Clownfish Mouth Open/Lethargic

[daelie]

So I have googled this extensively, and the most popular things that seem to come up are parasites and lockjaw. I'm not entirely sure how to diagnose one or the other, but I did remove the clownfish and have a good look at her with a magnifying glass and couldn't really notice anything, but I did note that the gills seem a bit flared.

The tank has been up and running for over a year and the params test as follows.

No3 - 1 ppm (Elos)
Po4 - 0.04 ppm (Hanna)
Alk - 7.2 dkH (Hanna)
Ca - 420 ppm (Salifert)
Mg - 1400 ppm (Red Sea)
Salinity - 1.026

A recent addition would be 4 blue/green chromis.

I don't have ammonia and nitrite tests anymore as the system has been up for quite a while as mentioned above. I took some pics, they are terrible cell phone pics because my DSLR is currently charging but I could definitely get better pics later if so required.

This appears to have happened overnight, she's always a voracious eater and I came home from work today and fed the tank as per usual and she's just hanging near the anemone she hosts and watches the food float right by her when she's normally up near the top ready to steal as much as she can. Her mouth is open all the time and what food by chance gets in her mouth she doesn't seem like she can close it.

Here are some photos, any help at all would be greatly appreciated. The pics are clickable thumbnails!



I have a short video as well that I'll upload in the next comment, not quite sure how it turned out so I'm checking on that.

 

[daelie]

Link to Video:

 

[Bunnee911]

Did you qt the chromis?

 

[daelie]

Did you qt the chromis?

The LFS where I buy my fish QT's everything with a FW dip when they arrive and in copper after that for before he allows them for purchase. He's actually a pretty good friend of mine. Do you ask because you see some sign of a parasite or general curiosity?

 

[Humblefish]

Any zoas or bristleworms in the tank the clownfish could have bitten with her mouth? My female Maroon likes to move coral frags that are too close to her nem.

 

[daelie]

Any zoas or bristleworms in the tank the clownfish could have bitten with her mouth? My female Maroon likes to move coral frags that are too close to her nem.

Tons of zoas in the tank, but I've never seen her go after them before and the aquascape has been the same for at least a few months, but there's at least some zoas relatively close. Bristleworms, I haven't actually noticed any in the tank thus far. Would her biting either of those things cause her to stop eating? Her breathing doesn't really appear to be fast IMO, it's just that she's not moving and not eating today that has me concerned. There is an emerald crab under the anemone today though, I did notice that in the past 5-10 minutes as it was swaying about in the flow, is that a possible culprit ?

 

[Humblefish]

There is an emerald crab under the anemone today though, I did notice that in the past 5-10 minutes as it was swaying about in the flow, is that a possible culprit ?

Its possible it pinched her lip with it's claws. Messing around with a zoa could numb her mouth. My big mama clown tried to eat a wasp one time (that was floating on top of the water), and her entire face swelled up and she stopped eating for a few days. I crushed up a tiny piece of Benadryl and mixed it in her food. :p

 

[daelie]

Well first I'll have to grab the crab and move him away for a while, since even now she seems a little hesitant to go back inside the anemone. The wasp thing is quite a neat story though :) I can only hope she'll get back to eating as well.
I took a better photo of her mouth with my better camera now that it has charged as well, I scaled it down slightly but you can still see the detail. There seems to be some whitish stuff on her lips.

http://i.imgur.com/ILRypEB.jpg

 

[Humblefish]

Looks more like a coral sting, from your latest photo.

 

[daelie]

Looks more like a coral sting, from your latest photo.

That's quite relieving. Is there anything that could help her get back to eating or is it just a time thing, she's pretty fat from the 2-3 daily feedings I give my tank so she could stand a day or two.

 

[Humblefish]

That's quite relieving. Is there anything that could help her get back to eating or is it just a time thing, she's pretty fat from the 2-3 daily feedings I give my tank so she could stand a day or two.

I would just take the wait & see approach for now. If it gets worse or she continues refusing to eat let me know. Do you have a QT if needed?

 

[daelie]

I have a bare 20G long that I converted to a semi all-in-one that I can get ready pretty quickly with some pvc and marinepure media, if so. How long would you recommend I give her to get back into eating? 2-3 days?

 

[Humblefish]

I have a bare 20G long that I converted to a semi all-in-one that I can get ready pretty quickly with some pvc and marinepure media, if so. How long would you recommend I give her to get back into eating? 2-3 days?

2-3 days sounds about right. If she still refuses to eat or if the thing around her mouth starts looking worse, I would advise treating with antibiotics. Probably Kanaplex as that is easily absorbable by a fish's skin.

 

[daelie]

Thank you so much! I'll keep you updated for sure.

 

[daelie]

I would just take the wait & see approach for now. If it gets worse or she continues refusing to eat let me know. Do you have a QT if needed?

Update: Still not eating today, I took another short video as she's now moved away from the anemone and rubbing around a little bit this morning as well it seems as though the side of her is a little ragged.

And the short video:

 

[Humblefish]

It's almost like she's trying to rub that stuff off her mouth. Has it gotten any worse?

 

[daelie]

The white stuff hasn't really gotten worse, but she's laying on her side quite often and her fins aren't always moving.

 

[daelie]

Would a freshwater dip at this point be awful, even with her being so lethargic?

 

[Humblefish]

Would a freshwater dip at this point be awful, even with her being so lethargic?

It might help make that slimy substance come off. Another option would be a Methylene Blue bath to detoxify the area around her mouth. Both Kordon & Fritz sell products containing MB, sometimes even at Petco/smart.

Malachite Green/Methylene Blue: Treats ammonia burn, cuts, injuries.

How To Treat - Comes in both liquid and powder form, sometimes mixed in with another medication(s). So, follow the directions on the label. Best used as a 30 minute bath solution, but you also can treat with it in a quarantine tank. Aerate heavily. If you are using it in a bath solution, then it is also a good idea to treat the fish with nitrofurazone (active ingredient found in Furan-2 and Nitrofuracin Green Powder) once he is returned to the quarantine tank. Nitrofurazone is great for treating open wounds or sores.

Pros - Highly effective.

Cons/Side Effects - Depletes oxygen from the water. Malachite Green is considered “harsher” on fish than Methylene Blue.

 

[Humblefish]