White spot on Clownfish

Jillianh · Nov 28, 2022

Hello all,
I noticed a raised, sort of flaky looking spot on my clownfish yesterday which appears (to me) be getting larger. She seems okay so far and has a good feeding response. It is just the one spot. She is around 10 years old.
No new additions to the tank other than some coral frags.
Tanks Mates are:
Another smaller clown
Orchid Dottyback
Yellow Goby
Peppermint Shrimp, emerald crab, serpent star,snails, hermits.

50 Gallon tank was set up in February 2022 using existing rock from my old tank and new sand.

Sump, skimmer, filter socks
pH 8.1
Alk 7.8
Phos .18
Nitrates 25
Mixed reef with soft and LPS corals
At the moment I am unable to change the lighting to get shots under white light- sorry about the blues

MnFish1 · Nov 28, 2022

Jillianh said:
Hello all,
I noticed a raised, sort of flaky looking spot on my clownfish yesterday which appears (to me) be getting larger. She seems okay so far and has a good feeding response. It is just the one spot. She is around 10 years old.
No new additions to the tank other than some coral frags.
Tanks Mates are:
Another smaller clown
Orchid Dottyback
Yellow Goby
Peppermint Shrimp, emerald crab, serpent star,snails, hermits.

50 Gallon tank was set up in February 2022 using existing rock from my old tank and new sand.

Sump, skimmer, filter socks
pH 8.1
Alk 7.8
Phos .18
Nitrates 25
Mixed reef with soft and LPS corals
At the moment I am unable to change the lighting to get shots under white light- sorry about the blues

Beautiful fish and coral - is there any other addition? if not - and assuming the spot you're talking about is just above the pectoral fin - and there are no other symptoms it could be a sting/injury? Its hard to see from the pictures (to me) perhaps someone else will pop in?

vetteguy53081 · Nov 28, 2022

Jillianh said:
Hello all,
I noticed a raised, sort of flaky looking spot on my clownfish yesterday which appears (to me) be getting larger. She seems okay so far and has a good feeding response. It is just the one spot. She is around 10 years old.
No new additions to the tank other than some coral frags.
Tanks Mates are:
Another smaller clown
Orchid Dottyback
Yellow Goby
Peppermint Shrimp, emerald crab, serpent star,snails, hermits.

50 Gallon tank was set up in February 2022 using existing rock from my old tank and new sand.

Sump, skimmer, filter socks
pH 8.1
Alk 7.8
Phos .18
Nitrates 25
Mixed reef with soft and LPS corals
At the moment I am unable to change the lighting to get shots under white light- sorry about the blues

Looks like an infection stemming from an injury either nick or bite from another tankmate.
What other fish are in tank and any squabbling you have noticed ?
Is fish eating and breathing normal or Rapid?
Treatment will need to be performed in quarantine setting and treated with either Maracyn 2 OR seachem Kanaplex for at least 5 days
Add aeration with air stone during treatment

Jay Hemdal · Nov 29, 2022

Since the clown is 10 years old, Mycobacterium is a distinct possibility - this is a progressive, chronic internal bacterial disease very common in older fish. It has many symptoms, so a positive ID isn't possible without culturing the skin lesion. It also isn't treatable, but it is the #1 cause of "old age" death in fish.

Jay

Jillianh · Nov 29, 2022

vetteguy53081 said:
Looks like an infection stemming from an injury either nick or bite from another tankmate.
What other fish are in tank and any squabbling you have noticed ?
Is fish eating and breathing normal or Rapid?
Treatment will need to be performed in quarantine setting and treated with either Maracyn 2 OR seachem Kanaplex for at least 5 days
Add aeration with air stone duringytreatment

Vetteguy53081
She is eating and breathing normally. Other than the lesion, she seems to be healthy. She does tend to be a bit aggressive towards the other clown, but she is by far the biggest fish in the tank.

Jillianh · Nov 29, 2022

Jay Hemdal said:
Since the clown is 10 years old, Mycobacterium is a distinct possibility - this is a progressive, chronic internal bacterial disease very common in older fish. It has many symptoms, so a positive ID isn't possible without culturing the skin lesion. It also isn't treatable, but it is the #1 cause of "old age" death in fish.

Jay

Jay,
When you mention chronic and progressive, does that indicate that the lesions will grow in size and number? Will the other fish be infected/affected?
Just curious: when you say “old age” does that speak to fish in captivity? i.e. is the disease a condition stemming from a life in captivity or tank conditions?

Jillianh · Nov 29, 2022

I’m also wondering about the possibility that the Frog Spawn coral that she “nests” in may be stinging her? Just a thought, though she has always called that coral “home”.

vetteguy53081 · Nov 29, 2022

Jillianh said:
I’m also wondering about the possibility that the Frog Spawn coral that she “nests” in may be stinging her? Just a thought, though she has always called that coral “home”.

Which can happen but you would see black spots on her although she is dark known as hyper-melanization. did not realize age as also a possible contributor.
Yes a SHE as females often larger and aggressive as they chase or corner the male, hog all the food, bite the hands of their owners and can be territorial

Jay Hemdal · Nov 29, 2022

Jillianh said:
Jay,
When you mention chronic and progressive, does that indicate that the lesions will grow in size and number? Will the other fish be infected/affected?
Just curious: when you say “old age” does that speak to fish in captivity? i.e. is the disease a condition stemming from a life in captivity or tank conditions?

Yes, myco seems to be a disease of older captive fish. The lesions may grow in number or in size. Many times though, the disease is internal.
The bacteria can be isolated from literally every aquarium. It is found in tap water and frozen foods. When fish age, they are not able to fight the bacteria off. Definitive diagnosis requires very tricky culturing, although in dead fish, you can often see nodules in the liver and other organs.
This may or may not be myco, it just wanted to mention that possibility.
Jay