Black & White Clown Dorsal Fin Issue

[Fish.Bum00]

Hello all. New to the forum but frequented this site for months prepping my first reef tank. Really appreciate all the info and knowledge from everyone.

Two clownfish were my first additions to the tank. They have been in now for about a month. Both are active and eat well. A week ago, I noticed the black and white clown had a white cotton like issue on his dorsal fin. And I have also seen stringy white poop twice over the same period.

I initially treated the tank with melafix, thinking it was fin rot. I have read a lot of posts on potential issues, but wanted to share with you guys for more thoughts on what I should do.

I haven't seen any images that match exactly to my clowns fin problem. Clown behavior and eating habits have not changed. He eats well, active, etc. The melafix doesnt appear to be helping. I think the fin issue may only be a symptom of the root cause.

Can anyone share with me some best practices to help resolve the fish's issues. There is so much info that I am not confident as to what I should do.

Thank you all again for your help

 

[Bleigh]

I’m not certain what that is. Do they fight at all? Is he still eating?

#reefsquad

 

[Big G]

Welcome to R2R.

White-ish/grey areas should always be viewed with great suspicion.

Looks like part of the dorsal fin is gone. Clowns can be really vicious. Could be a bite and now a bacterial infection has set in. A very gentle first step would be to treat the fish with a bath in methylene blue. It helps with cuts, injury, etc. And then follow with treating the fish in a QT with Ruby Reef Rally. RRR is very gentle but works like an antibiotic and antiseptic. The manufacturer of RRR claims it is "reef safe" but you never know and I prefer to treat in a QT just to avoid any problems.

Lastly it would be a good move to have antibiotics on hand just in case: Furan2, Sulfaplex, Neoplex, NFG powder all work really well on bacterial infections.

Beautiful fish. Best of luck.

 

[Fish.Bum00]

Thanks for the replies.

I have 3 Chromis, 2 Clowns, 1 Gramma. All are well behaved. I consider the clowns as paired. They sleep together and never fight. I'm putting my QT tank together now. The fin issue isn't getting worse. Hopefully the meds will help.

Thanks again for your replies!