Odd Spots on Clownfish

[snackpack]

Hey everyone,

Relatively new here, as I'm just getting back into the hobby after a 10 year hiatus. I just set up a 32g BioCube to get my feet wet again.

The tank is young, but fully cycled (Dr Tim's + feeding empty tank). First inhabitants joined us on January 24th - a black ocellaris (which the store had labeled as a Darwin) and a Phantom Ocellaris. Skipped QT as I had nothing set up at the time, so we floated and then slowly exchanged bag water for tank water. Both seemed to do well the first night.

Woke up on day 2 to find the Phantom seemingly dead under a rock. Tested my parameters and showed 0, 0, 1 with an SG of 1.026. Called the LFS, explained that it died over night and that I likely wouldn't be able to fish it out from under the aquascape. They told me to bring a water sample and a picture of the dead fish and they'd replace it for me. They tested my water and confirmed my parameters didn't kill the fish, so I went home with another Phantom.

Next morning... Frankenstein's Monster awakes from the dead. And now we've got 3 clowns. It was touch and go for a few days, but we treated the tank with API General Cure and all was well.

Fast forward to today. Everyone is still acting healthy and eating well. However, the two phantoms seem to be having some skin/scale issues. My first thought is Brook, but I'm not versed enough anymore to make any kind of diagnosis. I've attached a couple of pics - let me know what you all think.

Edit for clarity - Frank in pic 1 has that off color spot in his front stripe. Phantony in pic 2 has a "broken" front stripe.

Edit to the edit - 3.5 weeks between Frank "dying" and this mark appearing. Also, pic 1 and pic 2 are of two different fish.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey everyone,

Relatively new here, as I'm just getting back into the hobby after a 10 year hiatus. I just set up a 32g BioCube to get my feet wet again.

The tank is young, but fully cycled (Dr Tim's + feeding empty tank). First inhabitants joined us on January 24th - a black ocellaris (which the store had labeled as a Darwin) and a Phantom Ocellaris. Skipped QT as I had nothing set up at the time, so we floated and then slowly exchanged bag water for tank water. Both seemed to do well the first night.

Woke up on day 2 to find the Phantom seemingly dead under a rock. Tested my parameters and showed 0, 0, 1 with an SG of 1.026. Called the LFS, explained that it died over night and that I likely wouldn't be able to fish it out from under the aquascape. They told me to bring a water sample and a picture of the dead fish and they'd replace it for me. They tested my water and confirmed my parameters didn't kill the fish, so I went home with another Phantom.

Next morning... Frankenstein's Monster awakes from the dead. And now we've got 3 clowns. It was touch and go for a few days, but we treated the tank with API General Cure and all was well.

Fast forward to today. Everyone is still acting healthy and eating well. However, the two phantoms seem to be having some skin/scale issues. My first thought is Brook, but I'm not versed enough anymore to make any kind of diagnosis. I've attached a couple of pics - let me know what you all think.

looks like a post injury and bruising from such. Keep an eye on it to assure its improving and not getting worse.

 

[snackpack]

looks like a post injury and bruising from such. Keep an eye on it to assure its improving and not getting worse.

I may not have been clear with my story telling - the "death" was 3.5 weeks ago. There's been no issues or spots on anyone until today. I'll update the OP with that info as well.

That said, do you think it could still be bruising that's just now showing?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I may not have been clear with my story telling - the "death" was 3.5 weeks ago. There's been no issues or spots on anyone until today. I'll update the OP with that info as well.

That said, do you think it could still be bruising that's just now showing?

Yes I caught that. miracle story it is. The LFS- do you know what kit they used to test your water?
Looks like bruising- definitely not brooklynella. Bacterial would be the closest but I dont believe bacterial either.

 

[snackpack]

Yes I caught that. miracle story it is. The LFS- do you know what kit they used to test your water?
Looks like bruising- definitely not brooklynella. Bacterial would be the closest but I dont believe bacterial either.

Was more calling out the time frame than I was making sure you appreciated the story telling (apparently emojis don't work here, this was supposed to be a joke)

Unfortunately I'm unsure of their test kit. Personally I use the Red Sea kit which is where I came up with the 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 1 nitrate. The LFS's answer was "your water is good" and that's as much info as she'd give me

 

[vetteguy53081]

Was more calling out the time frame than I was making sure you appreciated the story telling (apparently emojis don't work here, this was supposed to be a joke)

Unfortunately I'm unsure of their test kit. Personally I use the Red Sea kit which is where I came up with the 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 1 nitrate. The LFS's answer was "your water is good" and that's as much info as she'd give me

I agree - Interesting 3+ weeks

 

[snackpack]

Quick update -- the bruising went away a few days after my last post. Now all 3 clowns are showing signs of what I *think* is Brook. I bought a bottle of Ruby Rally Pro, intending to do a dip, then quarantine. I couldn't retrieve them from the tank, so I decided to dose the DT instead. I dosed 48ml nightly from April 9th to the 13th.

No change to the appearance of the fish. They're all eating and swimming well, and show no other symptoms.

The phantom clown (black/orange misbar) has a moderate discoloration on its left side, between the front and middle stripes. All the of them have what I can only describe as "stripe erosion" on their front stripes, but not on any others.

Apparently they're all extremely camera shy. I've attached pics, but they're not great. This is the best of the best of the ~100 shots I took lol

Any ideas?

 

[snackpack]

Bump. Any thoughts on whether or not this is actually Brook?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Bump. Any thoughts on whether or not this is actually Brook?

Sorry - your post wasn't flagged for me, not sure why.

It does look like it could be Brook on the clowns, but can you post a video? With brook, it isn't just visual condition that helps make the diagnosis, but also the fish's demeanor, swimming posture.

How do they look today, are they progressively getting worse?

Jay

 

[snackpack]

Sorry - your post wasn't flagged for me, not sure why.

It does look like it could be Brook on the clowns, but can you post a video? With brook, it isn't just visual condition that helps make the diagnosis, but also the fish's demeanor, swimming posture.

How do they look today, are they progressively getting worse?

Jay

No worries Jay, I appreciate you putting eyes on this.

It's been a very slow progression. This video was taken at the same time as the photos the other night, but they look roughly the same this morning. I would say yes to them getting progressively worse, but the progression is similar to seeing a friend lose weight over time. By my eyes it's difficult to see the changes because I study the tank daily. My wife only 'really' looks at my tank once a week, and it's usually met with "oh my god" when she sees them.

 

[snackpack]

Hmm that video attachment isn't working on mobile. Let me know if you can't view it and I'll upload to YouTube

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hmm that video attachment isn't working on mobile. Let me know if you can't view it and I'll upload to YouTube

I could view the video. That just doesn’t look like Brook to me - it’s been going on too long, and the fish are swimming fine.
I can’t tell you what this is - tank mate aggression from squabbling is common with clowns, especially with three in the tank, but I don’t see ripped fins that are commonly seen with that. Still, clowns are pretty sly, and they could be head butting each other when you aren’t around.
Another less common issue is skin flukes. You could treat them in your DT for that with prazipro, but again, I’d expect to see them acting sicker.
Jay

 

[snackpack]

I could view the video. That just doesn’t look like Brook to me - it’s been going on too long, and the fish are swimming fine.
I can’t tell you what this is - tank mate aggression from squabbling is common with clowns, especially with three in the tank, but I don’t see ripped fins that are commonly seen with that. Still, clowns are pretty sly, and they could be head butting each other when you aren’t around.
Another less common issue is skin flukes. You could treat them in your DT for that with prazipro, but again, I’d expect to see them acting sicker.
Jay

Very interesting. I think once the new 120g tank is closer to running, I'll break down the current tank and pull these 3 and quarantine them.

Now I'm hesitant to move them into the larger tank

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Very interesting. I think once the new 120g tank is closer to running, I'll break down the current tank and pull these 3 and quarantine them.

Now I'm hesitant to move them into the larger tank

Yes - moving them to a new tank with other fish, when not sure what they might be carrying is pretty risky.

Jay

 

[snackpack]

Yes - moving them to a new tank with other fish, when not sure what they might be carrying is pretty risky.

Jay

So...

The smallest one, the black and white, died at some point today. I just found him under a rock.

There's some small cuts in his fins, so I guess aggression would've been likely, but I can't determine much else than that... The nasaraius vultures have him now.