Possible gill flukes?

[ReefSlice]

My 2 clownfish have been acting strange, hiding in the back of the tank a lot and not eating, looking uncomfortable and flashing somewhat. Today I threw my male clown in a freshwater dip for 4 minutes and at the 2-3 minute mark, I could swear I saw tiny white things coming out of his gills, but they are tinier than any flukes I am used to seeing. I can see them in the bucket but they are too tiny to take pictures of. There are quite a few but it just looks like some dandruff at the bottom of the bucket. I am prepared to dose Prazi into the display, but is there anything else this could be? Doesn't look like ich, just tiny clearish white things the size of a pinhead. Should I go ahead and dose prazi? Thanks for any help!

 

[Crabs McJones]

My 2 clownfish have been acting strange, hiding in the back of the tank a lot and not eating, looking uncomfortable and flashing somewhat. Today I threw my male clown in a freshwater dip for 4 minutes and at the 2-3 minute mark, I could swear I saw tiny white things coming out of his gills, but they are tinier than any flukes I am used to seeing. I can see them in the bucket but they are too tiny to take pictures of. There are quite a few but it just looks like some dandruff at the bottom of the bucket. I am prepared to dose Prazi into the display, but is there anything else this could be? Doesn't look like ich, just tiny clearish white things the size of a pinhead. Should I go ahead and dose prazi? Thanks for any help!

Could possibly be the start of Ich
I'd move everyone over to a quarantine just to be safe.

From @Humblefish

Saltwater ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) is best described as salt or sugar-like "sprinkles" on the body or fins. Sometimes however, the parasite can harbor inside the gills - out of sight. Behavioral symptoms such as flashing, scratching, twitching and heavy breathing are other indicators of ich.

Most hobbyists will encounter ich at some point in one of two settings:

1. A newly acquired fish in quarantine (QT) - proceed to "Treatment options" below.
2. Fish in the display tank (DT) - There is no easy way of dealing with this. Even in fish only systems, it can be problematic trying to treat in the DT. Copper (and other medications) can be absorbed by rock/substrate, and doing hyposalinity risks possibly wiping out your bio-filter. You have to catch ALL of your fish, and quarantine/treat using one of the treatment options mentioned below. The DT itself should be left fallow (fishless) for 76 days to starve out any remaining parasites. Continue to periodically feed your corals/inverts; a pinch of flake food every 2-3 days will help maintain bacteria levels in the DT. Remember there is no "reef safe" ich treatment that will actually eradicate all of the parasites! Tea tree oil from India or garlic extract or any other herbal/natural "medication" is designed to only help fish manage their symptoms.

If you need help setting up a QT for treatment, this guide will prove useful: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-disease-treatment-diagnosis/189815-how-quarantine.html

Treatment options: Copper, Chloroquine phosphate, tank transfer method, or hyposalinity. All of which are listed here with links to more info: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-index.247573/

 

[ReefSlice]

I highly doubt it's ich just because of the length of time that has gone by since I started noticing symptoms. It's been weeks since they started hiding more and not eating as well, at first I thought they were just scared of something but its stayed about the same, some days they hardly eat at all. They also don't ever scratch on anything, and the particles are not round like ich appears, theyre more of a tiny oblong shape that is not totally white, just opaque.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I highly doubt it's ich just because of the length of time that has gone by since I started noticing symptoms. It's been weeks since they started hiding more and not eating as well, at first I thought they were just scared of something but its stayed about the same, some days they hardly eat at all. They also don't ever scratch on anything, and the particles are not round like ich appears, theyre more of a tiny oblong shape that is not totally white, just opaque.

Do you have any pictures of the fish? I'll tag the #reefsquad for more ideas.

 

[Humblefish]

Gill flukes are much smaller than skin flukes, so that's probably what you saw in the FW dip.

 

[ReefSlice]

Great, thanks for the confirmation Humble. I did a quick 5g wc, turned off my skimmer and then dosed 2 tsp into a 50 g system to get a 2.0mg/l concentration, I'm praying that my poor clowns start feeling better after this.

 

[lagatbezan]

Don't forget to increase aireatiom by adding a airstone or facing a power head toward the surface to help with gas exchange while using prazipro.

 

[ReefSlice]

I have 2 pp8's pointed at the surface and my skimmers now just running with the cup off to aid in o2 exchange as well. The tank seems to be ok, some corals kind of POed and some are fine. I tried feeding the clowns a tiny bit but they don't seem to want to eat much right now, I'm guessing the prazi is suppressing their appetite. No big change in their attitude, still hiding a bit, but I hope they start to turn around in the coming days. I did notice that all my tiny feather dusters and worms in the tank seem fine.

 

[Eggpaul]

Can anyone ID this?

 

[HotRocks]

Can anyone ID this?

Possible ich?

The spot on fin looks like ich. The spot on body appears larger. Can you post some additional pics?

 

[Eggpaul]

Possible ich?

The spot on fin looks like ich. The spot on body appears larger. Can you post some additional pics?

The larger one washes out when he isn't turning. Only visible when he turns and it seems it protrudes out at that point.

 

[Eggpaul]

Possible ich?

The spot on fin looks like ich. The spot on body appears larger. Can you post some additional pics?

Seems to be 3 in a line.

 

[Eggpaul]

Possible ich?

The spot on fin looks like ich. The spot on body appears larger. Can you post some additional pics?

Not at home right now to take pics, but the spots spread. Yesterday there were quite a few more on its body, a couple around the face. Still eats like a pig though.