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FAQs about the Brooklynellosis Disease and Clownfishes,
Etiology/Prevention Related
FAQs: Brooklynellosis 1,
Brooklynellosis 2, Brooklynellosis 3,
& & FAQs on Brooklynellosis:
Diagnosis/Symptomology, Cures That
Don't Work, Cures That Do Work,
Treatment/Products/Manufacturers... &
Clownfish Disease 1, Clownfish
Disease FAQs 3, Clownfish Disease 4,
Clownfish Disease 5, Clownfish
Disease 10, Clownfish Disease 12,
Clownfish Disease 13,
Clownfishes in General,
Clownfish Identification, Clownfish
Selection, Clownfish Compatibility,
Clownfish Behavior, Clownfish Systems,
Clownfish Feeding, Clownfishes and
Anemones, Breeding
Clowns, Parasitic Marine Tanks 1,
Marine Parasitic Disease,
Parasitic Reef Tanks,
Cryptocaryoniasis, Marine Ich,
Marine Velvet Disease,
Biological Cleaners, Treating
Parasitic Disease, Using
Hyposalinity to Treat Parasitic Disease,
Related Articles:
Surviving Brooklynellosis by Mike Maddox,
Clownfish Disease,
Brooklynellosis, Clownfishes, Maroon
Clowns,
Marine Parasitic Disease, |
Is a protozoan... must be imported... on livestock, via something
wet that has been infested... Can infest fishes other than
Amphiprionines. Can become resident, low pathogenicity,
resting...Can be excluded through quarantine, dips/baths... simply
buying clean (mostly tank bred) stock that hasn't been exposed. |
Brooklynella, die-off 8/30/2009
Bob thanks for the informative site. I have a 120 gallon tank with about
100 pounds of base rock and 40 pounds of live rock. I had 2 clowns in
the tank as they were my first fish. 1 has died from Brooklynella, at
least the LFS had an outbreak in their tanks where mine were taken from
so I am assuming that was the cause. It had most of the symptoms. The
second clown was taken out and is in a QT. He is staying at the top of
the water and not swimming around but seems have good color, no spots,
and normal fins. He
is eating fine. My question is about the rock that was in the tank. How
long should I wait for the rock not to be a host for the parasite.
<Well... the longer, the more likely the vector/cause will have gone...
four weeks is probably somewhere around the "trade off" point... of more
damage being done to the host/clown/s than benefit in avoiding the
Protozoan. Bob Fenner>
Re: New Captive-Bred "Clownfish Disease"? 2/20/09
Crew
-
<Martin>
This is a follow-up to the exchange below. My thanks to
Bob Fenner for his thoughtful response. Unfortunately I was not able to
get access to a microscope before the last of the fish manifesting
symptoms perished.
So, now I have an empty hospital tank that I will
sterilize and return to quarantine duty. I have seen the FAQ suggesting
use of a bleach solution and will implement and then dry - although sun
is in short supply this time of year in New England.
<Ah yes... but
thank goodness (I am in the N. hemisphere as well, though a bit closer
to the equator), the days are getting longer>
My question today
concerns the 300 gal. display tank. It still contains a group of
ocellaris clowns, a pair of Golden Butterflyfish (Chaetodon
semilarvatus) and a midas blenny, all of whom were exposed to the clowns
that manifested the infection before those fish were moved to the
hospital tank. The last such move occurred three weeks ago and since
then all of the display tank fish have been fine - no symptoms, eating
greedily.
<I see>
The question is what further cautionary measures
I should take before adding fish to the display tank. (My stocking plan
calls for a Kole Tang next, and he will have plenty of green filamentous
algae to consume when he arrives.) My instinct is just to wait some
additional time before making the addition, continuing to look for
symptoms (with my fingers crossed) and eschewing any aggressive
intervention (I do have a UV sterilizer running). Do you agree?
<Mmm, a gamble... or better... somewhat calculable risk...>
If not,
what else should I do?
<Mmmm, ahhh... t'were it me, nothing. There is
some small chance that IF this were Brooklynellosis, it might infest
other fish families... but...>
And how much time total (including the
three weeks that have already passed) would you wait before adding the
next fish (after quarantine, of course, and assuming no more
manifestation of disease).
Thanks very much for any advice you can
give.
Marty
<This is no zero-sum universe, sans risk... Marty, I'd
go ahead (boldly) and place the Kole... there is small chance of trouble
in my estimation.
Bob Fenner>
Brooklynella Armageddon... 6/25/08
Hi again,
<Marc>
I
can't begin to tell you, how much of a help you all have been. I have
done much research on the Internet, and every time I start looking for
an answer, I get the best suggestions from this site. And have had
positive results in my tank.
The problem I have run into lately, is
Brooklynella. It has killed every Clown fish and Angelfish I have put in
the tank. Now, with the help from you're crew member Benjamin and
research, I now know that I should not have added any after the first
one died.
<Mmm, likely the Protozoan is resident...>
I still have
three Chromises, a Sixline Wrasse, a Firefish, Lawnmower Blenny and a
Chalk Bass. I have had these fish for about six to eight weeks without a
problem. They have seen many Clowns and Angels come and go. My last
Clown or Angel died about a week ago. Stripping down the tank and
bleaching everything is no going to be practical.
<Can be done in
place...>
I can't set up a guarantee tank, just not enough room. I
have two 75 gallon tanks, and had to squeeze one of them in the dining
room. My question is, is there an amount of time I can wait, without
casualties, that might make it safe to try a couple of tank raised
Clown-fish?
<Mmm, a matter of time vs. likelihood... not absolute...
I'd bleach...>
I have researched this, and the only information I
found
is on a fallow tank, or if you're not planning on keeping
Clowns. What would be your best suggestion, no more fish for six to
eight weeks, or just no more Clown fish?
Thanks again,
Marc
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/clnornart.htm
and the
linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: Disease refractory to treatment... Brooklynella? 12/3/06
Bob,
I used the microscope yesterday and performed a skin scraping.
The pathogen is an oval, ciliated organism that looks most like
Brooklynella hostilis
(using Edward Noga's Fish Disease Diagnosis
and Treatment) for comparison.
<Could you make out the nucleus,
nuclei? Their relative size here?>
This might explain its
refractoriness to Cu++. However, I have dipped it multiple times in a
125 ppm Formalin solution, with improvement but not cure.
<Frighten-, frustrating for sure>
Do you know the lifecycle of
Brooklynella?
<Yes>
Is it an obligate parasite?
<Yes>
Should I treat the entire tank with a 25 ppm Formalin prolonged
immersion, or are there more specific antimicrobials that I should use
(Chloroquine, Metronidazole, an aminoglycoside)? I have not been able to
find any literature on the lifecycle or sensitivity of this pathogen.
thanks very much,
Sam
<Successive Formalin dips and moves to
non-infested systems should break the cycle here... along with the use
of anti-protozoals. My choice is/would be Metronidazole/Flagyl... as
posted on WWM. Bob Fenner> Re: New pair of clownfish
Sorry to bother you yet Again I was reading your site and now have more
questions). In regards to Brooklynella, how do clowns get it?
<Brought in with other host/Clownfishes... mainly imported with
wild-collected specimens... spread to others by their introduction,
movement of water, materials from infested systems...>
Should I be
concerned? The clowns we got look great; beautiful color, not
skinny...., are very active and curious. They didn't say they were tank
raised/reared, but there behavior laying on top of each other in a
corner) is indicative of tank raised. I don't know if it helps but they
have a lot of black in them is this more likely in tank raised
specimens?)
<Likely no worries... were captive produced probably...
The darker ones from stock hailing from Shark Bay, Australia...>
We
didn't dip the fish because the LFS dipped them in quick cure on
Wednesday and we thought another dip would be stressful.
<Not
warranted, worth it in my estimation as well>
I am mostly concerned
about my 5 inch Hippo he can't get Brooklynella, right?)
<No>
Again, should I be concerned about this disease given the above info on
the clowns? THANKS again and I will stop reading your site for now, or I
will be coming to you all day with "what if questions" haha....
<Keep
studying, dreaming, scheming my friend. Bob Fenner> Bad Advice
- And A Bad Result!
My poor clown already died.
<Sorry to hear
that...>
I put her in a hospital tank and she got worse from there
on. The patch of skin fell off leaving a red open wound. My LFS said not
to put her in a hospital tank, as it would only make things worse, but I
wanted to get her out of the main tank as I have another clown in there.
<Your thought was correct...>
My LFS also said that Brooklynella is
wiped out in fish (that would be nice; this is also the same person that
said there is no reason to quarantine fish, they only get sick when they
are stressed, so they can get sick in the main tank, too) <Yikes...not
the best advice I've heard!>, but I think he said it was velvet, because
that was the only medication that they carried. She was in my main tank
when she got sick (I didn't quarantine the clowns, per my LFS, but I
learned my lesson the hard way). I still have 1 clown (that I bought at
the same time as the other - 2 weeks ago, and a lawnmower blenny in the
tank. They show no signs of being sick, but I'm afraid if I add another
(after quarantine this time) that they will pick up the Brooklynella in
the main tank. Does Brooklynella stay dormant in the main tank until it
finds another victim?
<Like many diseases, it can remain in a sort of
"dormant phase", waiting to strike again...I'd remove everyone into a
separate tank, and let the main tank go fallow for a month or so, to
allow the population of parasites (assuming it's a parasitic infection
that you're dealing with) to crash for lack of hosts...>
I just added
a cleaner shrimp, and I don't known if that helps some. Any help is
appreciated, I can't get good advice from my LFS.
<Well, I'd go for
the fallow tank trick, as outlined above. Keep a close eye on all of
your remaining fishes, quarantine all new arrivals, and take all advice
from that LFS with a grain of salt! Quarantine is simply one of the
things that you must do if you keep marine fish...I'm sorry that you had
to learn it the hard way, but I'll bet that you'll see a lot of success
in the future! Good luck! Regards, Scott F> Clown Going Down?
(Brooklynella?)
I have an ailing/recovering clownfish. I have
been reading through some of the FAQ's. I am having a terrible time
distinguishing velvet from Brooklynella from ich. First, here is a ROUGH
timeline of what I have been going through.
About a month ago
Purchased two small (1in.) percula clownfish and a rose anemone from LFS
for cycled 10 gal. fish tank
One clown defended the anemone from the
other after a day or two.
Talked to LFS, they told me I could return
the outcast clown with slight hopes of ending up with a mated pair.
When I took the clown out, it looked like it had a slimy film on it that
I could peel off.
Sounds a lot like Brooklynella's external symptoms>
I took it to the store and they told me that it was probably low ph and
gave me another. (found out yesterday that the clown died in the bag
while they floated it)
<No surprise there, if we're talking about
this disease. It is nasty!>
(Some time here, I did some research and
decided that I needed a larger tank to do a reef setup. I bought a 45
gal. and started piling in the rock here and there along with three
Chromis damsels to cycle it.)
I took the new clown home and floated
it. It was love at first sight. Or so it seemed to me.
A little over
a week ago...
It was doing fine for a week or so and then it
developed the slimy film. I started researching the ailment and can't
determine if it is velvet, ich or Brooklynella. I did immediately start
FW dips (only for a min or two as this was the first time frame I read
about). Keep in mind that the first clown never showed (and still
doesn't show) any sign of any problems.
<Well, a fish infected with
Amyloodinium ("Velvet") will usually patches of discoloration where the
tissues have been liquefied. The affected fish will also display
difficulty breathing, lack of appetite, and general listlessness. The
"slime" that you have described sounds more to me like Brooklynella.
Fishes infected with this disease seem to slough off large quantities of
mucus, and display similar lack of feeding, listlessness, etc. They will
often "hang" in the current.>
The larger tanks numbers went fine
quite soon with the LR and wet/dry filter.
The ailing Clownfish's
tail started having problems (disappearing) so I took the good clown and
the anemone out and put them in the 45) I was afraid that the healthier
appearing clown was picking on it or that it would contract the illness.
I realize now that this was probably not the best thing to do especially
since I added a coral beauty and a bicolor blenny to the larger tank.
<You really need to develop a quarantine procedure and stick to it. With
regular quarantine, you'll be able to treat such diseases before they
get to the display and cause problems>
I went to the LFS and he gave
me some antibiotic tablets. I have been adding the correct amount of
antibiotics to the new 10 gal hospital tank and doing a FW dip (I
started increasing the time spent in the FW to a little over five min
last night)
<Well, antibiotics are effective if you are dealing with
a disease that requires their use! If you are dealing with any of the
aforementioned afflictions- they are parasitic, and require medications
like copper sulphate or formalin to do the job>
I did some more
research last night and found this site to be very
helpful, but I am
having trouble diagnosing the problem and verifying that I am on the
right course of action. I don't think it is velvet because it just
doesn't sound like it. It sounds like Brooklynella, but the other clown
still doesn't show any signs. It doesn't sound like ich because I don't
see any crystal-like spots. There was a spot on the second day that
seemed to disappear either from the fw dip or from the net in
transferring to the fw. I asked the guy about Brooklynella and he didn't
seem to know anything about it. I asked about getting some Formalin and
he said that it was formaldehyde and that he could give me a little if I
wanted to try that. First of all, is this info right, second of all, do
I need to use it and finally, how do I use it.
<Best you get an
aquarium-specific formalin medication. This way, you'll be getting a
medication with the proper concentration and a set of instructions on
how to use it!>
I do appreciate the time taken to look at my problem.
Forgot one thing. The fish is hanging in there and seems to be doing
okay other than acting lonesome since I took the other clown out. It
still eats <and that is a good sign> :-)
Thanks in advance!
Gordon
<Yes, Gordon- the fact that the fish is eating is excellent! I'd get
going on a copper sulphate or formalin treatment regimen (not in the
display tank, of course) and monitor carefully. This disease can be very
contagious, so do observe your other fishes for potential signs of
illness. Arm yourself with some good research on the WWM site and others
about these diseases, and you'll be able to make a positive ID rather
quickly! Good luck! Regards, Scott F.>
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