Clownfish with hammer damage?

Jeeper · Jan 17, 2018

I have a black oc clownfish that used to harass a candy coral to the point I moved it to another tank. Now he has picked a hammer coral to sleep in and I think it's stinging the crap out of him. He started with a place near his tail on his last white stripe and it was brownish spot. It's actually looking a little better. He has in the last month developed 3 more spots on his black portions on the other side. Fish acts like nothing is up. When I started my tanks a little over 2 years ago I bought this clown and a royal Gramma and despite my learning curve I still have them both (so this one is very important to me).

I'm wondering if I need to remove the hammer or if the clown will eventually adapt. I have not added any coral or fish in maybe close to a year and I quarantine everything and treat prophylactically anyways.. If this is something else please let me know.

melypr1985 · Jan 17, 2018

Those do not look like stings from a coral of any kind. They look like infections. Now, it's feasible that the sting (hypermalanization - which i can't spell) became infected, though that's so rare I've actually never heard of it happening before. It's more likely to be damage from something (getting picked on, parasite ect). If nothing else, I would start adding vitamins to his food to help boost his immune system.

Jeeper · Jan 17, 2018

There is nothing in the tank that picks on the clown at all. I have two pajama Cardinals that chase each other and the Gramma does his mad face at my yellow coris wrasse on occasion but that's it. I've been putting selcon on the food for a week or so. I feed Rod's and LRF...

melypr1985 · Jan 17, 2018

OK. How about QT? Have any of these fish not been through a quarantine?

Jeeper · Jan 17, 2018

No, everything gets quarantined and treated, the only fish I have that I have had less than a year are in my other tank. The only fish that's not been in the tank for over a year is one of the Cardinals and I moved him from my other tank. No clean up crew in over a year and I quarantine those too. No fish deaths (except for quarantine tanks) in at least 18 months and the yellow coris wrasse hard wood surfed and looked like he was going to die for a week and he healed up in about 2 weeks and looks like a yellow cigar. I can't imagine there is a parasite in this tank. I got crypt in it once when I first started it and it sat fallow for 80+ days and since then if it's wet it gets quarantine and treatment (cupramine or CP and general cure). 4 weeks of treatment and 2 weeks observation. Heck I have 5 quarantine tanks a 10 and 20 for medication same for observation and one for inverts.

Humblefish · Jan 17, 2018

Something else to consider: I've seen clownfish not show symptoms of brook for a long time and then suddenly BAM!

Jeeper · Jan 17, 2018

How long is a long time? He's had the spot on his tail for about a month at least.. Doesn't Brook kill fast?

Humblefish · Jan 17, 2018

Jeeper said:
How long is a long time? He's had the spot on his tail for about a month at least.. Doesn't Brook kill fast?

Best example I can think of is this:

Friend of mine had a brook outbreak (2 clowns) in her nano reef. So, I advised her to give both clowns a formalin bath and go fallow for 6 weeks. Well, she gave them the formalin bath but then put them right back into the infected DT. To my amazement, they never showed any further signs of brook.

Flash forward 2 years later and she moves the tank a couple of hours away. The clowns break out with brook again, but another formalin bath fixes the problem once again (without ever going fallow.)

The only thing I can figure is the formalin bath allowed the clownfish enough time to build up a resistance, but the parasites continued feeding at a sublethal (unnoticeable) concentration. It took a "stressor event" for their immune system to weaken and allow the parasites to become a problem. For her, the stressor event was a 2 hr move; perhaps for you it's the clownfish constantly being stung by that coral.

4FordFamily · Jan 17, 2018

I agree that it’s likely an infection, and I’m not well versed in brook I’ve never personally dealt with it, but that seems like a possibility as well.

Jeeper · Jan 21, 2018

The spots on his other side are looking better but the tail spot seems to be the same.. No change in behavior and all other fish look and act perfect. The clownfish stays in the very front middle of the tank in the hammer (except when I feed) and I'm kinda wondering if my three year old son ran up to the tank startled the fish and the fish banged off of something and injured itself and maybe the stings are making it difficult to heal.

melypr1985 · Jan 21, 2018

Jeeper said:
The spots on his other side are looking better but the tail spot seems to be the same.

Are you feeding vitamins in the food? That can at least help boost the immune system.

Jeeper · Jan 21, 2018

Selcon

Jeeper · Jan 27, 2018

I'm pretty sure I found the culprit... Flame back angel and clown going at it tonight. I had noticed some scales stuck up on the angel and figured he had whacked the rock work. They must be fighting here and there for some reason. They are nearly the same size. I sit in front of the tank and read almost every night but this is the first time I have observed them.

4FordFamily · Jan 27, 2018

Possible the clowns are spawning? They wouldn’t tolerate any fish near their eggs or nest site. A flameback is an ornery little centropyge, it wouldn’t take to being picked at very well, either.