Black Dots?

Afrashz · Mar 20, 2018

Whats up guys, so about 2 weeks ago I purchased 2 ocellaris clownfish from a well respected local fish store. A couple days a go I noticed several black spots on each clown fish which certainly were not there when I purchased them. This was very concerning to me and I did research online. Most websites were saying they were result of some sort of stinging from coral? In my tank I currently only have a few different soft corals; 2 zoanthid colonies, 2 small finger leathers, green star polyp, a small mushroom and a devils hand coral. Are any of these corals capable of producing these black marks? Im not sure what else it could be or if anyone else has experienced something similar with their clownfish. Any suggestion is appreciated! Thanks.

Big G · Mar 20, 2018

Hyper melanization is a common occurrence in clowns; if the spots are really small, it could be black ich.

Sashaka · Mar 20, 2018

Humblefish has some great information on Black Ich. Does it look like any of these pictures?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/black-ich-turbellarians.259912/

Hope the link helps! Other's here have more knowledge about fish diseases than me, so I'll let them help diagnose. Good luck with your fish!

Afrashz · Mar 20, 2018

No it doesn't look like any of those pictures. So hopefully its not ich! Their actually much bigger rounder dots so possibly it is melanization as Big G suggested? Idk, but thanks for that link, hopefully rules out ich.

Deezill · Mar 20, 2018

Afrashz said:
No it doesn't look like any of those pictures. So hopefully its not ich! Their actually much bigger rounder dots so possibly it is melanization as Big G suggested? Idk, but thanks for that link, hopefully rules out ich.

Post some pics of your Clown.

Afrashz · Mar 20, 2018

Not the best picture but this is what both of them have.

Big G · Mar 20, 2018

Yep. Hyper Melanization

Afrashz · Mar 20, 2018

Anything to worry about?

Big G · Mar 20, 2018

Afrashz said:
Anything to worry about?

Nothing to do but feed your fish a good varied diet rich in protein and vitamins to fight off any possible infections. Here's a great method for feeding fish by @jsker . His method changed how I feed my fish. And they have never looked so vibrant, colorful and active. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/preparing-frozen-foods-for-my-fish-and-corals.300448/#post-3677350

Deezill · Mar 20, 2018

Yeah I am a biologist not a marine biologist but that does not look like Black ICH. The size of the black dots look somewhat inconsistent with black ich.