Chelmon Dis F3

FAQs on Chelmon Butterflyfishes Health/Disease 3

FAQs on Chelmon Disease: Chelmon Disease 1, Chelmon Disease 2, Chelmon Disease 4,
FAQs on Chelmon Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Environmental, Nutritional, Trauma, Infectious, Parasitic, Social, Treatments
FAQs on Butterflyfish Disease: Butterflyfish Disease 1, Butterflyfish Disease 2, Angels and Butterflyfishes & Crypt,
FAQs on Butterflyfish Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Environmental, Nutritional, Social, Trauma, Infectious, Parasitic, Treatments

Related Articles: Chelmon Butterflyfishes, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition,

Butterflyfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
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by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Copper Banded Butterfly changing appearance... 4/20/20
Hi gang,
<Hey Chuck>
I have kept a copper banded butterfly for 3+ years in my macroalgae display tank (connected via common sump with my reef tank)
<Chelmon rostratus is not one of the easiest BF species to keep; it requires top water quality and a varied diet.>
... it's a low intensity tank, with just a juvenile scopas tang for company.
<What are your water parameters?>
He feeds almost exclusively on frozen Mysis, and whatever else he gleans from the seaweed.
<This diet is not varied enough.>
Recently, the gold vertical stripe underneath the 'false eye' near the tail has started going dark... almost black. It's symmetrical on both sides of the fish. No signs of trauma... appears to be a pigmentation issue. Is this a sign of stress... or advancing age... or anything else you can think of?
<Not because of advanced age, no... these fish can live up to 20 years. I think this is more environmentally stress related.>
Thanks in advance for any help on this...
Blessings,
Chuck
<Cheers. Wil.>

Is this ich? Using WWM 6/11/18
<... eight megs of uncropped pix? Why? Why not read and heed our requirements?>
I am trying to figure if this is ich. It is only on his tail that I can see. I lowered the salinity in the tank slowly to 1.017 for my reef tank, as per instructions from WWM. The starting point was a little too high, 1.027. My Foxface also had gray looking pimples on him. After lowering the salinity, the spots on the Foxface have disappeared. The tail looks better on the Copperband, but not totally clear. Also my corals aren’t happy, but they are still okay. I’ve only have had it lowered for a couple of days.
<Read on WWM re Crypt, Chelmon rostrata; raise the spg for your corals. Bob Fenner>

Copperbanded Butterfly with new spots 11/21/17
Hello. Love your guys site. Was hoping you could help me ID this disease.
<... 9 megs of uncropped pix John!? Looks to me to be Crypt-like. VERY common w/ imported Chelmons... s/b pH adjusted freshwater dipped/bathed enroute to quarantine for a couple weeks...>
Got this Copperbanded 3 weeks ago and he spent a week in QT.
<Need at least two>
Is eating bloodworms very aggressively and looks otherwise healthy.
<Ahh! Good signs>
Overnight he developed so damage to his caudal fin and now it has a single white spot on it.
<Only the one? Might be naught/nothing... a pinch w/ accumulated mucus. I would NOT treat>
He has no other spots or damage to fins. I’m hoping it’s lymph and plan to leave him be and not stress him by throwing him back in QT. Doing a water Change today as it is that time of month. Info on the tank he is in it is a
75 with a 30 gal sump and has been running for more then a year. All tank mates look healthy (2 O. Clowns and a Flame angel, one first shrimp, one cleaner shrimp). Thanks for any advice.
John
<Do stay vigilant.. i.e., keep an eye on this fish. Have a read on WWM re Protozoans of marine fishes.
Bob Fenner>

Copperband - lumps near eyes 9/21/16
Hello wet web media crew
<Hey Kel>
Seeking some advice please on lumps that are growing on either side of my Copperband's nose (see photos)
<I see these... in your pix they appear bi-symmetrical... some sort of growth (microbial, poss. a viral component) in part of the lateralis system of the fish>
Bit of his history. I have had him nearly 3 years. He refuses to eat commercial food and exists solely on live food that I grow for him. Live black worms and gut loaded 1 week old Artemia - plus I now grow macro algae in part of my display (sigh) to maximise pod production. Not really a fortified diet (of course making him less resistant to disease) but the
live food has stopped him from starving these years.
<Yes; concur>
And yes I have tried every trick to transition him to frozen, pellet or fresh seafood.
<Ahh>
He is the last fish I added to the tank i.e. 3 years ago and no other inhabitants (Lineatus Wrasse trio, Tang, Citron Goby pair and clown pair) have any bumps or lesions.
<I see>
He is otherwise healthy, active and very friendly. I have noticed his food capture skills are diminishing - he some times misses food on first strike - so I assume the lumps are now interfering with his line of sight.
I would hate to lose him. Any help appreciated.
Thanks Kelly.
<A few treatment modalities to try come to mind. To "overdose" the system water (pulsing) with vitamin, HUFA, pro-biotic... supplement/s that you've been soaking foods in; along with Iodide-ate applied to water and.... daubing the solution straight/strength on the sites... with carefully netting, lifting the Chelmon from the water, holding in a soft towel...
using a Q-tip.... The usual steps to assure optimized, stable water quality... High RedOx esp. a useful indicator; the use of chem. filtrants (PolyFilter and Chemipure faves).... IF the growths don't abate, moving this fish to where specific gravity can be dropped precipitously, applying aggressive antimicrobials there (which we can/will chat over later if nec.).
Bob Fenner>

Chelmon Lymphocystis 4/8/15
Hey Bob, I've had a CBB in a 55 qt for about 6 days now. After nipping at live rock for 2 days he finally started eating vitamin soaked PE mysis.
He's been eating about 6-8 shrimp a day and is active. It did have a little "lymph" when I got it, but has gotten worse since.
<Quite common; and I would expedite this (and all Butterflyfishes) through quarantine... likely do a preventative dip/bath and place straight away. NOT to worry re the Lymph... easily defeated, not often spread...>
The water quality is great; 1.022 SG,
<Mmm; would keep more NSW, 1.025-6>
ammonia and nitrites at 0, nitrates at about 20 and it is the only fish in the tank. There is plenty of LR plus I'm running a Fluval 406 with ceramic media seeded from my main sump. I've been reading about possibly transferring him to the DT, but am nervous.
<Don't be>
It's only been 6 days, so it could still have ich theoretically, also the lymph will eventually explode and possibly spread.?
<No... see, READ on WWM re>
My 150g DT inhabitants are as follows... Black dogface puffer (7"), teardrop butterfly (4"), comet (6"), Flagtail Blanquillo (7"), orange tail filefish (4"), and a long nosed hawk (3").
The DT is extremely healthy and active and has been for about 2 years. Do you think I should be patient here, or risk transferring him.
<I would definitely do the latter>
Another worry of mine is that he'll have a lot of competition for food and may perish unless I keep him where he is to "fatten him up a bit".
Especially the file fish who is the fastest most voracious eater I've ever seen :) Any thoughts? Thanks!
-Jay
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Best treatment available for scratching Chelmon rostratus   11/17/13
Hi Crew, from the UK.
<Hail from Chicago, US>
   Sincerely hope to find you all healthy and in good spirits.
<Thank you>
   Just a quickie really (if you'll excuse the term). You guys have helped me so much in the last ten or so years, I will forever be indebted to you.
One of these days I will send you a bottle of Scottish nectar, (Single Malt) Just let me know where to send it?
<Ooooh; have given up on alcohol, but I thank you for your offer>
   Anyway, my question. I've read on WWM about a treatment, a "later greater technology" for Amyloodinium based on Quinine, 'Chloroquine Phosphate'. Is this a product which one can purchase over the counter?
<I don't know re the UK; but can be purchased online in the US>
& if it is, what brand name/s might it go under?
<There's a list on WWM:
http://wetwebmedia.com/QuinSourceF.htm
I haven't had cause to treat any fish since I started quarantining absolutely everything/anything that went into my main display.
   That was about 20 years ago. Now I have a problem. I have been 'given' three fish, one Chaetodon Bennetti (Bennett's Butterfly), one Threadfin Butterfly (Chaetodon auriga) and one Chelmon rostratus (Copperband butterfly) all are youngsters and between one and a half and two inches long. I had to rather hastily get a QT up & running, all I had was a 20 gallon tank on which I put my D-D fluidised sand bed filter from my main tank and my D-D fluidised bed with one litre of (fresh) Rowacarbon in it.
   These are well over capacity (see link below) for a 20 gallon QT I know, but it's all I had. They are the type shown on eBay below. (and no, I am not on a commission!)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/271165553945?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&lpid
=95&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=95&ff19=0
   You're probably well ahead of me here. The fish all look fine with no abrasions or dustings with salt nor fine pepper but the copperband is scratching/flicking just the one side above the gills on the two pieces of live rock I put in the QT from my main display. Would I be overdoing it, do you think by putting a UV sterilizer on the QT tank?
<Not overdoing it. I would put this device on if I had it>
It would be a big one again for about a 200 litre tank. I have an ozoniser but am not sure how best to filter the residual ozone without a skimmer.
<Activated carbon>
I'm sorry guys, this wasn't such a quickie after all. I do always search your great site, there is always something to learn but on this occasion I need some advice.
Keep up the good work. I'm damned sure you have helped our reefs around the world more than any government have ever done.
With sincere thanks
Simon.
<Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Fluke surviving Muelleri Butterflyfish in QT with bacterial infections (?) 10/13/13
Greetings,
<Good eve Sarah>
A friend of mine recommended you with the highest regard. I've attached a cell phone picture (I don't have a regular camera, sorry) of the affected area on my Butterflyfish. I've had him 15 months, he eats live blackworms and a homemade frozen seafood blend. Parameters are good in the quarantine.
The photo: Below the glare line in the middle brown stripe the lesion like area is visible. There is some redness, the scales are raised, inflammation is visible from the profile view and there are a couple white apparatus' attached next to the inflammation. The white apparatus will begin small and hard like, very bright white and after a couple days grows larger and more flesh like, hangs off the fish (can visibly see it moving as he swims) and then falls off. Above the glare line is an example of one that can be seen moving in the current as the fish swims. A 5 min fw dip didn't seem to affect the area.
<... have you looked at this material under a 'scope?>
I dosed Kanamycin into the water 2 days ago, also have been feeding in frozen food. It seems too early to know if it's working. Currently, the fish is eating, but hiding in his pvc most of the time.
Additionally, he had a lower jaw (inside the mouth) infection that is now reoccurring.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Sarah
<I suspect the white material is simply "mucus" (body slime)... an exudate... from...? Not curable w/ antibiotics, nor quarantine/isolation.
Do you suspect there is a parasite here? I would move this fish back to the main/display system. Bob Fenner>

Re: Fluke surviving Mueller Butterflyfish in QT with bacterial infections (?) 10/14/13
Thank you, Bob. I've been actively looking for someone to look under a 'scope, although, I'm concerned about increasing the fish's stress level as he's been in hiding except for feeding time for several days.
<You are wise here... life is indeed "a series of compromises", and you are right to consider the trade-off in handling this (or any) specimen>
This fish has undergone 17 days Praziquantel treatment (unsuccessful) followed by 23 days Formalin, which I believe, effectively eliminated the flukes.
<... am very surprised it didn't eliminate the fish>
I feel the lesions/mouth infection are some sort of secondary ailment - i have read flukes are like portals for other diseases.
<Can be>
I do not know if there's some sort of parasite at this time.
<Highly unlikely... grossly appears to be "sores"...>
The fish's name is Ziggy.
<"Ziggy played guitarrrrrrrr" Bowie>
I appreciate your time.
Sarah
<And I everyone's. BobF>

Re: Fluke surviving Muelleri Butterflyfish in QT with bacterial infections (?) 10/15/13
Good Day Bob,
<Sarah>
Took Ziggy in this morning for a biopsy. The man said there is no mucus by the sores (which is bad), so he pulled a scale via tweezers and looked under the 'scope.
<Good>
He told me there are no parasites (I assumed) and that the infection seems to be coming from the inside out.
<Yes>
All he could say is that it's bacterial and suggested running a full 5 day course of antibiotics, which I have been (Kanamycin - in food too) with today being the 5th day. Lastly, he said to begin treating tomorrow with a Nitrofuracin product because they are absorbed well.
<Yes; better... though best would be to do a rudimentary sensitivity test/run... >
I have a seeded identical QT and could treat with NFP Nitrofuracin green powder immediately or I could wait out the day with the Kanamycin treatment like the man suggested?
<I'd just stop the one and start t'other if you're adamant re such antibiotic/antimicrobial treatment (I am not... most such treatments are more destructive than useful... microbial issues starting w/ other causes... mostly environmental, social, nutritional... and cured by fixing the same. Moving, isolating specimens... is much more likely to kill them>
I'm reluctant to wait and "see what happens," yet, very cautious.
He also said the fish looks very healthy aside from the bacterial infection.
<Yes; all the more reason why I'd move it... not treat>
For the past few days, the fish has been hiding in a pvc and reluctantly, (which is a new development) ate a few live blackworms today.
Sincerely,
Sarah
<Cheers, B>
PS - I am very thankful to have found your site, will donate.

Butterflyfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available here

by Robert (Bob) Fenner

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