Help treating green chromis

stevenearlmcdonald · Apr 21, 2024

I did a tank blackout to try and contain some algae and it spooked my green chromis. I put him in a hospital tank right away and I started treading at the first sign of illness. At first it was some white stuff on the fins but then it looked like it could be Uronema. This fish is like 9 years old and I had another one that died a few months ago and I think thats what got him. I have been treating with copper and doing a water change every 4 days where I put him in a bath with formalin for 35:00 with a concentration of 1 mil/ 1 gallon.
Right after the dip he looks pretty ragged shedding a bunch of stuff and the Uronema seems to flare up or be more pronounced along with rapid breathing. by the next day it looks better and breathing goes back to normal. The treatment program I was following calls for two more dips but I was questioning whether I was causing more stress and aggravating things making it worse. I don't think the Uronema is going to go away, right? So, if I finish the treatment for any other parasites should I continue with the formalin dips? I didn't think Uronema fades away and comes back like this so do I have that wrong that this is not Uronema?

Jay Hemdal · Apr 21, 2024

stevenearlmcdonald Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

The #fishmedic team and other knowledgeable members of our community will do our best to help you resolve your questions. Please provide as much of the following as you are able:

Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:
- How long have you had the fish with the condition?
- Did you quarantine with medication when you first acquired the fish? (If Yes, which medication?)
Current water quality measurements
Clear photos of the issue taken using WHITE light and/or a short video of any behaviors (post in your response or on YouTube).

If you can help us by providing as much of the above info as possible, it will make diagnosing and providing recommendations for treatment MUCH easier! The Fish Medic team will get back to you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, other members of our community may also share their experience with similar situations and advice that they may have regarding your situation.

You may also feel free to provide a more detailed description of the condition if you wish to share more info than the above list.

Additionally, these links may be useful while you await a response:

stevenearlmcdonald · Apr 21, 2024

I've had the fish about 9 years.
I did not quarantine the fish then.
water
78 degrees
salinity 1.025
ph 8.2
alk 9.0
nitrates 5 ppm
phosphates .08
cal 1440
mag 1300

after formalin dip yesterday red mark which I am thinking is uranema looked far worse and fish had white flaky stuff coming off. Also, war breathing much more rapidly.

Jay Hemdal · Apr 21, 2024

stevenearlmcdonald said:
I did a tank blackout to try and contain some algae and it spooked my green chromis. I put him in a hospital tank right away and I started treading at the first sign of illness. At first it was some white stuff on the fins but then it looked like it could be Uronema. This fish is like 9 years old and I had another one that died a few months ago and I think thats what got him. I have been treating with copper and doing a water change every 4 days where I put him in a bath with formalin for 35:00 with a concentration of 1 mil/ 1 gallon.
Right after the dip he looks pretty ragged shedding a bunch of stuff and the Uronema seems to flare up or be more pronounced along with rapid breathing. by the next day it looks better and breathing goes back to normal. The treatment program I was following calls for two more dips but I was questioning whether I was causing more stress and aggravating things making it worse. I don't think the Uronema is going to go away, right? So, if I finish the treatment for any other parasites should I continue with the formalin dips? I didn't think Uronema fades away and comes back like this so do I have that wrong that this is not Uronema?

Uronema is really just a disease of newly acquired fish, with one as old as your chromis, I think old age is more likely the issue. What can happen is elderly fish just can’t bounce back from minor issues like being stressed during tank maintenance.

If you can post a clear video under white lights, I might be able to tell you more.

Edit - I just viewed the video you posted. I don’t see any signs of internal Uronema.

stevenearlmcdonald · Apr 21, 2024

That's awesome! I'll stop with the formalin dip and finish the copper treatment or do you think no copper and just monitor for disease?

Jay Hemdal · Apr 22, 2024

stevenearlmcdonald said:
That's awesome! I'll stop with the formalin dip and finish the copper treatment or do you think no copper and just monitor for disease?

Well, I think that the fish is already much older than this species usually lives, so I think it DOES have an issue, just that it's not Uronema. I don't see the problem being any protozoan, so I would skip the copper as well.