ID parasite on clown?

[mtconnol]

Hi folks,

I'm a newbie reefer, about 6 weeks into a 90 gallon tank with TBS rock. Having recently introduced my pair of clowns - one jumped the overflow and was killed in the plumbing (thanks all for the support and advice on that thread!) Now the other one seems to have something attached to its head. Please see the attached pictures.

He is swimming vigorously as always - and I may be projecting but I think he's attempting to shake it.

Can anyone ID this organism and suggest a course of treatment?

Thanks,

Michael

 

[EmdeReef]

welcome to R2R!

That is an isopod. You should remove the fish and then remove the isopod with tweezers. Make sure it doesn’t touch your skin. Following removal you should treat the fish with antibiotics in a QT for ~7 days to ensure no secondary infections

Is the fish in a quarantine tank or your display? If display, then you may need to bait isopods as there’s often more than one.

 

[Crabs McJones]

^^ Yup. Likely a cirolanid isopod. They like to munch on fish.

 

[mtconnol]

welcome to R2R!

That is an isopod. You should remove the fish and then remove the isopod with tweezers. Make sure it doesn’t touch your skin. Following removal you should treat the fish with antibiotics in a QT for ~7 days to ensure no secondary infections

Is the fish in a quarantine tank or your display? If display, then you may need to bait isopods as there’s often more than one.

Unfortunately this is in the display tank absolutely full of live rock and all manner of critters from Tampa Bay Saltwater.
Wow, OK...is there a trick to keeping the clown safely immobilized long enough for the tweezers?

 

[EmdeReef]

It shouldn’t be too difficult to remove or take too long. You can hold the clown gently with one hand and remove with the other.

Sometimes these guys will detach in a formalin bath, I’ve heard some say they don’t like freshwater either but I was never that lucky.

 

[mtconnol]

Update: the isopod fell off as soon as I got the clown netted and into a bowl of seawater for inspection. I was able to get it separated from the clown, who seems none the worse for wear.

I have a stereomicroscope here for my day job, and was able to confirm that it looks exactly like a cirolanid isopod, complete with the interesting black compound eyes.

I'm so grateful for this resource! It's been a rocky start to reefing and I really appreciate such set of knowledgeable people on hand.

 

[EmdeReef]

Glad we were able to help!

What other fish do you have? Keep in mind that you may have more, hopefully not, but if you find any the only way to get rid of them is to bait repeatedly.

Good luck! Reefing is a long journey with lots of ups and downs, we’ve all been there

 

[mtconnol]

Glad we were able to help!

What other fish do you have? Keep in mind that you may have more, hopefully not, but if you find any the only way to get rid of them is to bait repeatedly.

Good luck! Reefing is a long journey with lots of ups and downs, we’ve all been there

Currently I just have the lone clown in the display tank since his partner died. I have a firefish about 5 days into QT...It came in with a lawnmower blenny from LiveAquaria but the blenny didn't last the night before dying - again, I am struggling to figure out what I did wrong there. At this point I am debating between another blenny and a partner for my clown - will the clown suffer without a partner?

 

[EmdeReef]

How big is your tank?

either the fish came sick or with ammonia poisoning or the QT isn’t fully cycled.

A clown won’t suffer alone but you can add another one at some point.