Clownfish Unwell

[Mrod83]

Hi everyone, looking for help diagnosing my female clownfish before I start medication.
Tank: 29-gallon saltwater
Temp: 77°F
Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia: previously tested 0, although my most recent strip may show a trace
Tankmate: one smaller clownfish who is behaving normally and eating normally
The larger female developed noticeable swelling/bloating, particularly around the mid/upper body just behind the gill area.

Her eyes also appear more prominent than usual and there is some reddish discoloration around her face.

Yesterday she became lethargic and completely ignored mysis, which is normally her favorite food. At times she was staying in one spot/position rather than swimming around normally.

I also thought I saw the beginning of scales protruding slightly, but I'm not confident that it's true pineconing. She survived overnight and is still alive this morning.
The other clownfish has shown none of these symptoms and continues to eat normally.

Recent events: I scraped a significant amount of algae from the aquarium glass shortly before this and there was a lot of suspended algae/debris in the water. I also added additional filtration afterward.

I'm trying to determine whether this looks more consistent with:

bacterial/internal infection or septicemia
dropsy/fluid retention
popeye
constipation/GI issue
a gravid female carrying eggs
injury/inflammation
water-quality/environmental stress
something else entirely

I have not started KanaPlex or another medication yet because I'd really like opinions on the diagnosis before treating blindly.

What would you diagnose from the symptoms/photos, and what treatment would you recommend?

 

[EnterName]

As your thread has not gotten any attention yet, but I'm unqualified to give proper advice on fish health, I will just tag #fishmedic here, so the more experienced people can chime in.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi everyone, looking for help diagnosing my female clownfish before I start medication.
Tank: 29-gallon saltwater
Temp: 77°F
Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia: previously tested 0, although my most recent strip may show a trace
Tankmate: one smaller clownfish who is behaving normally and eating normally
The larger female developed noticeable swelling/bloating, particularly around the mid/upper body just behind the gill area.

Her eyes also appear more prominent than usual and there is some reddish discoloration around her face.

Yesterday she became lethargic and completely ignored mysis, which is normally her favorite food. At times she was staying in one spot/position rather than swimming around normally.

I also thought I saw the beginning of scales protruding slightly, but I'm not confident that it's true pineconing. She survived overnight and is still alive this morning.
The other clownfish has shown none of these symptoms and continues to eat normally.

Recent events: I scraped a significant amount of algae from the aquarium glass shortly before this and there was a lot of suspended algae/debris in the water. I also added additional filtration afterward.

I'm trying to determine whether this looks more consistent with:

bacterial/internal infection or septicemia
dropsy/fluid retention
popeye
constipation/GI issue
a gravid female carrying eggs
injury/inflammation
water-quality/environmental stress
something else entirely

I have not started KanaPlex or another medication yet because I'd really like opinions on the diagnosis before treating blindly.

What would you diagnose from the symptoms/photos, and what treatment would you recommend?

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

The video isn't super clear, but it looks like the affected clown is breathing fast as well. This implies some systemic problem. The trouble is, internal issues are notoriously difficult to diagnose and then treatments are even more difficult. Here is some text that I had written up regarding possible causes for this:

Causes of Abdominal Swelling in Fishes

This symptom presents as unusual swelling in the belly of a fish. As with many other disease symptoms, this itself is not an indication of any specific problem, but rather of a group of issues with different causes and outcomes. If some refinement of the general symptom is made, the cause can often be narrowed down.

1) Overfeeding. Some fish will gorge on food, causing a temporary distended abdomen. If the food being fed is flake or freeze dried food, the added air in the diet can cause to struggle to stay down in the water column. This can be seen where the fish bobs, swimming head-down trying to maintain their position in the water column. The way to rule this issue out is to not feed the fish for 24 to 36 hours. If the swelling reduces over that time, this was probably the cause. This is most commonly seen with swelling in the anterior portion of the abdomen, as that is where the fish’s stomach is. The swelling is bilaterally symmetrical and of sudden onset. If the fish is fasted for 24 hours and the symptoms resolves, that diagnoses it as overfeeding as opposed to the next issue.

2) Intestinal blockage. Related to above, in this case, there is a blockage somewhere in the fish’s digestive tract. This can be caused by the fish ingesting some food item that is too large, or by the fish swallowing some indigestible item such as sand or gravel. The swelling can range from mid-abdomen to the posterior, depending on where the blockage occurred. Often the swelling is bilaterally symmetrical, but can sometimes be more visible on one side than the other. Often called “constipation”, there are many “home remedies”. The two most common are; Epsom salts in the water and feeding the fish peas. Both of these are old freshwater remedies developed for fancy goldfish and do not apply to all fish, especially marine species.

3) Swelling from unreleased eggs. Only mature female fish can develop this condition. The swelling is in the posterior of the abdomen and is usually symmetrical side to side. Onset is more gradual, over a few days to weeks. In some instances, the fish’s vent is swollen (like a prolapse).

4) Edema. Fluid buildup in soft tissues, Often caused by a salinity drop (a salinity rise can actually cause a fish to become thinner as it desiccates). More serious causes include liver or kidney failure. The swelling is generalized in all soft tissues, and can develop over days to weeks. The fish’s abdomen will be swollen, but so will other tissues; eyes may protrude, the scales may rise (called dropsy in freshwater fish) and the vent may show a prolapse. If the issue stems from an osmotic imbalance, correcting that issue may provide some relief. However, if the root cause is organ failure, there is no long-term treatment.

5) Ascites. fluid buildup in the belly. This condition forms as a result of liver or kidney disease. In this case, there is free fluid that builds up in the peritoneal region of the abdomen. The swelling is symmetrical and the scales do not become raised. There is no treatment for this condition.

6) Tumors and abscesses. These tend to be asymmetrical, more evident on one side of the body than the other. They also tend to develop slowly over time, as the tumor or bacterial abscess grows. Tumors have no real treatment, but some people have had success in lancing abscesses (shallow ones only).

7) Rarely, internal parasites (often nematode worms) will cause abdominal swelling in certain species. Most internal parasites cause the opposite though - the fish becomes thinner, despite feeding well.