Clownfish's left side face/gills scrathed

[Gaspipe]

Noticed his side has some damage, my concern is if it's a parasite or some other issue.

1. While I was away my salinity spiked up unfort. from 34.6 to 35.6
2. My emerald crab died
3. Cheeto (my clown) seems to occasionally rub up against a rock or something as if to scratch.
4. Salinity is currently 34.9 (I am slowly getting it back. I came home Sat and reducing that number little by little)
5. There are no other fish
6. It's a young tank 8 weeks or so
7. Snails and Hermit Crabs only
8. Corals: one zoa (5 heads) and one mushroom (3 heads)
9. Cheeto eats well and swims around

Any info on this would be helpful!
Thank you in advance,
Gaspare

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Noticed his side has some damage, my concern is if it's a parasite or some other issue.

1. While I was away my salinity spiked up unfort. from 34.6 to 35.6
2. My emerald crab died
3. Cheeto (my clown) seems to occasionally rub up against a rock or something as if to scratch.
4. Salinity is currently 34.9 (I am slowly getting it back. I came home Sat and reducing that number little by little)
5. There are no other fish
6. It's a young tank 8 weeks or so
7. Snails and Hermit Crabs only
8. Corals: one zoa (5 heads) and one mushroom (3 heads)
9. Cheeto eats well and swims around

Any info on this would be helpful!
Thank you in advance,
Gaspare

I’m not sure that the emerald crab dying and the clownfish issue are related . Likewise, I don’t see the salinity being the root cause for this.
Can you tell, it looks like the white thing hanging off of the fish’s gill cover is a bit of skin tissue. If so, this is probably an injury. Does the fish scratch just on that side or does it alternate?
Jay

 

[Gaspipe]

I’m not sure that the emerald crab dying and the clownfish issue are related . Likewise, I don’t see the salinity being the root cause for this.
Can you tell, it looks like the white thing hanging off of the fish’s gill cover is a bit of skin tissue. If so, this is probably an injury. Does the fish scratch just on that side or does it alternate?
Jay

Jay thank you for the response. This is the 2nd time you have helped with Cheeto so thank you very much.

I have only noticed him scratching on that left side. Not often, but enough for me to notice and comment.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Jay thank you for the response. This is the 2nd time you have helped with Cheeto so thank you very much.

I have only noticed him scratching on that left side. Not often, but enough for me to notice and comment.

Hmmm, I’m worried there could be a parasite that is causing Cheeto to scratch and damage it’s gill cover there. Trouble is, some parasites can’t be treated for in a tank with invertebrates. Parasitic worms can be dealt with though using a product called Prazipro. I’m not 100% convinced worms are the issue, but it would be one treatment you could try….
Jay

 

[Gaspipe]

Hmmm, I’m worried there could be a parasite that is causing Cheeto to scratch and damage it’s gill cover there. Trouble is, some parasites can’t be treated for in a tank with invertebrates. Parasitic worms can be dealt with though using a product called Prazipro. I’m not 100% convinced worms are the issue, but it would be one treatment you could try….
Jay

Wonderful, I'm off to a rockstar start. 2 years of research and managed to mess it up on my first purchase.

Do you have a link to a process you would recommend? Thank you again in advance!