New to Saltwater and my Clownfish has white spots all over him

kiran

reef noob
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2021
Messages
513
Reaction score
537
Location
Monterey County
Rating - 0%
0   0   0


Hey guys,

So if you watch the video above I hope you're able to see the spots on my fish.

I have a QT tank that I'm setting up (I added turbo start to get it setup within a couple days.

I was going to add him tomorrow morning to the QT tank because I wasn't sure if 24h would be enough to get the QT tank started.

Now that I see the spots on him I'm kind of panicking. I dont know if I should throw him in the QT tank now (it'll only have been about 18 hours since I added the turbo start to the QT tank).

Any help would be appreciated. Should I throw him in the QT now? Should I get any medication to dose him with while he's in the QT tank?

Thanks everyone

Here's some pics that might be easier to see the spots:

Rvom5V0A.jpeg
OMxuUjgQ.jpeg
5Qhrau5g.jpeg



I don't want to jump to conclusions but could it possibly be ich?
 
Last edited:

Sharkbait19

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
10,849
Reaction score
13,294
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I can’t see anything in the video, but it sounds like you are describing ich.
All fish should be moved into qt and treated with copper. Tank must be in fallow for 76-90 days.
Should be fine to go into qt now.
 
OP
OP
kiran

kiran

reef noob
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2021
Messages
513
Reaction score
537
Location
Monterey County
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Was this clownfish quarantined before going in the display and what other reef inhabitants are in the same tank?
No I didn't have a QT tank setup till yesterday. There were 2 other inhabitants in the tank when I first introduced him. It was a Wyoming White Clownfish and a Tailspot Blenny. Both of them died yesterday and the only thing left in the tank is the Lightning Maroon Clownfish, a handful of inverts and a handful of corals.
 
OP
OP
kiran

kiran

reef noob
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2021
Messages
513
Reaction score
537
Location
Monterey County
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I can’t see anything in the video, but it sounds like you are describing ich.
All fish should be moved into qt and treated with copper. Tank must be in fallow for 76-90 days.
Should be fine to go into qt now.
I posted some pics in the original post. Not sure if they're any better.
 

Sharkbait19

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
10,849
Reaction score
13,294
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Unfortunately, by not doing qt before introducing new fish, you risk the introduction off all kinds of diseases…I learned this the hard way as many of us do.
Definitely move to qt, looks like ich to me.
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,288
Reaction score
25,190
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
No I didn't have a QT tank setup till yesterday. There were 2 other inhabitants in the tank when I first introduced him. It was a Wyoming White Clownfish and a Tailspot Blenny. Both of them died yesterday and the only thing left in the tank is the Lightning Maroon Clownfish, a handful of inverts and a handful of corals.
The video is really too dark to see much, but it looked like the clown was breathing fast/hard. In the still pics I can see spots, but they seem too large to be ich.

It is probably ich, but I can’t rule out velvet or even brooklynella.

I hate to be a “downer”, but once fish loss has begun due to parasites, it is very difficult, often impossible to stop the progression before additional losses.

Your fish’s best chance is to get them into full strength copper tonight. However, copper takes a few days to work and your clown doesn’t likely have that long, sorry.

Jay
 
OP
OP
kiran

kiran

reef noob
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2021
Messages
513
Reaction score
537
Location
Monterey County
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The video is really too dark to see much, but it looked like the clown was breathing fast/hard. In the still pics I can see spots, but they seem too large to be ich.

It is probably ich, but I can’t rule out velvet or even brooklynella.

I hate to be a “downer”, but once fish loss has begun due to parasites, it is very difficult, often impossible to stop the progression before additional losses.

Your fish’s best chance is to get them into full strength copper tonight. However, copper takes a few days to work and your clown doesn’t likely have that long, sorry.

Jay
Does this mean my DT is doomed and I have to start over with the tank? Even if I move the fish to QT?

Will my corals die off because of this?
 

Sharkbait19

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
10,849
Reaction score
13,294
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Either way your coral will be fine.
Ich, brook, or velvet all will only affect fish.
They can, however, live without a host for quite some time, with 90 days being the longest (for ich). The only way to eradicate the disease is to wait it out to starve and kill it. You can add fish back after the fallow, but make sure to quarantine all newcomers.
 
OP
OP
kiran

kiran

reef noob
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2021
Messages
513
Reaction score
537
Location
Monterey County
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Either way your coral will be fine.
Ich, brook, or velvet all will only affect fish.
They can, however, live without a host for quite some time, with 90 days being the longest (for ich). The only way to eradicate the disease is to wait it out to starve and kill it. You can add fish back after the fallow, but make sure to quarantine all newcomers.
I think I'm gonna hold off on getting anymore fish for the next few months. At least until my corals I feel are situated and thriving.
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,288
Reaction score
25,190
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Does this mean my DT is doomed and I have to start over with the tank? Even if I move the fish to QT?

Will my corals die off because of this?
No! This is a fish parasite only, harmless to your corals and other invertebrates.
Copper of course, is deadly to corals, so to clarify, you need to dose that in a quarantine tank, not your display.
If worse comes to worse and you lose all your fish, you’ll want to leave your tank fishless for 75 days, this assures that the parasite has died out due to no fish hosts being present.
Jay
 
OP
OP
kiran

kiran

reef noob
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2021
Messages
513
Reaction score
537
Location
Monterey County
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
No! This is a fish parasite only, harmless to your corals and other invertebrates.
Copper of course, is deadly to corals, so to clarify, you need to dose that in a quarantine tank, not your display.
If worse comes to worse and you lose all your fish, you’ll want to leave your tank fishless for 75 days, this assures that the parasite has died out due to no fish hosts being present.
Jay
Thanks for the help! I said in a previous post I'm going to be holding off on getting any new fish for the next 3-4 months and leave the tank coral only. Maybe March or April I'll start even considering it.

Right now I only have PVC in my QT tank. I've blacked out all the sides and bottom with vinyl. Looking at my clown he doesn't seem to great and I'm reserved to the fact he might not make it. I'll definitely be QTing any fish I get moving forward. This was a tough lesson to learn.

I've also attached a more bright and clear (hopefully) video.



EDIT: Forgot to mention that I had put brand new Marco rock that I bought from BRS. I ended up pulling it out and just putting a piece of PVC. The only thing I'm concerned about is will my beneficial bacteria have anything to grow on? My filter has a small biological media thing in it but it's a little small and not sure if it's good enough. The tanks only a 10 gallon QT tank and I'll only be QTing 1 fish at a time.
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,288
Reaction score
25,190
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks for the help! I said in a previous post I'm going to be holding off on getting any new fish for the next 3-4 months and leave the tank coral only. Maybe March or April I'll start even considering it.

Right now I only have PVC in my QT tank. I've blacked out all the sides and bottom with vinyl. Looking at my clown he doesn't seem to great and I'm reserved to the fact he might not make it. I'll definitely be QTing any fish I get moving forward. This was a tough lesson to learn.

I've also attached a more bright and clear (hopefully) video.



EDIT: Forgot to mention that I had put brand new Marco rock that I bought from BRS. I ended up pulling it out and just putting a piece of PVC. The only thing I'm concerned about is will my beneficial bacteria have anything to grow on? My filter has a small biological media thing in it but it's a little small and not sure if it's good enough. The tanks only a 10 gallon QT tank and I'll only be QTing 1 fish at a time.

So now things get more confusing - in watching the new video, I cannot rule out that the fish doesn’t have brooklynella. The issue is, copper doesn’t work against brooklynella, you would need formalin or ruby reef rally pro for that. So - since I can’t give you a definitive diagnosis, I can’t really tell you which treatment to try….
Jay
 
OP
OP
kiran

kiran

reef noob
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2021
Messages
513
Reaction score
537
Location
Monterey County
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So now things get more confusing - in watching the new video, I cannot rule out that the fish doesn’t have brooklynella. The issue is, copper doesn’t work against brooklynella, you would need formalin or ruby reef rally pro for that. So - since I can’t give you a definitive diagnosis, I can’t really tell you which treatment to try….
Jay
I'm acclimating the fish to the QT tank right now.

Salinity, temp and pH are all the same as the DT.

I'm going to continue watching him, but I don't know if he's gonna make it tbh. I don't know if my LFS even has any of those medications in stock, but I'll check them out anyway. If he's still going tomorrow I'll post some more pictures.

Here's one more video of him in a more clear setting. Might be easier to see the spots on a phone instead of PC?:
 

Jay Hemdal

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
25,288
Reaction score
25,190
Location
Dundee, MI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm acclimating the fish to the QT tank right now.

Salinity, temp and pH are all the same as the DT.

I'm going to continue watching him, but I don't know if he's gonna make it tbh. I don't know if my LFS even has any of those medications in stock, but I'll check them out anyway. If he's still going tomorrow I'll post some more pictures.

Here's one more video of him in a more clear setting. Might be easier to see the spots on a phone instead of PC?:


Sorry - the rippling surface of the water and the pattern of the countertop makes it too difficult to see anything. I know getting good video of fish is tough, but I hate to guess at what I think I'm seeing.....

Jay
 

jmichaelh7

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 29, 2020
Messages
3,853
Reaction score
1,959
Location
Hanford ca
Rating - 0%
0   1   0
Another one bites the dust….

How can we stop killing fish in this hobby? Simple. Everyone get educated on the Quarantine process , and complete it successfully when first starting.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 73 51.8%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 72 51.1%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 36 25.5%
  • None.

    Votes: 31 22.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.4%
Back
Top