Clownfish with flatworms?

[Reckless]

My pit of clownfish have a tan transparent looking flatworm or wound on their bodies. Originally I thought they were getting stung by the garden or torches they sleep by (they don’t try to host). It would appear then disappear a few days later.

Now the smaller one is breathing heavier than normal and the spot is by it’s gills. Do fish get flatworms? I’ve seen flatworms come off torches that I’ve dipped and this appears to be the same color. The picture is of the larger of the two, the small one moves too much to get a good pic.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wow- its a polyclad flatworm. Give the clown a 3-5 minute freshwater dip in a clean container the same temperature as display tank. Worm should fall off

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My pit of clownfish have a tan transparent looking flatworm or wound on their bodies. Originally I thought they were getting stung by the garden or torches they sleep by (they don’t try to host). It would appear then disappear a few days later.

Now the smaller one is breathing heavier than normal and the spot is by it’s gills. Do fish get flatworms? I’ve seen flatworms come off torches that I’ve dipped and this appears to be the same color. The picture is of the larger of the two, the small one moves too much to get a good pic.

Monogeneans, what we call flukes, are essentially flatworms. However only one species gets that large (Neobenedenia) but they are clear and won’t stand out like that.
As mentioned, you could try a FW dip to dislodge it, but I’m wondering if it is actually a flatworm, hard to tell from the photo.
Jay

 

[Reckless]

I was pretty sure it was a flatworm but after I caught and freshwater dipped all my fish not a single flatworm or fluke fell off them. Still not sure what it is, so I don’t know what to treat for

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I was pretty sure it was a flatworm but after I caught and freshwater dipped all my fish not a single flatworm or fluke fell off them. Still not sure what it is, so I don’t know what to treat for

It is still possible your fish had flukes - as I mentioned, only one species is large enough to see without a microscope. If the fish are breathing better today, you can at least begin to think there was some type of gill parasite involved.

At this point though, I think large flukes can be ruled out. That means the issue could be really many other things.

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Jay