Clownfish dying

[Humblefish]

The white stuff on the pectoral fin is part of the infection, so I would continue on with Kanaplex + Furan-2 + Metroplex combo.

The poop is a little bit more difficult to figure out, as intestinal worms are typically white & stringy. That discharge looks to be more yellowish-brown to me.

 

[abstractxx02195]

Any updates on her , hopefully she pulls through .. If she does maybe post a tutorial on what u did, I would totally be grateful just in case I have to go through it with mine

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

Any updates on her , hopefully she pulls through .. If she does maybe post a tutorial on what u did, I would totally be grateful just in case I have to go through it with mine

Thanks for asking. She's much more active now and swimming more normal, although I still find her hovering vertically near the surface at times. I have two concerns now:

1. There is an area above and behind her head that is discolereda brownish red color. I have not been able to get a good pictur eof it yet.

2. I had to put her in an acclimation box to protect her from the other clownfish. He has seemed to turn on her and was chasing and nipping at her often. This was new behavior for him as he was always the more submissive fish before. This only started in the last two days.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

@Humblefish @melypr1985

First, I want to thank you two for having brought me to this point with our little clown fish patient. If forum members such as yourselves did not take the initiative to be at the ready to respond quickly and wisely to those of us who need help fast we'd have a lot more lost livestock.

I'm going to trouble you with another opinion or two. We are in day 9 of treatment. For the most part she is eating and swimming normal. Her fins appear to be healing and the white spot on her left pectoral, while not gone completely, is rapidly becoming smaller. I'm not seeing any strange excrement and her vision appears to be back to normal. However, there is an odd patch on her right side near her head that appeared shortly after I started treatment that doesn't seem to be getting any better. It also does not seem to be worse, however. It does not seem as if the scales are missing; it seems more as if it is discolored. I could use an opinion on what this is and if there are further steps I should take with it. I will give her a week or two more in the QT after treatment stops for observation, but if this is still there will she be OK to get back in the DT? Pics below:

Second item is another problem altogether. My other clown fish, who was bosom buddies with our patient prior to all this happening, now has begun to attack her, incessantly nipping, picking, and chasing her. I've had to separate her in an acclimation box to give her relief. Any suggestions on how to bring them back together?

 

[Humblefish]

@Sierra_Bravo First off, thank you for the kind words.

Now, with regards to the red spot near her head... Are you sure you haven't seen any white stringy poop come out? There is one genus of intestinal worm - Hexamita - which causes lesions (and possibly secondary infections) in the sensory pores on the head where they cause the surrounding tissue to decay.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

@Sierra_Bravo First off, thank you for the kind words.

Now, with regards to the red spot near her head... Are you sure you haven't seen any white stringy poop come out? There is one genus of intestinal worm - Hexamita - which causes lesions (and possibly secondary infections) in the sensory pores on the head where they cause the surrounding tissue to decay.

Stringy, no, but that is not to say that it hasn't occurred when I wasn't present. The only time I noticed something unusual was earlier in the thread when I posted a pic. In looking back to earlier pictures there are two in which I see a few details:

This was seven days ago and you can see the area that was discolored making an appearance.

In this image, which was the first day she was ill, you can see a small lump in the same area. I won't swear to it but it is quite possible I had seen a darker dot in the middle of the larger discoloration in the same area as this lump somewhere along the way as if it had erupted.

That being said if we assume Hexamita, based on other responses you've made it is treatable with Metronidazole, possibly fenbendazole. Any guidelines on treatment procedures?

If not Hexamita, what else might it be?

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

This is the odd poop pic I referenced, which was 5 days ago. Oddly enough I do not see the discoloration or lump in this shot - it may be the angle. May be my eyesight, but there does seem to be something that looks possibly like a filament in the area of the lump.

 

[Humblefish]

If not Hexamita, what else might it be?

A lingering bacterial infection, although you did already treat with the "Triple Threat" (Kanaplex, Furan-2, Metroplex) for 10 days.

This is what I would do in your shoes:

1. Continue on with the "Triple Threat" (some infections can take longer than 10 days to treat)
2. Start soaking the fish food with metro: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/metronidazole.298762/ ..... Using Seachem Focus to bind the medication to food: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/metronidazole.298762/#post-3655831

#2 will address the possibility of the fish having intestinal worms, such as Hexamita.

 

[melypr1985]

A lingering bacterial infection, although you did already treat with the "Triple Threat" (Kanaplex, Furan-2, Metroplex) for 10 days.

This is what I would do in your shoes:

1. Continue on with the "Triple Threat" (some infections can take longer than 10 days to treat)
2. Start soaking the fish food with metro: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/metronidazole.298762/ ..... Using Seachem Focus to bind the medication to food: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/metronidazole.298762/#post-3655831

#2 will address the possibility of the fish having intestinal worms, such as Hexamita.

Agreed ^^^ and I want to thank you for the kind words as well.

To address the aggression: Is the sick one the female of the pair? Or are they both very small and not quite worked out who's the female or male? If they are still young, then the other is possibly sensing weakness and taking the opportunity to take charge and be the female. Hormones are likely rushing through it's body and causing aggression. Now, if the sick one is the female already then it could be the same scenario that I just described, though that would be just a little odd I think, but clowns are a hierarchal group and when the leader is sick, weak or not doing it's job then the second in command can kill the leader and take over. This usually happens in harems out in the ocean and the occasional hobbyist tank large enough to keep a harem of clowns.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

Agreed ^^^ and I want to thank you for the kind words as well.

To address the aggression: Is the sick one the female of the pair? Or are they both very small and not quite worked out who's the female or male? If they are still young, then the other is possibly sensing weakness and taking the opportunity to take charge and be the female. Hormones are likely rushing through it's body and causing aggression. Now, if the sick one is the female already then it could be the same scenario that I just described, though that would be just a little odd I think, but clowns are a hierarchal group and when the leader is sick, weak or not doing it's job then the second in command can kill the leader and take over. This usually happens in harems out in the ocean and the occasional hobbyist tank large enough to keep a harem of clowns.

I had suspected that the sick one had started to turn female as they were both the same size at the time I purchased them and she (our patient) was just beginning to grow a little larger than the other and seemed dominate of the pair. I don't think she had fully assumed the role, however. I had a LFS owner tell me that the fix would be to separate them out of sight from one another for 30 days, then reintroduce them together into the DT at the same time.

Regarding HF's advice...unfortunately I have just found out that I have to leave out of town for work the day after tomorrow for 10 days and care will turn over to my 16 yo daughter. I am confident she can handle administering the Metro, but the constant water changes required of the Furan-2 is probably out and will need to be discontinued.

This is said in jest, of course, but it would have been much cheaper and less time consuming to have bought another clown...

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

Last update: I've been gone on business and left her in the care of my daughter, who continued to feed Metro infused mysis and pellets while I was away. Upon my return she looks good as new. I no longer see any marks/sores/blemishes/stringy poo and she is behaving normal. All her fins appear to have healed as well.

Thank you very much for the advice and guidance. Nice to have a successful outcome - she was a goner for sure without your help!