Sick clown?

KatesReef13 · Mar 18, 2021

Hi All,

I noticed tonight that one of my clowns looks kinda ashy and seems to maybe be missing some scales. I setup a quick QT and put him in.

Am I being too paranoid or what would you all do? Hopefully the pictures aren't too crappy.

Any advice is appreciated.

Jay Hemdal · Mar 18, 2021

Was it in with any other fish? The pictures are pretty pixelated, but it looks like it could be damage from another fish. Is it breathing rapidly? Do you have any antibiotics that you can treat it with?

Jay

KatesReef13 · Mar 18, 2021

Hi Jay,

He was in my main display with other fish. He seems to be breathing okay and eats well.
I can try to get some better pictures after work, sorry about that phone sucks. I'll be honest I'm not sure which fish medications are antibiotics, but I have MetroPlex, PraziPro, and Malachite Green and Methylene Blue which I don't think are. Is there one you recommend?

Thanks!

Jay Hemdal · Mar 18, 2021

A video might help more than photographs.
Jay

KatesReef13 · Mar 18, 2021

Okay sorry, long day at work. This was from last night, sorry about the kid in the background.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 18, 2021

This fish looks beat up. You need to find the culprit. I am concerned on the milky appearance on its body which looks a little like brook except brook generally starts at the face, not tail area

KatesReef13 · Mar 18, 2021

vetteguy53081 said:
This fish looks beat up. You need to find the culprit. I am concerned on the milky appearance on its body which looks a little like brook except brook generally starts at the face, not tail area

Yea brook is what I was concerned about and the main reason I immediately moved him into QT. He does like to occupy a scoly skeleton that I lost in an insane algae outbreak. I never see him get into scolfs with the other fish though, everyone is pretty chill, so maybe he's scratching himself? I thought about doing freshwater dips and have Rally on order just in case. The other fish in the tank seem fine, including the female clown though.
My current plan was to just keep him in QT and see what happens. But I'm totally willing to do something else. I read that metro was a good thing to dose after the Rally for 14 days as well as feed it so I was also considering just doing that too since I'm not sure Rally is good to do right now with his scales like that.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 18, 2021

KatesReef13 said:
Yea brook is what I was concerned about and the main reason I immediately moved him into QT. He does like to occupy a scoly skeleton that I lost in an insane algae outbreak. I never see him get into scolfs with the other fish though, everyone is pretty chill, so maybe he's scratching himself? I thought about doing freshwater dips and have Rally on order just in case. The other fish in the tank seem fine, including the female clown though.
My current plan was to just keep him in QT and see what happens. But I'm totally willing to do something else. I read that metro was a good thing to dose after the Rally for 14 days as well as feed it so I was also considering just doing that too since I'm not sure Rally is good to do right now with his scales like that.

rally will work, you just need to treat a little longer. Quick cure containing a little more effective , but as stated- hopefully it arrives SOON.
If a formalin solution is not available for immediate use, temporary relief may be provided by giving fish a FW dip or bath. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Typically a standard formalin solution is mixed with either fresh or saltwater in a separate treatment container. Initially, all fish are given a quick dip in the formalin at a higher concentration, followed by continued treatment in a prolonged bath of formalin at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank (QT). Of course, the longer the fish are exposed to the formalin treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this disease.

Jay Hemdal · Mar 19, 2021

KatesReef13 said:
Okay sorry, long day at work. This was from last night, sorry about the kid in the background.

That's a tough one. I agree it looks like it's been bitten by another fish, however the fins are not as tattered as I would have thought. It is breathing a bit fast which means it could have a systemic infection, one that is spreading.
How long have you had this fish? Brooklynella usually shows up in recently acquired fish. The trouble is that there are two paths you could follow, and they have different treatments: formalin treatments if you think it is Brook, antibiotics if you think it is a bacterial infection. Yo0u could almost toss a coin on this one I'm afraid. I think the direction you go hinges on if this fish had been attacked by another fish or not. For example, if there is another clown still in the tank with no symptoms, then you could rule out Brook, and look to that fish as the culprit. If this clown was by itself, then you would probably want to treat with formalin from Broook.

Jay

KatesReef13 · Mar 19, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
That's a tough one. I agree it looks like it's been bitten by another fish, however the fins are not as tattered as I would have thought. It is breathing a bit fast which means it could have a systemic infection, one that is spreading.
How long have you had this fish? Brooklynella usually shows up in recently acquired fish. The trouble is that there are two paths you could follow, and they have different treatments: formalin treatments if you think it is Brook, antibiotics if you think it is a bacterial infection. Yo0u could almost toss a coin on this one I'm afraid. I think the direction you go hinges on if this fish had been attacked by another fish or not. For example, if there is another clown still in the tank with no symptoms, then you could rule out Brook, and look to that fish as the culprit. If this clown was by itself, then you would probably want to treat with formalin from Broook.

Jay

Okay, he was in with another clown and she appears fine at the moment. I've had him for about 8 months as well. So, I guess I'll go with antibiotics and watch everyone really close.
Thanks! I was having a really hard time trying to figure out that to do and haven't been good at this stuff. This is why I get all my fish pre-quarantined haha.
Thanks again everyone.