White film on clownfish

[needlehandssoftfingers]

He has parts of it dangling from him and it covers the top half from eyes to tail fin. His swimming seems weak and bumping into rocks and sandbed at times. Appetite gone. 2 days ago he had lesion-type marks on his front stripe which went away and he was eating fine yesterday. Why can't I keep anything alive I'm trying my best and it's one problem after another I can't even get my nitrates down from overfeeding first two weeks and I'm doing WC sometimes twice a week etc I feel like such a failure everything in my care is dying

 

[Lavey29]

That fish has brook. Isolate ihim in QT for treatment and tank needs to be fallow for 45 days minimum.

 

[Jekyl]

#fishmedic

 

[MnFish1]

He has parts of it dangling from him and it covers the top half from eyes to tail fin. His swimming seems weak and bumping into rocks and sandbed at times. Appetite gone. 2 days ago he had lesion-type marks on his front stripe which went away and he was eating fine yesterday. Why can't I keep anything alive I'm trying my best and it's one problem after another I can't even get my nitrates down from overfeeding first two weeks and I'm doing WC sometimes twice a week etc I feel like such a failure everything in my care is dying

Hi - First of all - don't be hard on yourself - everyone has problems at times.

Second - It looks like Broolynella - which commonly affects clowns. It would be nice to know whether you quarantined, etc - but it certainly looks like it. Are other fish affected?

Third - you should use a hospital tank - with formalin or a formalin based product (like Ruby Reef Rally Pro) - Formalin would be best if you can get it - there are numerous threads as to the correct concentrations, etc you can use to treat. One thing thats important when dosing any medication - Don't use the volume of the tank to calculate the dose - instead measure a certain number of gallons of water - and use that i.e. use exactly 5 gallons in a 5 gallon tank as volumes can vary from their stated size.

If you have other fish - you may need to treat them as well.

 

[vetteguy53081]

He has parts of it dangling from him and it covers the top half from eyes to tail fin. His swimming seems weak and bumping into rocks and sandbed at times. Appetite gone. 2 days ago he had lesion-type marks on his front stripe which went away and he was eating fine yesterday. Why can't I keep anything alive I'm trying my best and it's one problem after another I can't even get my nitrates down from overfeeding first two weeks and I'm doing WC sometimes twice a week etc I feel like such a failure everything in my care is dying

This is Brook.
The most significant sign is the amount of slime on its body. The thick mucus on its body is a second sign which is noticeable on the fish. This mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Typical treatment is a formalin solution is mixed with in a separate container with either fresh or saltwater. Start with a quick dip in the formalin at a higher concentration then performing treatment in a prolonged bath of formalin base at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the formalin treatment the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
If a formalin solution is not available for immediate use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. 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.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

He has parts of it dangling from him and it covers the top half from eyes to tail fin. His swimming seems weak and bumping into rocks and sandbed at times. Appetite gone. 2 days ago he had lesion-type marks on his front stripe which went away and he was eating fine yesterday. Why can't I keep anything alive I'm trying my best and it's one problem after another I can't even get my nitrates down from overfeeding first two weeks and I'm doing WC sometimes twice a week etc I feel like such a failure everything in my care is dying

As the others said this is Brooklynella.

Regarding your frustration, I certainly can relate, I dropped out of the hobby for a few years back in the 70's because I kept losing fish. I found that the number one issue was that I was getting poor quality fish to begin with, and I kept replacing them when they died (not allowing the tank to go fallow). Try to find pre quarantined fish, or buy fish directly from a breeder if you can.

Hang in there!

Jay