Clownfish is having fungus

[Rahulreece]

I've been in this hobby for 2 yrs I didn't seen such a disease before. I had clownfish for 2 months just a week seen clown is having fungus like big thread in under gills. Now fungus get swollen and gone. But it create a wound in under gills. I don't know what to treat. He is not taking pellets too. Some suggest a Malachite green for fungus in qt for 5ml for 10 litres qt is that right option for this disease. Please guide me through this

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've been in this hobby for 2 yrs I didn't seen such a disease before. I had clownfish for 2 months just a week seen clown is having fungus like big thread in under gills. Now fungus get swollen and gone. But it create a wound in under gills. I don't know what to treat. He is not taking pellets too. Some suggest a Malachite green for fungus in qt for 5ml for 10 litres qt is that right option for this disease. Please guide me through this

This fungus you see is actually mucus and associated with Brroklynela disease which often affect clownfish especially wild caught species. This mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Typical treatment is a formalin solution is mixed with in a separate container with either fresh or saltwater. Start with a quick dip in the formalin at a higher concentration then performing treatment in a prolonged bath of formalin base at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the formalin treatment the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
If a formalin solution is not available for immediate use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I don't see the general mucus seen in Brooklynella, The lesion looks gray to me. There is a true fungal issue that creates gray lesions like that, but it is fairly rare.

I've treated it with 75 ppm formalin dips daily for three days. Formalin is sometimes difficult to acquire though, and you need to be careful using it around people.

Malachite green can be pretty toxic to fish, so I don't use it much any more.

I'm not sure what products you might have available in India though.


Jay