Clownfish with swollen mouth

nickelpickel · Jun 17, 2023

Hi everyone! I've had my clownfish Penny for a couple of days. I noticed one side oh his mouth looks swollen. He has been eating, however, seems to also suck in and spit out food. I took a pict. Any thoughts?

Jay Hemdal · Jun 17, 2023

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Looks like physical damage. What other fish are in with it?

If it is spitting it’s food out, try dicing it up into smaller pieces.

Jay

Uncle99 · Jun 17, 2023

Result of a fight?
Anything that’s not there yesterday can be the result of a dispute, which is quite common and in some cases, quite violent.
Ever see two clowns mouth fight.
Scary stuff.
I always thought Nemo was tame,…. Not…

vetteguy53081 · Jun 17, 2023

Agree with physical damage as they move rocks 3X their size and should heal on its own. Look for aggression when you can and even place your cell phone on video mode for about 20 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there. Often the aggressor is a bully at feeding time.

nickelpickel · Jun 18, 2023

Thanks all! He's just hanging with a couple of barnacle blennies, a pistol and watchman. No issues there. LFS suggested a coral problem. I have one frag that could be the culprit. He has not really been by it, but I'm not always there. I don't remember its ID, but I purchased at the reef store I love when purchasing the clown. They were closed today. I may need to trade it back. It resembles a brain, however I'm super new to the hobby. Attaching photo. Not the best phone pics!