The parasite that killed my Tang and my clownfish.

[4davegill]

This looks to me like brooklynella and was taken at 10x10 (100x). My tang died, then my clowns, and everything is in QT. Also looks a bit like ich. Not sure which it is. I did not see any skin shedding or anything.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I'd say Brooklynella or Uronema. If you saw that they were flattened shape on side view (I couldn't catch that in the video) then Brooklynella, if they are pear-shaped, then Uronema. Mixed infections are not uncommon. For example, I cannot tell you if the non-motile spheres in the video aren't small ich trophonts.

What were the gross lesions/symptoms on the fish?

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

I think this may be uronema.

 

[MnFish1]

This looks to me like brooklynella and was taken at 10x10 (100x). My tang died, then my clowns, and everything is in QT. Also looks a bit like ich. Not sure which it is. I did not see any skin shedding or anything.

I agree it looks like brooklynella (I cant see the video) - mostly because of the hooked end on some of them. But as Jay says - history, etc is also important

 

[4davegill]

There was exposure to ich from a tang, but this guy swam strange near the surface, then died. Also, some of them swam real fast, like I couldnt keep them under 400x, but ok under 100x.

I'd say Brooklynella or Uronema. If you saw that they were flattened shape on side view (I couldn't catch that in the video) then Brooklynella, if they are pear-shaped, then Uronema. Mixed infections are not uncommon. For example, I cannot tell you if the non-motile spheres in the video aren't small ich trophonts.

What were the gross lesions/symptoms on the fish?

Jay

 

[4davegill]

I'd say Brooklynella or Uronema. If you saw that they were flattened shape on side view (I couldn't catch that in the video) then Brooklynella, if they are pear-shaped, then Uronema. Mixed infections are not uncommon. For example, I cannot tell you if the non-motile spheres in the video aren't small ich trophonts.

What were the gross lesions/symptoms on the fish?

Jay

I didnt see any flattened ones. I can post some youtube links to better video if that helps. They seemed a bit pear shaped with mouths at the point.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Not Brooklynella. Seems to be a Scuticociliate, of which Uronema is one type. I didn't ask before - what was the history of this sample? Taken from a live fish or a dead fish?

Jay

 

[4davegill]

Not Brooklynella. Seems to be a Scuticociliate, of which Uronema is one type. I didn't ask before - what was the history of this sample? Taken from a live fish or a dead fish?

Jay

Taken from a dead fish. But i have had three fish die. They are all in Copper Power now.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Taken from a dead fish. But i have had three fish die. They are all in Copper Power now.

Scuticociliates are really common scavengers of even recently dead fish. When I worked for a previous public aquarium, I would do necropsies and take the results to my curator. I kept coming up with a diagnosis of "Uronema" on just about every fish. My curator suggested I hang a dead smelt in the tank overnight and look at it. Sure enough, it "died" from Uronema also, He knew what I was seeing wasn't the cause of death, he just wanted me to find out for myself (grin).

So - what is causing the fish loss? Tough to say from just the microscopy. It could be Uronema or there *could* be ich trophonts in the mix. I think though, to get some additional history would be helpful. Here is a post about what helps:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay