Red Mark on Clownfish Head

[dfults]

I am pretty new saltwater aquariums. I have had some freshwater tanks in the past but I have just recently decided to set up a saltwater tank. I currently have 2 clownfish in a 20 gal QT tank. I have been checking for ammonia daily, and levels have not risen over 0.25. I have been doing 50% water changes as need to keep ammonia low. They have been in QT for exactly 2 weeks now, and when I went to look at them today I noticed one of them had a noticeable red mark on its head that was not there previously. The other clownfish in the tank is a little larger than this one. I have seen the larger one nip at the smaller, but never right on top of its head, and there are no other red marks that I can see. My first thought after looking through some threads is that it is a bacterial issue, so I was planning on using some kanaplex to rule that out. I have also seen that red marks can randomly appear on clownfish and no ones really sure why. I would just be interested to hear what others think and I would definitely accept any advice. I have included a link to a video I took and some pictures of what he looks like now, and the second picture is what he looked like 2 weeks ago when I first put him in the QT tank.Thanks in advance.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

#fishmedic

 

[Sharkbait19]

Welcome to the forum!
Hard to tell in the picture, but this does look like the bruising issue that we’ve been seeing. Like you mentioned, we don’t really know why it shows up or how to treat it, just that sometimes it goes away and sometimes it doesn’t.
You can try the antibiotic and see if it works.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I am pretty new saltwater aquariums. I have had some freshwater tanks in the past but I have just recently decided to set up a saltwater tank. I currently have 2 clownfish in a 20 gal QT tank. I have been checking for ammonia daily, and levels have not risen over 0.25. I have been doing 50% water changes as need to keep ammonia low. They have been in QT for exactly 2 weeks now, and when I went to look at them today I noticed one of them had a noticeable red mark on its head that was not there previously. The other clownfish in the tank is a little larger than this one. I have seen the larger one nip at the smaller, but never right on top of its head, and there are no other red marks that I can see. My first thought after looking through some threads is that it is a bacterial issue, so I was planning on using some kanaplex to rule that out. I have also seen that red marks can randomly appear on clownfish and no ones really sure why. I would just be interested to hear what others think and I would definitely accept any advice. I have included a link to a video I took and some pictures of what he looks like now, and the second picture is what he looked like 2 weeks ago when I first put him in the QT tank.Thanks in advance.

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Yes, that does look like the “clownfish bruising” issue. Since the cause isn’t known, neither is any prospective treatment, sorry! Sometimes it goes away on its own, but in other cases, the fish gets worse and dies.

 

[dfults]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Yes, that does look like the “clownfish bruising” issue. Since the cause isn’t known, neither is any prospective treatment, sorry! Sometimes it goes away on its own, but in other cases, the fish gets worse and dies.

Thank you for the reply. I just gave the last dose of kanaplex last night and the redness doesn't really look much better (not that I was really thinking it would). I am just curious now if there is anything else I should treat for before I assume this is just caused by this mysterious "bruising" issue before adding the fish to my DT? Next Friday will be exactly 4 weeks of QT, so my plan would be to move the fish over then as long as there is nothing else to treat for. Thanks again.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thank you for the reply. I just gave the last dose of kanaplex last night and the redness doesn't really look much better (not that I was really thinking it would). I am just curious now if there is anything else I should treat for before I assume this is just caused by this mysterious "bruising" issue before adding the fish to my DT? Next Friday will be exactly 4 weeks of QT, so my plan would be to move the fish over then as long as there is nothing else to treat for. Thanks again.

I found the original thread about the clownfish bruising issue:

Clownfish bruising/lesion?

All, Over the past two years or so, I've come across dozens of cases on the fish disease forum here of an issue with clownfish that we have not been able to identify. I've never seen it on any clownfish I've had myself, but the issue seems most common on designer clowns, which I don't work...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[dfults]

I found the original thread about the clownfish bruising issue:

Clownfish bruising/lesion?

All, Over the past two years or so, I've come across dozens of cases on the fish disease forum here of an issue with clownfish that we have not been able to identify. I've never seen it on any clownfish I've had myself, but the issue seems most common on designer clowns, which I don't work...

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks for sending that, the red spot on my fish's head looks very similar to those in the pictures. Since my last post, I have also treated both fish with API General Cure. Again, nothing really seems to have changed. It has been two weeks since I initially noticed the red mark, and both fish are still very active and eating. I haven't noticed any red marks appear on the other fish. Since it doesn't seem to be anything contagious, I am planning on putting both fish into my DT this week. I will try to update this thread when/if anything changes with the "bruise". Thanks again for the responses.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for sending that, the red spot on my fish's head looks very similar to those in the pictures. Since my last post, I have also treated both fish with API General Cure. Again, nothing really seems to have changed. It has been two weeks since I initially noticed the red mark, and both fish are still very active and eating. I haven't noticed any red marks appear on the other fish. Since it doesn't seem to be anything contagious, I am planning on putting both fish into my DT this week. I will try to update this thread when/if anything changes with the "bruise". Thanks again for the responses.

General Cure works well for flukes and some protozoans. Trouble is, we don't think that this "bruising" is caused by either of those two issues. Hopefully, your clown is one of those that just "gets better" on it own!

I don't think that the issue is contagious to other fish, even other clownfish......

 

[dfults]

General Cure works well for flukes and some protozoans. Trouble is, we don't think that this "bruising" is caused by either of those two issues. Hopefully, your clown is one of those that just "gets better" on it own!

I don't think that the issue is contagious to other fish, even other clownfish......

Hi, I am just providing an update. The fish have been in my DT since my last post and they are both very active and eating a lot. However the “bruise” on my clownfish seems to be progressively getting worse. I have included some updated pictures of him. The pictures are not the best but hopefully you can see them. The best way I can describe it is the pattern/colors on the fish look like they are being smeared. Not sure if anyone has seen this with the bruising issue or if there is something else that could be causing it.

 

[dfults]

Thanks for sending that, the red spot on my fish's head looks very similar to those in the pictures. Since my last post, I have also treated both fish with API General Cure. Again, nothing really seems to have changed. It has been two weeks since I initially noticed the red mark, and both fish are still very active and eating. I haven't noticed any red marks appear on the other fish. Since it doesn't seem to be anything contagious, I am planning on putting both fish into my DT this week. I will try to update this thread when/if anything changes with the "bruise". Thanks again for the responses.

General Cure works well for flukes and some protozoans. Trouble is, we don't think that this "bruising" is caused by either of those two issues. Hopefully, your clown is one of those that just "gets better" on it own!

I don't think that the issue is contagious to other fish, even other clownfish......

The more that I read, it is starting to sound like this could be brook. I’ve never noticed a thick slime coat on him, except for today it kind of looks like he is developing one. He also hasn’t had any loss of appetite or become lethargic. Should I pull him out of the tank and treat for brook? Should I go ahead and treat the other clownfish the same? He still isn’t showing any symptoms, but they have been together for the past month and a half. I am also curious what I should do about my tank, I don’t have any other fish in there but if it is brook, what do I need to do to make sure that any other fish that get added to it don’t contract it as well?

#fishmedic

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The more that I read, it is starting to sound like this could be brook. I’ve never noticed a thick slime coat on him, except for today it kind of looks like he is developing one. He also hasn’t had any loss of appetite or become lethargic. Should I pull him out of the tank and treat for brook? Should I go ahead and treat the other clownfish the same? He still isn’t showing any symptoms, but they have been together for the past month and a half. I am also curious what I should do about my tank, I don’t have any other fish in there but if it is brook, what do I need to do to make sure that any other fish that get added to it don’t contract it as well?

#fishmedic

It doesn’t look like Brook to me, but the pics are pretty blue to see clearly. Can you try for some new ones under white light?

In Brook, you’ll see the white mucus on the body and fins, the fish will go off feed and start to swim oddly. It is also contagious to other clowns.

Your fish shows the bruising issue, but I don’t see signs of Brook.

 

[dfults]

It doesn’t look like Brook to me, but the pics are pretty blue to see clearly. Can you try for some new ones under white light?

In Brook, you’ll see the white mucus on the body and fins, the fish will go off feed and start to swim oddly. It is also contagious to other clowns.

Your fish shows the bruising issue, but I don’t see signs of Brook

Here’s the best pictures I could get under some white light. I took a video too that will post here for you to take a look at as well.

 

[dfults]

Here's that video. You can see him eating in this.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Here's that video. You can see him eating in this.

I’m still not seeing Brook here, but the pale area doesn’t look like the typical bruising cases I’ve seen.

 

[dfults]

I’m still not seeing Brook here, but the pale area doesn’t look like the typical bruising cases I’ve seen.

Okay, thanks for the reply. It definitely makes me feel better that you are not seeing Brook. I will continue to monitor both fish and hopefully it doesn't get any worse.