Mouth Rot in Clownfish?

[DJTJ]

My clownfish of 10 years is having a serious mouth infection/rot and I don’t know what to do. I had dosed ruby reef in the tank for four days but nothing seems to have changed. I plan on using an external 2.5 gallon tank just for kanaplex, but would this be an effective method at slowing the slough?

 

[fishguy242]

@Jay Hemdal

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Hey I'm not too sure what going on here.

*Congrats on winning the giveaway tho that brought me here lol*

Pic is blurry but it seems like it may be some sort of tumor?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My clownfish of 10 years is having a serious mouth infection/rot and I don’t know what to do. I had dosed ruby reef in the tank for four days but nothing seems to have changed. I plan on using an external 2.5 gallon tank just for kanaplex, but would this be an effective method at slowing the slough?

How long has this been there? If it developed slowly, over weeks, then it is a tumor. If it showed up in less than a week or so, it is more likely bacterial/fungal, Trouble is that the location may cause the clown to not feed properly. If you can manage the ammonia level in the 2.5, then yes, that would be the course I would take.

Jay

 

[Dark_Knightt]

How long has this been there? If it developed slowly, over weeks, then it is a tumor. If it showed up in less than a week or so, it is more likely bacterial/fungal, Trouble is that the location may cause the clown to not feed properly. If you can manage the ammonia level in the 2.5, then yes, that would be the course I would take.

Jay

@Jay Hemdal how would one treat a tumor on a fish?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

@Jay Hemdal how would one treat a tumor on a fish?

Sorry, there is no treatment for tumors in fish, just supportive care or eventually euthanasia. If it is an infection from bacteria, it may be able to be treated with antibiotics.
Jay

 

[DJTJ]

Update:
After a long, hard battle and treatment with kanaplex, my baby did not make it :( Even though he was eating flake food, I believe the infection overwhelmed him and caused him to pass during treatment. Thank you all for the help and advice, it really made me feel as if I was not fighting this battle alone. 2020 was full of bad luck, but hopefully 2021 can turn it around!

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Update:
After a long, hard battle and treatment with kanaplex, my baby did not make it :( Even though he was eating flake food, I believe the infection overwhelmed him and caused him to pass during treatment. Thank you all for the help and advice, it really made me feel as if I was not fighting this battle alone. 2020 was full of bad luck, but hopefully 2021 can turn it around!

Sorry to hear that, losing fish is hard. Best of luck to you, have fun with the new tank, which will make things much better dw

 

[tekknow]

I feel for ya. I just had my clownfish of 2 years die of the same thing. He was still swimming around when I isolated him in a 10 gal tank, with a treatment of Maracyn. He died within an hour. Maybe the stress of the transfer was the final straw.

 

[the weird one]

Up. This thread needs another look now. It really might be fungus real fungus

 

[Jlynn1001]

Up. This thread needs another look now. It really might be fungus real fungus

I have a clients fish battling something that looks similar and so far no body has been able to really give me an answer. Going to try and get a sample of it and look under on a microscope.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I have a clients fish battling something that looks similar and so far no body has been able to really give me an answer. Going to try and get a sample of it and look under on a microscope.

Yes - look for threads of material under the microscope. If you see that, it is a rare external fungus. Treatment would be 75 ppm one hour formalin baths (with good aeration) daily for 3 to 5 days. Use proper PPE when handling formalin though!

 

[the weird one]

I have a clients fish battling something that looks similar and so far no body has been able to really give me an answer. Going to try and get a sample of it and look under on a microscope.

I'm invested in this comment.

Also if it fungus, guys on humble fish say try melafix

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I'm invested in this comment.

Also if it fungus, guys on humble fish say try melafix

Melafix is an herbal tonic and really will be of little use if this is the rare fungal infection that I had mentioned.