My clown trigger looks sick. What do you think it is?

[Madness008]

I'm new to this and I don't have a QT. I got him about a week ago with a Koran angel and a snowflake eel. The tank was showing no amonia or nitrites but now test seems to show .1 amonia, no nitrites.

He is swimming around normally and eating like a pig, but to me he looks disheveled and a little "dusty" which I know would be bacteria or illness.

My setup has no skimmer. Live rock and lots of bio balls and other media in the sump. But I just ordered a NYOS skimmer that will arrive tomorrow.

What do you think? Does he look sick? How bad? Would a garlic treatment help?

 

[Big G]

The "dusty" appearance is one of the symptoms of velvet. Are those spots I'm seeing on its fins and forehead? Any other behaviors: hiding from light, swimming into powerhead or flow? Velvet moves quickly. Are you prepared with copper or CP, an acriflavine product like Ruby Reef Rally, and an wide spectrum antibiotic like kanaplex, triple sulfa?

From Humblefish's treatment advisory:
Velvet (Amyloodinium):

Symptoms - Because velvet can be such a fast killer, key behavioral symptoms will often prelude visible ones. A fish with velvet may breathe heavy, seek relief by swimming into the flow of a powerhead and act reclusive (velvet makes them sensitive to light).

If visible symptoms do manifest; velvet appears the same as ich, except the fish will usually be covered in “dust.” This dust may look gold colored if viewed at the right angle and under the right spectrum of light. Velvet is often misdiagnosed as ich and is the main “tank killer” in our hobby. It can wipe out all your fish in less than 72 hours and cannot usually be “managed” as ich sometimes is.

Treatment options - Chloroquine phosphate is the treatment of choice for velvet, but copper also works if symptoms are caught early on. Tank transfer and hypo does not work with velvet. A freshwater dip or formalin bath is recommended before treatment begins, due to the severity of this disease; however these would only provide temporary relief and will not eradicate velvet.

More info from Humblefish: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/velvet-amyloodinium-ocellatum.217570/#post-2499437