Black spots?

[jiggysmb]

Hey Guys, my son set up this salt water tank 2 years ago. We had everything running great for 18 months so we purchased a couple soft corals from a reef swap. Then my son wanted 2 more so we got them 3 months ago. No issues until today we spotted the black dots on the clown fish. There are the only 2 fish in the 40 gallon tank and they never go near the corals. There is a 10" space on the side of the tank with some green plants growing and that is where they hang out.

Looking at pictures my son thought it was ich or some sort of parasite so he put the clown fish in a hospital tank this morning with a 1/2 dose of copper ich treatment. The more I research it seems the spots could also be stings from Xenia/Zoas/Torches... When we purchased the 2 coral (Zoas?) with yellow arrows, we were told they could sting while cleaning the tank but they wouldn't hurt the fish.

Can anyone help us understand what is going on?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R! Looks to be hypermelonization. Basically the clown rubbed up against a coral it hasnt built up an immunity to yet.

 

[ndrwater]

The stings are possible, but also look up "Black Ich"

And welcome to R2R!! you'll like it here!!

 

[jiggysmb]

Thanks guys, my son thought it was black ich. I assume 1/2 dose of copper wont hurt them anymore since they have already been in the hospital tank for 5 hours. Should I still leave them in there for the 5 days and see if the spots go away? If they do not go away, is it safe for me to return them to the tank knowing something is stinging them?

Thank you for your time!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Agree with Crabs. You are seeing what is similar to what nderwater describes.
I believe you're referring to black ich which is a parasite. The image of the clown looks more like hypermelenization from the nemo-cyst of LPS coral. The black spots of black ich are actually areas or scabs from stings. A freshwater dip can also help. Do note that this poses no notable problems to the clowns and is purely cosmetic.