Something to worry about?

Adam113 · Mar 25, 2017

Never noticed this as my clowns swim so fast I never get close looks for a long period of time. Is this something to worry about? Acting normal. Active, eating as much as always (a lot). I had just stirred up some stuff on the rocks, maybe some white remnants stuck to him?

What else to look out for if it is something to be worried about?

sc50964 · Mar 25, 2017

If it's sand, it should come off rather quickly. If those are still there after a couple of hours, he may have ich. Does he scratch off the rocks? Does he breath hard? Is he more sensitive to lights?

Humblefish · Mar 25, 2017

^^ Good advice above. How long have you had this clownfish? Any recent additions, even corals/inverts?

TroutbumNV · Mar 25, 2017

Could be debris, could be ich, could be a scratch.
If it's otherwise acting normally, just keep monitoring it. A little extra garlic and vitamin c wouldn't hurt.

Adam113 · Mar 25, 2017

TroutbumNV said:
Could be debris, could be ich, could be a scratch.
If it's otherwise acting normally, just keep monitoring it. A little extra garlic and vitamin c wouldn't hurt.

sc50964 said:
If it's sand, it should come off rather quickly. If those are still there after a couple of hours, he may have ich. Does he scratch off the rocks? Does he breath hard? Is he more sensitive to lights?

Humblefish said:
^^ Good advice above. How long have you had this clownfish? Any recent additions, even corals/inverts?

TroutbumNV said:
Could be debris, could be ich, could be a scratch.
If it's otherwise acting normally, just keep monitoring it. A little extra garlic and vitamin c wouldn't hurt.

Thanks everyone. The clowns have been in the tank from early in. Five months or so. Always been the most active, and still are. Attack food, and are all over the tank.

I've recently added in the past two months a diamond Goby (last week), a hollyswood stunner chalice, and that's about it.

I'll check on him when I get home in an hour or so. I suppose I need to look up on dosing garlic? I've heard of it, but am new, and don't know much about it.

TroutbumNV · Mar 25, 2017

Adam113 said:
Thanks everyone. The clowns have been in the tank from early in. Five months or so. Always been the most active, and still are. Attack food, and are all over the tank.

I've recently added in the past two months a diamond Goby (last week), a hollyswood stunner chalice, and that's about it.

I'll check on him when I get home in an hour or so. I suppose I need to look up on dosing garlic? I've heard of it, but am new, and don't know much about it.

Just get some minced garlic from the store, take a small spoon or dropper, and add a few drops of the garlic juice to the food. Let it soak in the food for a few minutes before feeding. Same with vitamin c.
They make garlic and vitamin c specially for tanks, but it's fairly expensive. Doesn't need to be though [emoji6]

Adam113 · Mar 25, 2017

TroutbumNV said:
Just get some minced garlic from the store, take a small spoon or dropper, and add a few drops of the garlic juice to the food. Let it soak in the food for a few minutes before feeding. Same with vitamin c.
They make garlic and vitamin c specially for tanks, but it's fairly expensive. Doesn't need to be though [emoji6]

Well, that seems too easy, haha. Is this a treatment? Or more of a precautionary thing? Will this clear ich if caught soon enough?

Adam113 · Mar 25, 2017

TroutbumNV said:
Just get some minced garlic from the store, take a small spoon or dropper, and add a few drops of the garlic juice to the food. Let it soak in the food for a few minutes before feeding. Same with vitamin c.
They make garlic and vitamin c specially for tanks, but it's fairly expensive. Doesn't need to be though [emoji6]

Well, that seems too easy, haha. Is this a treatment? Or more of a precautionary thing? Will this clear ich if caught soon enough?

CarrieB · Mar 25, 2017

Adam113 said:
Well, that seems too easy, haha. Is this a treatment? Or more of a precautionary thing? Will this clear ich if caught soon enough?

No. It's like chicken soup for fish.

TroutbumNV · Mar 25, 2017

Adam113 said:
Well, that seems too easy, haha. Is this a treatment? Or more of a precautionary thing? Will this clear ich if caught soon enough?

Little bit of both. Vitamin c, same as in people. Boosts the immune system. I don't know how much actual evidence there is for garlic, but they say the ich parasites don't like it, and not as many will attach or stay attached as long to a fish that's been eating it. Plus it's a bit of a natural antibiotic and immune booster as well, and an appetite stimulant.
There's always two camps with ich, one that says pull and qt immediately, one that doesn't. I don't. If your water chemistry is good, and the fish are otherwise healthy, they should beat it on there own. My two clowns I got a month ago came down with it a bit, and I just did the garlic and vitamin c and they were fine within a week or so.
I also do the garlic and vitamin c for a week whenever I add something new.

TroutbumNV · Mar 25, 2017

I should add, if it stops eating, starts breathing heavy, starts scratching excessively, then yes, qt and medicate. But if it is ich, catching it this early, keeping water clean and good and doing the garlic and vitamin c should be good enough.

Roy 9121 · Mar 25, 2017

TroutbumNV said:
Little bit of both. Vitamin c, same as in people. Boosts the immune system. I don't know how much actual evidence there is for garlic, but they say the ich parasites don't like it, and not as many will attach or stay attached as long to a fish that's been eating it. Plus it's a bit of a natural antibiotic and immune booster as well, and an appetite stimulant.
There's always two camps with ich, one that says pull and qt immediately, one that doesn't. I don't. If your water chemistry is good, and the fish are otherwise healthy, they should beat it on there own. My two clowns I got a month ago came down with it a bit, and I just did the garlic and vitamin c and they were fine within a week or so.
I also do the garlic and vitamin c for a week whenever I add something new.

It's true, your healthy fish will beat the ich, but the ich will always be present in your tank. Then anytime a fish gets stressed it could be infected. The only way to eradicate ich from your tank is to remove all the fish for at least 76 days.

Zack K · Mar 25, 2017

Always remember. Worst case scenario it could be Velvet/Brook. Fingers crossed it's just debris

Adam113 · Mar 26, 2017

The spots seem to have almost disappeared. Soaked the food in garlic the past two days. Not sure if this did anything, but the spots are almost all gone.

CarrieB · Mar 26, 2017

Keep an eye on them. It's part of the ich lifecycle to fall off the fish.

Katrina71 · May 16, 2017

Adam113 said:
The spots seem to have almost disappeared. Soaked the food in garlic the past two days. Not sure if this did anything, but the spots are almost all gone.

So did your clown turn out to be ok?

Katrina71 · May 16, 2017

We got a little clown yesterday. He is tiny and has(I guess) a birth defect. One fin is tiny and the same side of his head looks a little odd. My son fell in love with him because he thought nobody else would love him. He swims like he has had too much caffeine all the time. I hope this is normal.