Killing Uronema

[LifeIsGreat]

This is the second time I've seen a uronema infection, so I was able to spot the symptoms in my clown right away: fin rot on the tip of its tail and on the ends of pectoral fins, loss of appetite, and frantic endless swimming into the tank's strongest current. I got to the clown within a day of contraction, which was good because I've seen this kill within three days. I dipped the clown in fresh tap water so that the mix of fresh water and chlorine would kill any bacteria on the surface, in the mouth, and in the gills. The dip lasted 4 minutes. I then put the fish in a saltwater untreated tapwater mix with a dose of Seachem MetroPlex, the active ingredient being metronidazole. I did an untreated tapwater dip every 12 hours to a total of three dips. I dosed Metro every day for three days, then I let the clown soak in the medicated water for a week and a half. During the first day after the tapwater dip and the medication bath the infection stopped spreading. The end of the tail died and fell off in pieces after a few days, so now the clown's tail ends just passed the last white band. The pectoral fins did better and just lost a bit around the edges. The clown started eating again after about 5 days in the medicated bath. After 1 1/2 weeks in the medicine I put the clown in a proper RODI salt water quarantine for a week to make sure the infection did not come back. He is back to his normal self now, eating like crazy, and guarding his rock.

I also had to do a total breakdown and disinfection of the display tank. Everything got soaked with disinfectant, and the coral, crabs, and snails all got the same tapwater/metro treatment as the clown. I boiled the old live rock and put it in my freshwater aquarium, and got new fully cured live rock from the LFS so I could start up quickly. Everything seems normal now with minimal loss.