Black ich?? or hypermelanization

[dommythaGOAT]

My two clownfish have suddenly developed small black spots across their bodies. I’ve had them for about 3–4 months now, and the onset of the spots seemed quite sudden—after first noticing one or two, several more appeared the very next day.

The larger clownfish is behaving normally, showing no signs of labored breathing or erratic swimming, and is eating well—if anything, even more aggressively than usual. The smaller, darker clownfish is still eating but much more reluctant than before, and I’ve noticed him occasionally resting near the bottom corner of the tank, as shown in the attached videos.

What could this be? Many similar cases I’ve found online suggest the spots are likely the result of coral stings rather than black ich, but I don’t have personal experience with black ich to make that distinction. I have noticed both fish showing increased interest in some of the corals lately, though I haven’t actually seen them making direct contact.

Any insights or opinions would be greatly appreciated!






List of corals:
Bubble tip anemone
Frogspawn
Acans
Blasto
toadstool leather

 

[vetteguy53081]

Neither video works.... You tube version best and under white, not blue light intensity. Blach ich is Hyper-melanization which come from coral sting such as anemone or other coral such as hammer, torch or similar which you have some. You dont need to treat with anything as it will self heal and allowing the clown to become accustomed to the sting from host

 

[dommythaGOAT]

Neither video works.... You tube version best and under white, not blue light intensity. Blach ich is Hyper-melanization which come from coral sting such as anemone or other coral such as hammer, torch or similar which you have some. You dont need to treat with anything as it will self heal and allowing the clown to become accustomed to the sting from host

Sorry about that i just added the links for video. Here they are!





Let me know if that works!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Sorry about that i just added the links for video. Here they are!





Let me know if that works!

Yes, coral stings and harmless and will dissipate on their own

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My two clownfish have suddenly developed small black spots across their bodies. I’ve had them for about 3–4 months now, and the onset of the spots seemed quite sudden—after first noticing one or two, several more appeared the very next day.

The larger clownfish is behaving normally, showing no signs of labored breathing or erratic swimming, and is eating well—if anything, even more aggressively than usual. The smaller, darker clownfish is still eating but much more reluctant than before, and I’ve noticed him occasionally resting near the bottom corner of the tank, as shown in the attached videos.

What could this be? Many similar cases I’ve found online suggest the spots are likely the result of coral stings rather than black ich, but I don’t have personal experience with black ich to make that distinction. I have noticed both fish showing increased interest in some of the corals lately, though I haven’t actually seen them making direct contact.

Any insights or opinions would be greatly appreciated!






List of corals:
Bubble tip anemone
Frogspawn
Acans
Blasto
toadstool leather

I’ve never seen black ich (turbellarians) on clownfish. I’d say the spots you are seeing is hypermelanization.

However, even before reading your post, I saw in your video that the smaller clown is acting “mopey”. They both also seem to have cloudy fins. These are general symptoms, not of anything specific.