Black spots on clown

Saumann7 · May 29, 2017

hey guys I bought a clownfish about 3 weeks ago and today I noticed 3-5 black spots on it, i did a water change yesterday. I've read it could be black ich or nothing at all so can I have some help diagnosing it and what to do about it. It was hard to get a good picture but this is what I got

cloak · May 29, 2017

Do you have any corals in the tank? Sometimes when a clownfish brushes up against certain ones it will leave black spots like this. There's a name for this, but I can't remember it right now.

Saumann7 · May 29, 2017

Here's some more

Saumann7 · May 29, 2017

cloak said:
Do you have any corals in the tank? Sometimes when a clownfish brushes up against certain corals it will leave black spots like this. There's a name for it, but I can't remember it right now.

Yes I have a gsp and some zoas that are not doing to good but they're there

Saumann7 · May 29, 2017

Saumann7 said:
Yes I have a gsp and some zoas that are not doing to good but they're there

I watched him go into the gsp yesterday so that might be it?

cloak · May 29, 2017

I don't think it's the GSP or the zoanthids, but stranger things have happened. Usually these spots are caused by anemones or various LPS coral like Frgspawn, Torch, Bubble etc.

Is the fish behaving normally and eating well?

GHsaltie · May 29, 2017

cloak said:
There's a name for this, but I can't remember it right now.

Hyper-melanization I think is what you are looking for.

Saumann7 · May 29, 2017

cloak said:
I don't think it's the GSP or the zoanthids, but stranger things have happened. Usually these spots are caused by anemones or various LPS coral like Frgspawn, Torch, Bubble etc.

Is the fish behaving normally and eating well?

Yes I fed him last night and a bit today just to make sure he was still eating, I didn't see the dots yesterday and that's when I did a water change so I was watching him pretty well, could stress or something cause this? I've lost 2 other fish from my unrelated stupidity so I'm trying to keep him alive. The spots aren't small like the pictures I've seen of black ich so I'm not sure.

Saumann7 · May 29, 2017

GHsaltie said:
Hyper-melanization I think is what you are looking for.

Could green star polyps cause that?

GHsaltie · May 29, 2017

Saumann7 said:
Could green star polyps cause that?

That I do not know, as I have not dealt with it myself. As @cloak said it is typically seen more often with anemones and lps. To me it looks like hyper-melanization, however I'll call in @melypr1985, she'll know.

4FordFamily · May 29, 2017

GHsaltie said:
Hyper-melanization I think is what you are looking for.

X2 that's my thoughts.

greenhorn reefer · May 29, 2017

It's because of the gsp

Saumann7 · May 29, 2017

greenhorn reefer said:
It's because of the gsp

That's all I could see it being, ich really wouldn't make sense because it's the only fish in the tank and there hadnt been anything else in it for 2 months before I got him.

melypr1985 · May 29, 2017

Hyper-melanization - agreed. That's exactly what it looks like, however I've never seen GSP do that to a clownfish. It's possible of course, but I'm wondering if maybe you have something else in the tank that could have caused it.... aptasia or galaxia maybe?

Saumann7 · May 29, 2017

melypr1985 said:
Hyper-melanization - agreed. That's exactly what it looks like, however I've never seen GSP do that to a clownfish. It's possible of course, but I'm wondering if maybe you have something else in the tank that could have caused it.... aptasia or galaxia maybe?

There's nothing else in the tank that I can see at all, I have some zoas that have some stuff growing out of them(see my other posts) but that doesn't seem like an anemone because it would kill the zoas and also it does in just a couple days without light, the tank is pretty bare by reef standards.

Saumann7 · May 29, 2017

I do agree with hyper-melanization, it looks just like it

melypr1985 · May 29, 2017

Saumann7 said:
There's nothing else in the tank that I can see at all, I have some zoas that have some stuff growing out of them(see my other posts) but that doesn't seem like an anemone because it would kill the zoas and also it does in just a couple days without light, the tank is pretty bare by reef standards.

Just keep an eye on him... the hyper malenization will fade after a few days.

4FordFamily · May 29, 2017

melypr1985 said:
Just keep an eye on him... the hyper malenization will fade after a few days.

Agree. Sometimes this mysteriously happens and we don't know why. Perhaps a hidden hitchhiker stung the clown or bit it. Who knows. It'll be fine, though

greenhorn reefer · May 30, 2017

melypr1985 said:
Hyper-melanization - agreed. That's exactly what it looks like, however I've never seen GSP do that to a clownfish. It's possible of course, but I'm wondering if maybe you have something else in the tank that could have caused it.... aptasia or galaxia maybe?

I've heard that gsp does cause hyper-melanization in clowns when they try to host. I was in a similar situation were my clown was the only one in the tank, along with a gsp, and after he stopped brushing against it, the spots faded. You never heard of gsp causing this or never saw it?

melypr1985 · May 30, 2017

greenhorn reefer said:
I've heard that gsp does cause hyper-melanization in clowns when they try to host. I was in a similar situation were my clown was the only one in the tank, along with a gsp, and after he stopped brushing against it, the spots faded. You never heard of gsp causing this or never saw it?

I've never heard that before or seen it. There's a first for everything!