Is my royal gramma ok?

[ReeferGrant]

My royal gramma, Donut, has been hiding behind my heater for the past few days and hasn’t been acting normal at all. At first I thought it was something minor but when he didn’t come out for food today I decided to take a closer look and I noticed these marks on his face. Is this some sort of infection? Can I treat it if I move him to a separate tank?

Parameters:
Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 40 ppm
pH: 8.0
DKH: 10
Calcium: 400

Inhabitants:
1 oscellaris clown
1 firefish
1 diamond goby
1 green banded goby (somewhere, probably)
1 peppermint shrimp
1 pincushion urchin
4 nassarius
2 astrea
2 chestnut cowries
2 conchs (can’t remember what kind)
1 frogspawn
2 zoa colonies
1 torch

Some more information that could be relevant:
None of my other fish have had any weird symptoms. The only other problem child has been my frogspawn who every couple of days decides to keep its tentacles retracted for most of the day for some reason.

Also yes I know my heater and back wall are gross, I like to keep my cowries fed so I leave one wall as my dedicated algae wall and they usually really like cleaning the heater off too.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My royal gramma, Donut, has been hiding behind my heater for the past few days and hasn’t been acting normal at all. At first I thought it was something minor but when he didn’t come out for food today I decided to take a closer look and I noticed these marks on his face. Is this some sort of infection? Can I treat it if I move him to a separate tank?

Parameters:
Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 40 ppm
pH: 8.0
DKH: 10
Calcium: 400

Inhabitants:
1 oscellaris clown
1 firefish
1 diamond goby
1 green banded goby (somewhere, probably)
1 peppermint shrimp
1 pincushion urchin
4 nassarius
2 astrea
2 chestnut cowries
2 conchs (can’t remember what kind)
1 frogspawn
2 zoa colonies
1 torch

Some more information that could be relevant:
None of my other fish have had any weird symptoms. The only other problem child has been my frogspawn who every couple of days decides to keep its tentacles retracted for most of the day for some reason.

Also yes I know my heater and back wall are gross, I like to keep my cowries fed so I leave one wall as my dedicated algae wall and they usually really like cleaning the heater off too.

Any help is appreciated!

How long have you had the gramma?
Is it breathing fast? If you can’t tell, you can post a video and I can tell for you.

The marks on the face are a mix of enlarged lateral line pores and some possible minor injuries. I don’t see them as being severe enough to cause the fish to stop eating.

 

[ReeferGrant]

My royal gramma, Donut, has been hiding behind my heater for the past few days and hasn’t been acting normal at all. At first I thought it was something minor but when he didn’t come out for food today I decided to take a closer look and I noticed these marks on his face. Is this some sort of infection? Can I treat it if I move him to a separate tank?

Parameters:
Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 40 ppm
pH: 8.0
DKH: 10
Calcium: 400

Inhabitants:
1 oscellaris clown
1 firefish
1 diamond goby
1 green banded goby (somewhere, probably)
1 peppermint shrimp
1 pincushion urchin
4 nassarius
2 astrea
2 chestnut cowries
2 conchs (can’t remember what kind)
1 frogspawn
2 zoa colonies
1 torch

Some more information that could be relevant:
None of my other fish have had any weird symptoms. The only other problem child has been my frogspawn who every couple of days decides to keep its tentacles retracted for most of the day for some reason.

Also yes I know my heater and back wall are gross, I like to keep my cowries fed so I leave one wall as my dedicated algae wall and they usually really like cleaning the heater off too.

Any help is appreciated!

How long have you had the gramma?
Is it breathing fast? If you can’t tell, you can post a video and I can tell for you.

The marks on the face are a mix of enlarged lateral line pores and some possible minor injuries. I don’t see them as being severe enough to cause the fish to stop eating.

Yes he is breathing fast. I’ve probably had him about a month.

 

[jabberwock]

It looks skinny. How big is the tank? How much and what are you feeding?

 

[ReeferGrant]

It looks skinny. How big is the tank? How much and what are you feeding?

It’s a 20 gallon long. I feed a pinch of pellets in the morning and a third cube of marine cuisine’s mysis, krill, and spirulina mix at night

 

[jabberwock]

It’s a 20 gallon long. I feed a pinch of pellets in the morning and a third cube of marine cuisine’s mysis, krill, and spirulina mix at night

I am going to guess that there is some clownfish aggression contributing to this behavior.

 

[ReeferGrant]

It’s a 20 gallon long. I feed a pinch of pellets in the morning and a third cube of marine cuisine’s mysis, krill, and spirulina mix at night

I am going to guess that there is some clownfish aggression contributing to this behavior.

I haven’t noticed any aggression tho, they usually swim around together during the day but sleep on opposite ends of the tank at night. I’ll keep a closer eye on it now tho because the heater is near the clown’s corner

 

[vetteguy53081]

I believe intimidation and clowns are on their best behavior in your presence and as soon as you walk away, the devil in them is released. This generally happens moreso at feeding time

 

[ReeferGrant]

I believe intimidation and clowns are on their best behavior in your presence and as soon as you walk away, the devil in them is released. This generally happens moreso at feeding time

I suppose it’s possible, I just thought the gramma would’ve preferred hiding down in the rocks rather than behind the heater right next to the clown’s corner in that case. When I feed tonight I’m gonna keep a close eye on them both

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My royal gramma, Donut, has been hiding behind my heater for the past few days and hasn’t been acting normal at all. At first I thought it was something minor but when he didn’t come out for food today I decided to take a closer look and I noticed these marks on his face. Is this some sort of infection? Can I treat it if I move him to a separate tank?

Parameters:
Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 40 ppm
pH: 8.0
DKH: 10
Calcium: 400

Inhabitants:
1 oscellaris clown
1 firefish
1 diamond goby
1 green banded goby (somewhere, probably)
1 peppermint shrimp
1 pincushion urchin
4 nassarius
2 astrea
2 chestnut cowries
2 conchs (can’t remember what kind)
1 frogspawn
2 zoa colonies
1 torch

Some more information that could be relevant:
None of my other fish have had any weird symptoms. The only other problem child has been my frogspawn who every couple of days decides to keep its tentacles retracted for most of the day for some reason.

Also yes I know my heater and back wall are gross, I like to keep my cowries fed so I leave one wall as my dedicated algae wall and they usually really like cleaning the heater off too.

Any help is appreciated!

How long have you had the gramma?
Is it breathing fast? If you can’t tell, you can post a video and I can tell for you.

The marks on the face are a mix of enlarged lateral line pores and some possible minor injuries. I don’t see them as being severe enough to cause the fish to stop eating.

Yes he is breathing fast. I’ve probably had him about a month.

Royal grammas are notorious for developing gill and/or skin flukes. The rapid breathing can be a symptom of that. The timeline matches up also.

You might consider treating the tank with praziquantel.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I suppose it’s possible, I just thought the gramma would’ve preferred hiding down in the rocks rather than behind the heater right next to the clown’s corner in that case. When I feed tonight I’m gonna keep a close eye on them both

Heater and rocks are known areas but often when intimidated will take cover where it feels safe and prazi is fine with coral, etc but may have impact on bristeworms and feather dusters if present

 

[W31Olds]

Grammas feel secure when they hide in holes crevices in the rockwork. Mine will sometimes go into a hole that you would never believe a fish could get into. Very small holes that other fish like clowns would not go in.

 

[ReeferGrant]

Here is a little update:

I believe Jay was right about the skin/gill flukes. I was home and near my tank all day and saw no signs of aggression from any tank mates even during feeding time. I took the time to feed him separately while the others were busy but he wasn’t interested in the slightest. After lights out, I found my royal gramma lying on the sand bed out in the open. He was alive, but barely. I had a feeling he wouldn’t survive the night so I decided to try a freshwater since I had no medicine. During the freshwater dip, some red things fell out of his gills/off of his skin, and when I put him back in he swam down to his normal cave. Unfortunately, this morning I found him dead on the sand bed. I guess now I know what to look for and in the future I will keep a quarantine/hospital tank up and running at all times and keep some medicines on hand. Thank you all for your help.