Injured clown

[kstripp]

So a couple days ago when I feeding in the morning, I noticed a red spot on my clown. Looking more closely, it looked like a classic puncture wound. Bets are that it came from the tank bully - the long spine urchin.

Looking around the forums, we found this thread for a clown with a sore, where a few people recommended an acriflavine bath, followed with a treatment of Furan-2, Metroplex, and Kanaplex in QT. Problem - I had none of those meds (I know, I know... still pretty new at this) and the QT tank was in use already for bringing in some peppermint shrimp.

Fortunately the QT was only a couple days short of being finished, so ended QT a few days early (would have been this weekend) and I cleaned it out yesterday. Meds were ordered, and all but the acriflavine have arrived - the first step of the treatment plan.

So I was wondering if I should go ahead and put him in QT with the antibiotics, or if I should wait until the acriflavine arrives. That could be a couple more days though - shipping being what it is these days. Or should we start the antibiotics now, and do the acriflavine bath when it arrives, then resume the antibiotics?

He is still acting normal, still eating as usual. It looks like it may be healing, but the wound is still somewhat swollen.
Sorry no picture right now - I'll try and get one, but my skills there are pretty weak, and he likes to hang out where I can't get a clear view.

This is our first experience with an injured fish... any advice would be appreciated.

 

[fishguy242]

hang tight,for a few for expert advice,best wishes

 

[fishguy242]

@vetteguy53081 ,any thoughts or know who to summon, not sure if reef squad is appropriate at this point ,but option for,kstripp

 

[kstripp]

Okay, turned out to be a bit easier than I thought to get some photos, though they still aren't great.
Now if only I could upload them. It's telling me images under 500 kB are too big... not sure what's up with that, as I'm pretty sure I've uploaded larger before.

 

[fishguy242]

i might know someone who helped explain to me ,and greatly appreciated @Fin ??

 

[fishguy242]

may just want to summon reef squad ,too long no responses

 

[kstripp]

Huzzah! Seems to be a resolution issue, not just a file size issue. Scaled to 1620x1080, ~85% quality on export, and it worked this time.

 

[fishguy242]

from what i see ,maybe this will draw some attn,if looking better day by day ,do nothing,appears,to be a scrape all in all,fish looks healthy,if treated will weaken immune system,jmo,any worsening or not getting better then act on,again just my opinion!

 

[kstripp]

Thanks for your help and following along @fishguy242! Still think I should tag reef squad, or give it a bit longer?

 

[fishguy242]

is showing improvement??

 

[kstripp]

Well, we think it is looking a little better, but at the same time it is still inflamed. He might be sticking to his cave more than normal, though hard to be sure on that.

It doesn't show in those photos, but from the front the wound is swollen. It looks more like a puncture than a scrape or cut to us.

I think I'll follow your advice earlier - does anyone on #reefsquad have any advice please?

 

[vetteguy53081]

One nice thing in saltwater is the ability of fish to heal quickly from sores, injury and even disease.
For this case, as long as water quality is good, outcome should be positive. If you want, melafix will help this heal and eliminate any chance of bacteria.

 

[kstripp]

Thanks vetteguy53081!

If you want, melafix will help this heal and eliminate any chance of bacteria.

Hmm... well, melafix is not among the meds that arrived today, so it sound like "wait and see" may be the option.
Just out of curiosity, why melafix instead of the three (Furan-2 + Seachem Kanaplex + Metroplex) mentioned in the other thread?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks vetteguy53081!



Hmm... well, melafix is not among the meds that arrived today, so it sound like "wait and see" may be the option.
Just out of curiosity, why melafix instead of the three (Furan-2 + Seachem Kanaplex + Metroplex) mentioned in the other thread?

The three mentioned is more for Internal and protazoan Parasites and Anaerobic Bacterial Infections as well as fungal, and specific bacterial fish diseases such as dropsy, fin/tail rot, septicemica and Popeye which does not apply to what your fish has however kanacyn which is Kanamyacin would work as melafix does on the skin.

 

[kstripp]

Thanks @vetteguy53081, that makes sense.

It is hard to tell, but it looks like it might be slightly better today. If nothing else, it is not visibly worse.

 

[gabrieltackitt]

Definitely keep observing him closely! I wouldn’t begin any treatment unless the site gets bigger or more inflamed, or he starts acting more and more lethargic, less like normal, or any erratic behavior. Medications can be very helpful but like @vetteguy53081 said, saltwater fish heal fast and they have a rather robust immune system when it comes to things like this as long as water quality is good and they are well nourished.

 

[kstripp]

Definitely keep observing him closely! I wouldn’t begin any treatment unless the site gets bigger or more inflamed, or he starts acting more and more lethargic, less like normal, or any erratic behavior. Medications can be very helpful but like @vetteguy53081 said, saltwater fish heal fast and they have a rather robust immune system when it comes to things like this as long as water quality is good and they are well nourished.

Thanks, as newbies we aren't sure if we've been over or under reacting... so more experienced advice is quite welcome.

 

[gabrieltackitt]

That is quite literally what everyone here is for! To get advice on their tanks and to -hopefully- give out some of their own whenever possible.

Edited: Autocorrect.

 

[kstripp]

Looks like his wound is still on the mend. Definitely still there, but it still seems to be slowly fading.

 

[kstripp]

I realized I hadn't posted an update, but it looks like the injury has completely healed. Here is a picture from several days ago, and the wound can only barely be made out.

Thank you all for your help!