Should I be concerned

dexfishguy · Feb 10, 2026

I bought this pair of black and white clown fish 10 days ago and everything seemed fine until yesterday when I noticed these white spots in one of the clowns. The behavior seems fine and he is eating well but worried this might be the start of brooklynella. Should I quarantine the fish or wait a few more days in case other symptoms arise. Thanks in advance for your help:)

vetteguy53081 · Feb 10, 2026

dexfishguy said:
I bought this pair of black and white clown fish 10 days ago and everything seemed fine until yesterday when I noticed these white spots in one of the clowns. The behavior seems fine and he is eating well but worried this might be the start of brooklynella. Should I quarantine the fish or wait a few more days in case other symptoms arise. Thanks in advance for your help:)

This is secondary bacterial lesions likely associated with brooklynella. Mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
Since a formalin solution is often not available for use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.