Clowns got stringy mucus over night - what to do?!

[guserto4]

background:
in preparation for moving (a dicey situation) I temporarily setup a 100g so that I could take down the existing 40g tank, transport and prepare that 40g as a temp home at the new place while I really setup the 100g permanently (finish stand, semi-cycle, etc). I added new dead sand, all existing live rock from the 40g (over 100 lbs) and fresh sw water and some existing sw from the 40g 3 weeks ago to the 100g, but am running that system poorly as it is temp (no filtration, just powerheads, way more volume of water, and frequent water changes, I know, I know... this sounds way worse typing it out than it did in my head). The 3 inhabitants, plus cleanup crew: 1 lemon peel tang & a pair of clowns, went into the 100g tank after about a week of semi-cycling. Everything was great for about a week, then the tang started looking a little smaller about 4 days ago and croaked yesterday. I couldn't find him initially, but found him last night after work. Probably 16 hours of dead fish rotting in tank. After finding the dead lemon peel I did a 30-40% water change and fed the clowns, both of which looked great.

So I get up to check on the ro/di unit and the tank this morning and the clowns suddenly both have excessive mucus stringing off their body and the female has lost the luster in her black coloring- if they were birds I'd call it molting. About to do a water check, but what the heck is it, and what do I do?

[HumbleFish]

Looks like Brooklynella to me. Treatment is Formalin dips. This site and this site offer some useful info.

[guserto4]

Both are dead, took less than 24 hours from seemingly healthy to expiration. Wow.

[MrTuskfish]

That sure confirms the brooklynella diagnosis. Brook is very common with wild caught clowns and many fish are more susceptible than others. More bad news: the brooklynella parasite is still in your tank and I doubt is done. Check HumbleFish's links above. I can't tell from your initial post (meaning I'm too lazy to figure the timeline); but was anything from a LFS or someone else"s tank added during the previous few weeks?

[guserto4]

Yup, that tang came from an LFS and was in with a bunch of clowns before purchase, about a month ago. My QTs just got elevated to 12 weeks with dosing. Dang it.

[Jetersyanks]

Yeah that looks like brook I had my 2 clown fish get it I realized it when I came home from work .. it was to late to get treatment they were dead by morning so act fast ... GOOD LUCK

[Jetersyanks]

I Have had absolutely no luck with tank bred clown fish .. I have been through 4 and they have all died 1 bye 1

[HumbleFish]

I'm sorry for your loss.

But if I may add something that might prove useful to the next person reading this... If you find you have clownfish with brooklynella, and can't find formalin at your LFS; get to Walmart ASAP and pick up some "Quick Cure". I've yet to find a Walmart that doesn't carry Quick Cure in their pet section. Now, whether or not Quick Cure contains enough formalin to completely knock out the problem is open for debate. But using it should at the very least buy you enough time to order something more powerful (i.e. Formalin-MS) online.

[Jetersyanks]

thank you that is helpful I never even thought to go to walmart they usually have just basics for fresh water

[guserto4]

Okay so now that I am fishless, is brooklynella something that will die off if I let the tank go fallow for 10-12 weeks or do I have to bleach everything and start from scratch???

[Newsmyrna80]

Originally Posted by guserto4

Okay so now that I am fishless, is brooklynella something that will die off if I let the tank go fallow for 10-12 weeks or do I have to bleach everything and start from scratch???

From everything I've read 10-12 weeks fallow is more than adequate. I'm battling brooklynella right now with a flame angel so I have done a TON of reading on this subject

[RarefiedAir24]

Damn, sorry! but you got bit by Brook. If not caught quick and start treatment, it'll kill in a 24hr window. That tank will have to run fallow (12 week period, minimum) or broken down, cleaned with bleach/vinegar and re-setup!

You may definitely want to keep either a thing of formalin or what I have "Quick Cure" on hand because that's the only treatment for Brook and can be hard to find at times!

Frank

[RarefiedAir24]

Originally Posted by HumbleFish

I'm sorry for your loss.

But if I may add something that might prove useful to the next person reading this... If you find you have clownfish with brooklynella, and can't find formalin at your LFS; get to Walmart ASAP and pick up some "Quick Cure". I've yet to find a Walmart that doesn't carry Quick Cure in their pet section. Now, whether or not Quick Cure contains enough formalin to completely knock out the problem is open for debate. But using it should at the very least buy you enough time to order something more powerful (i.e. Formalin-MS) online.

Quick Cure is a suitable replacement to treat Brook. I always keep an extra one on hand "just incase!"

Frank

[guserto4]

I took the tank completely down today- the LR is stewing fallow in a new brute container and will sit there until after I close on my house in a month. Then the tank can re-cycle and finish going fallow for another 6 weeks while I start QT of the new fish stock separately. I guess it was just supposed to happen. It will sure make moving quite a bit easier, especially bc I have to couch surf a few weeks until I can move in. Still, I really liked that clown pair... Dang it!

I will pick up formalin to have around in case BUT I've read that's pretty aggressive stuff- should I not use that as a routine dip for new fish during QT process (only for the extreme situations) or is it safe enough to make everybody go through it on their way into the DT??

[HumbleFish]

Originally Posted by guserto4

I will pick up formalin to have around in case BUT I've read that's pretty aggressive stuff- should I not use that as a routine dip for new fish during QT process (only for the extreme situations) or is it safe enough to make everybody go through it on their way into the DT??

You're right, it is some pretty nasty stuff. Of course, some fish handle it better than others. Also, you want to have lots of aeration whenever using it.

JMO, but I would only use it for treatment purposes (not as a prophylactic). It's mainly only used to treat Brook and as temporary relief for Velvet.

[MrTuskfish]

Originally Posted by HumbleFish

You're right, it is some pretty nasty stuff. Of course, some fish handle it better than others. Also, you want to have lots of aeration whenever using it.

JMO, but I would only use it for treatment purposes (not as a prophylactic). It's mainly only used to treat Brook and as temporary relief for Velvet.

Yeah, good tank meds are cheap too. The miracle cures that don't work are pricey. Always have a supply of a few basic tank meds. Copper, Formalin in some form, etc.

A side note: It sure hasn't been long since the CW said home-grown clowns were immune to ich. Funny, you don't hear that anymore. It may not be long before some strains of clowns are resisting treatment. Like many dogs that no flea treatment will help.

[MrTuskfish]

Too late to edit the above drivel, I meant "were immune to brooklynella"; not ich.