Please help me understand what is going on with this Clown

[Bridgerdean]

This is the female in a pair of clown fish that live in my tank (100gal display). The two split their time between a large colony of hairy mushrooms, Torches and a a few frogspawn. The Female has a beat up tail. I am confused by this because I see no one mess with her. She is eating well and swimming well and will chase any fish away who comes near her homes.

There is a "boil" on her right side just anterior to the white line.

Any help would be greatly appreciated I've had this gal now 2 years, the reefer I bought her from had had her for 2 prior to me. So she is four years old.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is the female in a pair of clown fish that live in my tank (100gal display). The two split their time between a large colony of hairy mushrooms, Torches and a a few frogspawn. The Female has a beat up tail. I am confused by this because I see no one mess with her. She is eating well and swimming well and will chase any fish away who comes near her homes.

There is a "boil" on her right side just anterior to the white line.

Any help would be greatly appreciated I've had this gal now 2 years, the reefer I bought her from had had her for 2 prior to me. So she is four years old.

OUCH - Who is the culprit ? This fish has been battered due to aggression.
May I assume there is another clown in the tank larger in size>

What other occupants in the tank and do you have an acclimation box to place it in ?
One method to find aggressor is to place your phone on video mode for 30-40 mins and feed tank ands walk away (must walk away).
Come back and review video and you will know who it is. If left alone without aggression should grow back

 

[Bridgerdean]

That is what is so strange. She is the bully of the tank. He partner is 1/2 her size. I’ll try the phone video. Thank you.

 

[Sharkbait19]

What’s the full stocking?
@vetteguy53081 does any of this look bacterial to you?

 

[Cell]

Looks like you may have a hidden aggressor.

 

[Unitylover]

use the phone trick mentioned earlier, and then take the clown out into QT or a breeder box.
Any chance its tail couldve skimmed the powerhead?

 

[Bridgerdean]

I have some real doubts about the powerhead. I have 2 MP40s. with NEM gaurds. But she tends to hang very low in the the tank.

It is a 100 gallon display with:
1 green mandrin, 1 ruby red, a diamond goby, 7 anthias, Tomini Tang, Purple tang, and midas blenny.

I suspect the purple tang may be the culprit.

 

[Unitylover]

how large are the tangs? a 3 in clown can beat up a 6 in trigger, so it has to be a decent size.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Yeah of all them a purple tang is probably the go to. Not sure about tomini aggression, but the res Tom that list wouldn’t go for a clown.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

This is the female in a pair of clown fish that live in my tank (100gal display). The two split their time between a large colony of hairy mushrooms, Torches and a a few frogspawn. The Female has a beat up tail. I am confused by this because I see no one mess with her. She is eating well and swimming well and will chase any fish away who comes near her homes.

There is a "boil" on her right side just anterior to the white line.

Any help would be greatly appreciated I've had this gal now 2 years, the reefer I bought her from had had her for 2 prior to me. So she is four years old.

Ouch! How long has the tail been like that? Did it degrade gradually?

The fish's hypural plate (bones) on the tail are involved, so it may never grow the fin back, even if you can stop the infection.

Common wisdom would say that this is a severe bacterial infection that started from some injury. However, the whitish build-up of material on the body may indicate a rare fungal infection. Freshwater fish get fungal infections all the time, but marine fish rarely get them - but it can look like this when it does happen.

Treatment for bacteria and fungal are different, but moth would require moving the fish to a treatment tank. Is that something you can manage?

Jay