HELP! Clownfish with white around mouth!

[JawaReef]

Hi All,
I noticed my frostbite clown with his mouth open yesterday and a little white stuff inside his mouth. I put him into a floater QT box in my main display so I could observe him. Today it got a whole lot worse. What ever it is, seems to have massively spread around is face/mouth. Although he eat yesterday, I haven't seen him eat today. I feed "New Life Spectrum Thera+A pellets. Yesterday his poop was white, buy today it looks normal brown (from what I can tell). Here is a pic from yesterday and another from today.
My tank has been running for about for 2 months. I added four clowns in a just over a week and a half ago. Two black and white, two Frostbite. I do not have any coral or other fish in the tank. Nitrates are low and low to no ammonia. Before I added them to the tank, I drip acclimated and used "Safety Stop". At the moment I am putting together a QT tank, just in case I need to remove him from the main display.

 

[Cell]

Fungal infection? Going to need some expert help. @HotRocks @reefsquad

 

[reef lover]

Not sure what ails him...but this covers most infections....

Dosing the trifecta

I'm going to link this in Bobby's antibiotics write-up for ease of access. Dosing Furan-2, KanaPlex, and Metroplex.... Make sure you dissolve the powders in a bowl of tank water before pouring it in! I'd recommend dosing one at a time, waiting a few minutes between each medication. If you've...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Bleigh]

4 clownfish? How big is the tank? Could they have fought?

 

[reef lover]

good catch on the 4 clowns...

 

[motortrendz]

Looks like its covering his face too. Maybe velvet??

 

[LadyMac]

In freshwater fish we get Columnaris, it’s a gram negative bacterial infection usually covering the mouth. I’m not sure if marine fish get that but it looks the same. I’m still learning diseases with marine fishes. If it is, erithromycin is what we usually treat it with.

*EDIT* I just read it’s a freshwater only ailment so that’s good. I think the above link would be your best bet. Good luck with him, he’s a beautiful fish.

 

[JawaReef]

4 clownfish? How big is the tank? Could they have fought?

I had added all four clowns at the same time, there was a little aggression during acclimation, but since they were in the tank, I haven't seen anything worrisome. But about an hour after I posted the last pic, the clown passed away... From what I've heard since I made some posts, it looks like it could have been brooklynella. it knocked him out in about a day or so. Very quick, which makes that disease fit.

 

[Bleigh]

Brook is fast. Typically they’re super gross before they die. It causes an extreme over production of mucous. I’m sure it can present in different ways. When clown fish fight, they lock jaws. Very well could have sustained an injury and let in a pathogen more quickly than it otherwise would. How big is the tank? I hear it is super difficult to keep more than a pair of clowns cause they kill each other, but I’ve never actually tried.

 

[JawaReef]

Brook is fast. Typically they’re super gross before they die. It causes an extreme over production of mucous. I’m sure it can present in different ways. When clown fish fight, they lock jaws. Very well could have sustained an injury and let in a pathogen more quickly than it otherwise would. How big is the tank? I hear it is super difficult to keep more than a pair of clowns cause they kill each other, but I’ve never actually tried.

I have a 130 gal tank. A good amount of aquascape for hiding places, but they seem to just stick right to the glass. Yeah, I heard it was difficult to keep more than two, but it is possible to keep more if all were added at the same time. Just depends, I thought I would give it a try. Looking like bad luck here. It might of actually been a wound, I haven't seen anything on the other fish yet (knock on wood). I'm New to the reefing community, there is always a learning curve.

 

[Bleigh]

I have a 130 gal tank. A good amount of aquascape for hiding places, but they seem to just stick right to the glass. Yeah, I heard it was difficult to keep more than two, but it is possible to keep more if all were added at the same time. Just depends, I thought I would give it a try. Looking like bad luck here. It might of actually been a wound, I haven't seen anything on the other fish yet (knock on wood). I'm New to the reefing community, there is always a learning curve.

This is a good place to start reducing that learning curve. I only started my first reef tank in January. Do you know if all the clownfish were from the same clutch? I think that may go a long way in keeping them peaceful, beyond just adding them at the same time.

How is your fishy doing now? fingers crossed!

 

[JawaReef]

This is a good place to start reducing that learning curve. I only started my first reef tank in January. Do you know if all the clownfish were from the same clutch? I think that may go a long way in keeping them peaceful, beyond just adding them at the same time.

How is your fishy doing now? fingers crossed!

No, they are from two different batches, but so far, I haven't seen anything on the other clowns. Sometimes they swim together, more of the times they swim apart. The two black and whites look bonded, they are always near each other. The frostbite is lonely now... She just swims by herself mostly. They seem to all be eating good. I have my QT up now. I am just debating if it is worth putting them in there and treat them. But that might just give them more stress. So I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Bleigh]

No, they are from two different batches, but so far, I haven't seen anything on the other clowns. Sometimes they swim together, more of the times they swim apart. The two black and whites look bonded, they are always near each other. The frostbite is lonely now... She just swims by herself mostly. They seem to all be eating good. I have my QT up now. I am just debating if it is worth putting them in there and treat them. But that might just give them more stress. So I'm not sure what to do.

That is hard.

Better hope the frostbite is actually a boy. The other two will likely batter him around a little, but as long as he stays submissive and doesn’t start maturing, things should be fine, I would think.

Fingers crossed that it was an injury and not brook. Brook is fast and super contagious.

 

[JawaReef]

Time will tell! Fingers are crossed!