Pease help me diagnose :(

Lily Lemire · Sep 15, 2020

Hi everyone,
My poor clownfish is having a pretty hard time right now and I dont know what problem she has exactly. My parameters have been checked 2 days ago by a felllow reefer and except higher than usual nitrates - which i have lowered with water changes - everything is fine.
Look at her ! She seems to have been stung by a bristleworm ....is it possible for a bristleworm to actually brush off their bristles on fish to defend themselves ?? She is pretty much territorial. She lives alone in a 20 gallon with hermit crabs and thousands of small harmless ( are they?) bristleworms. She swims normally. What can i do to help? She only has this on her head ...could it be a parasite nonetheless?
Thanks in advance,
Im worried for her ♡
Molly

MnFish1 · Sep 15, 2020

That is interesting!! I think it a bristle worm - here is an article about when it happens to people:

Symptoms and Signs of Bristleworm Sting: Treatment

Doctor's notes on Bristleworm Sting symptoms, signs, causes, and treatment.

www.emedicinehealth.com

Lily Lemire · Sep 15, 2020

MnFish1 said:
That is interesting!! I think it a bristle worm - here is an article about when it happens to people:

Symptoms and Signs of Bristleworm Sting: Treatment

Doctor's notes on Bristleworm Sting symptoms, signs, causes, and treatment.

www.emedicinehealth.com

Thank you i will read and try to help her

PicassoClown04 · Sep 15, 2020

Yeah, definitely looks like she shoved her face into a bristleworm

much like how a dog could try to bite a porcupine. She’ll be okay but that prolly hurts poor baby

Crabs McJones · Sep 15, 2020

Agree. Looks like it got a little to familiar with a bristle/fireworm

Lily Lemire · Sep 15, 2020

footgal said:
Yeah, definitely looks like she shoved her face into a bristleworm much like how a dog could try to bite a porcupine. She’ll be okay but that prolly hurts poor baby

Do you think they will fall off in a normal , natural way or should i try pulling them out ? Just looking at her makes feel so bad.. i soo want to help her

JasonK84 · Sep 15, 2020

@Jay Hemdal any idea what this is?

PicassoClown04 · Sep 15, 2020

I just read up on bristleworm stings in fish, sounds like there’s not much you can do except small dose of antibiotics to help stave off infection. The fish should expel/dissolve the bristles on its own over time. So sorry about this!! I would try to catch the worm and kill it.

Lily Lemire · Sep 15, 2020

footgal said:
I just read up on bristleworm stings in fish, sounds like there’s not much you can do except small dose of antibiotics to help stave off infection. The fish should expel/dissolve the bristles on its own over time. So sorry about this!! I would try to catch the worm and kill it.

Yeah im in for quite a challenge because they have been quite an army in there. I have always considered them as part of my clean up crew but...i guess they have started to be a bit bold towards my fish. Usually when i used antibiotics in a main freshwater tank , it would kill most beneficial bacteria . Is it the same for most antibiotics in saltwater tanks or is there a more soft , natural antibiotic i could use as a preventive method for her condition?

Jilly92 · Sep 15, 2020

Lily Lemire said:
Hi everyone,
My poor clownfish is having a pretty hard time right now and I dont know what problem she has exactly. My parameters have been checked 2 days ago by a felllow reefer and except higher than usual nitrates - which i have lowered with water changes - everything is fine.
Look at her ! She seems to have been stung by a bristleworm ....is it possible for a bristleworm to actually brush off their bristles on fish to defend themselves ?? She is pretty much territorial. She lives alone in a 20 gallon with hermit crabs and thousands of small harmless ( are they?) bristleworms. She swims normally. What can i do to help? She only has this on her head ...could it be a parasite nonetheless?
Thanks in advance,
Im worried for her ♡
Molly

I'm not sure, but I read on another forum about Melanie clearing it up in 2 days. Maybe search on that.

Bfragale · Sep 15, 2020

Poor little fish. That’s a bummer. If there are too many bristle works, I’ve heard this trap works well. Maybe you can thin down the population a bit.

Trap For Snails Aquarium sera Snail Trap + 2 Pills Or Nip | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Trap For Snails Aquarium sera Snail Trap + 2 Pills Or Nip at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I know it says for snails, but I have heard it catches bristle worms very well.

PicassoClown04 · Sep 15, 2020

I usually wait till lights out and hunt with tweezers (do NOT break them in half, both halves will live). Or create a trap. Pantyhose works well to catch them. Shrimp in pantyhose, pantyhose bunched up in water bottle with pinholes in it to let the shrimp smell permeate the water (with some pebbles leading up to the opening so they can get in). The bristles get the worm stuck in the pantyhose, then you can just lift the water bottle up and get em all out (well, a couple of em at least). It should catch the big ones which are the only real threat to your fish

Jilly92 · Sep 16, 2020

Jilly92 said:
I'm not sure, but I read on another forum about Melanie clearing it up in 2 days. Maybe search on that.

Melafix * stupid autocorrect

PicassoClown04 · Sep 16, 2020

Personally, I wouldn’t net if the fish is still eating well. It could drive the spines in deeper and cause more damage to the fish. The spines will work their way out on their own over time

Zionas · Sep 16, 2020

I agree with what @footgal has said. Unfortunately I’m not the most experienced and I personally don’t plan to keep bristleworms (my LR will be clean).

Beautiful Clown BTW. Love the Darwin variety.

Lily Lemire · Sep 16, 2020

Bfragale said:
Poor little fish. That’s a bummer. If there are too many bristle works, I’ve heard this trap works well. Maybe you can thin down the population a bit.

Trap For Snails Aquarium sera Snail Trap + 2 Pills Or Nip | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Trap For Snails Aquarium sera Snail Trap + 2 Pills Or Nip at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I know it says for snails, but I have heard it catches bristle worms very well.

Thanks for the info

!!!!

Lily Lemire · Sep 16, 2020

Zionas said:
I agree with what @footgal has said. Unfortunately I’m not the most experienced and I personally don’t plan to keep bristleworms (my LR will be clean).

Beautiful Clown BTW. Love the Darwin variety.

Thanks she is precious for sure ^_^!!

Lily Lemire · Sep 16, 2020

footgal said:
Personally, I wouldn’t net if the fish is still eating well. It could drive the spines in deeper and cause more damage to the fish. The spines will work their way out on their own over time

Thank you i wont try pulling them out then

Jay Hemdal · Sep 16, 2020

Lily Lemire said:
Hi everyone,
My poor clownfish is having a pretty hard time right now and I dont know what problem she has exactly. My parameters have been checked 2 days ago by a felllow reefer and except higher than usual nitrates - which i have lowered with water changes - everything is fine.
Look at her ! She seems to have been stung by a bristleworm ....is it possible for a bristleworm to actually brush off their bristles on fish to defend themselves ?? She is pretty much territorial. She lives alone in a 20 gallon with hermit crabs and thousands of small harmless ( are they?) bristleworms. She swims normally. What can i do to help? She only has this on her head ...could it be a parasite nonetheless?
Thanks in advance,
Im worried for her ♡
Molly

My first thought was bristleworms also - but it is an odd case: the number of imbedded "bristles" are a lot higher than I've ever seen before. The bristles are aiming backwards, not forwards like they usually do, and there are more bristles on the top of the head than around the mouth like I usually see. There are some eruptive fungal disease of fish, but in those, the hyphae are not straight and rigid like this. In the end, I have to say bristleworms. No treatment other than time I'm afraid.

Jay