pearlscale butterflyfish died suddenly black scales

[jaydeechuu]

I'm fairly new to taking care of marine life and I recently got my tank stable, no more ammonia. But my fish keep dying. This is a new one that I encountered, I hope someone here has dealt with this or knows what to do since I don't know what to google or what it's called. Thank you!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I'm fairly new to taking care of marine life and I recently got my tank stable, no more ammonia. But my fish keep dying. This is a new one that I encountered, I hope someone here has dealt with this or knows what to do since I don't know what to google or what it's called. Thank you!

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Welcome to Reef2Reef!

That is a pretty clear case of Uronema, an internal protozoan. It is not really treatable because it lives inside the fish and by the time you see the lesion at the surface of the fish, the damage has been done inside. Luckily, it only seems to affect certain species of fish and it is not very contagious from fish to fish. Here is an article that I wrote about it:

Uronema / Red Band Disease - Hemdal

Red Band Syndrome in Marine Fishes: Potentially Caused by the Protozoan; Uronema sp. Jay Hemdal Introduction: This moderately common disease of certain species of marine fish is so often misdiagnosed that most aquarists apply incorrect...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm fairly new to taking care of marine life and I recently got my tank stable, no more ammonia. But my fish keep dying. This is a new one that I encountered, I hope someone here has dealt with this or knows what to do since I don't know what to google or what it's called. Thank you!

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This fish can be challenging even to the most experienced hobbyist and often purchased on impulse due to the nice color and patterns bur are susceptible to uronema, lymphocystis and bacterial.
When an opportunity is given, take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at. These kits are often notorious for false ammonia readings