sick clown?

[Ebone]

My clown has been looking ill for a little while: belly looks sunk and colors have faded. This clown and another have been paired in my tank for a little over a year and now it seems that the other one has become the female... it has grown much larger and been more aggressive towards this one so I though some of the issues were just battle wounds. But in the last 2 days it has been more finicky about eating spitting out more then consuming. I am hoping I haven't confused illness for nature...

note all other fish are healthy

any help appreciated, as always sorry if pics aren't great

also it isn't "stuff" on the outside just discolor or glare

 

[melypr1985]

Have you added any fish, inverts, corals or rocks lately? How long ago and were they QT'd? Was this fish and your other fish QT'd before being added to the tank?

 

[Humblefish]

The first two pics looks like Brooklynella; hope I am wrong about that though.

Brooklynella:

Symptoms – This is most often seen in clownfish, but it can afflict any fish. The fish’s skin will appear to be peeling or sloughing off, oftentimes causing excessive white mucous to form around the affected area(s).

Treatment options - Formalin bath, followed by additional formalin baths (as needed - but give the fish a day to recuperate in-between baths). You can use formalin in a QT (at a much lower concentration than the bath), but great care must be taken to provide plenty of gas exchange as formalin will quickly deplete the water of oxygen. For this reason, doing baths is the safer option as the fish can be pulled from the formalin if showing signs of distress. Formalin-MS is preferred, as that contains 37% formaldehyde. However, in a bind, any medication containing formalin (ex. Quick Cure) is better than nothing. Alternative treatments for brook include metronidazole (ex. Seachem MetroPlex) and acriflavine (ex. Acriflavine-MS). A freshwater dip may provide temporary relief if you are unable to locate any of the aforementioned medications right away.

 

[Ebone]

I had thought of that but the pictures look worse then the fish.... pretty sure that is not what it is

 

[Ebone]

newest thing was added to the tank almost 3 months ago... it was a sps coral

 

[Ebone]

 

[Humblefish]

Looks better in that pic, but still looks "splotchy" in some places. Especially near the tail.

 

[Ebone]

the tail and belly are what are concerning... and are splotchy, and tail is nipped looking.... still thinking brook? been looking this way for little over a week now

 

[Ebone]

wow those first pics were not really representative

 

[Humblefish]

the tail and belly are what are concerning... and are splotchy, and tail is nipped looking.... still thinking brook? been looking this way for little over a week now

Brook should have progressed to other parts of the body by now (in a week's time). Could be a mild bacterial infection, however. Another possibility is he is getting stung at night by one of your LPS's sweepers. I noticed euphyllia in the background.

 

[melypr1985]

The lack of eating is a concern. Maybe he's gotten an infection like fin rot. Though WHY it got this infection is a concern as well. Usually there would be a reason for the infection like a parasite or injury. His stomach could be sunken from the lack of eating, though I'm sure there are other reasons for that. The infection or parasite could be the reason for not eating. hmm...

Oh I see humble beat me to it with good alternatives as well. We have a puzzle here

 

[Ebone]

thanks for help.... getting stung is a possibility! the other had a fat lip a few weeks ago from sucking on one... guess I will keep observing for time and hope he eats..

 

[Humblefish]

thanks for help.... getting stung is a possibility! the other had a fat lip a few weeks ago from sucking on one... guess I will keep observing for time and hope he eats..

After the lights go out, spy on where both clowns sleep at night. Clownfish are afforded more protection than other fish from stinging corals, but if he's getting hit with LPS sweepers at night your fish is slowly being poisoned to death. And fish are very stubborn about changing their sleeping spot.

 

[Ebone]

so thursday after work I found this... hit mate wouldn't leave him

 

[Ebone]

I put him into a hospital tank and gave a formalin bath while keeping him separate: here he is now... barely alive... what can I expect for my other clown? other fish... goby and chromis? sad day

 

[Humblefish]

Did you ever notice him sleeping near any stinging LPS??

If this is brook (which I'm not 100% sure about), then all your other fish will need to be given a formalin bath and then transferred into a "clean" QT to prevent reinfection. The DT needs to be kept fallow for 6 weeks. That would be "playing it safe" at this point.

 

[Ebone]

goner.... after you had mentioned it the other day it does seem they have been spending more time in the bottom corner(they are usually top corner above all of the lps) in fact the other is still there... seems like they have been looking for egg laying area...the other clown is healthy. On a side note how long would qt need to remain dry to rid of brook if that is it? I have cleaned and emptied my qt after this guy. Thanks for the help BTW

 

[Humblefish]

On a side note how long would qt need to remain dry to rid of brook if that is it? I have cleaned and emptied my qt after this guy.

3-4 days drying time (use a fan to get every droplet of water out). Sorry for your loss.

 

[Ebone]

will formalin treat any thing else should brook not be the cause...fill are qt(on second dip) at this point

 

[Humblefish]

will formalin treat any thing else should brook not be the cause...fill are qt(on second dip) at this point

Formalin treats brook, flukes, black ich... but sometimes more than one bath is required. You also cannot return the fish from the tank it came from following the bath (just keeps getting reinfected).

Formalin provides temporary relief for velvet and may even be capable of eradicating velvet if symptoms are caught very early on.