsen. But, they look pretty good right now.

lauren_ash · Mar 22, 2021

Idoc said:
They look very healthy to me. I didn't see any spots that would be concerning at this time. If you are seeing spots, then watch to see if they worsen. But, they look pretty good right now.

Thank you! Ill keep you posted if anything changes.

lauren_ash · Mar 29, 2021

lauren_ash said:
Thank you! Ill keep you posted if anything changes.

@Idoc
Hi again,
Today's the day my fish can go back into the display tank, but I'm not sure if I should put them back just yet. The white spots aren't gone yet (as of right now, I'm only seeing the spots on the clowns) so I did some more research and found out about lymphocystis. After comparing a ton of pictures I'm pretty sure that's what this is (not ich thank goodness). I think the little guys are tired of the smaller tank so they are fighting with each other a bit more than usual.
I've also read that there isn't a cure/treatment available right now besides vitamins and pristine water quality, so should I keep my fish in the hospital tank until this clears up, or do you think it's safe to put them back into the DT and let this clear up in there? Also, do you recommend any vitamins/supplements to add to their food to give the immune system a boost?
I'm only hesitant to put them back because it's a pain to get my blenny out of the rocks if they were to get very sick again.

Idoc · Mar 29, 2021

lauren_ash said:
@Idoc
Hi again,
Today's the day my fish can go back into the display tank, but I'm not sure if I should put them back just yet. The white spots aren't gone yet (as of right now, I'm only seeing the spots on the clowns) so I did some more research and found out about lymphocystis. After comparing a ton of pictures I'm pretty sure that's what this is (not ich thank goodness). I think the little guys are tired of the smaller tank so they are fighting with each other a bit more than usual.
I've also read that there isn't a cure/treatment available right now besides vitamins and pristine water quality, so should I keep my fish in the hospital tank until this clears up, or do you think it's safe to put them back into the DT and let this clear up in there? Also, do you recommend any vitamins/supplements to add to their food to give the immune system a boost?
I'm only hesitant to put them back because it's a pain to get my blenny out of the rocks if they were to get very sick again.

If the spots didn't go away or improve with the copper treatment, then its a good chance it's only lymph. Looking back at those initial pics, I couldn't see any definite ich spots present initially. Lymph is more commonly on the tips of the fins.

Yes, good diet and pristine water conditions help fight off the lymph. It can take a very long time for this to occur, so I would put them back in the main tank after you feel comfortable. Plus, stress of a quarantine tank can actually add to the lymph growth since stress effects the immune system.

Many people use Selcon on their fish food for added vitamins. Some also feel garlic helps fight disease and build the immune system...there are those who strongly believe this and those who say it doesn't do anything. I just feed good frozen foods and different varieties.