Strange White Spots During QT

[Farrun]

I have had these two clownfish in QT since the 23rd (7 days). They are very small, about 1.5" long. I started them off in 2.00 ppm Copper Power and raised it to 2.50 ppm a few hours after adding them. I have kept the concentration between 2.25-2.50 ppm the entire time.

On day two I started them on General Cure waited 48 hours (day 4) and gave them a second dose. Yesterday I did a 100% water change and put them back into water dosed with 2.50 ppm Copper Power.

Today upon inspecting them, I noticed that they have small white dots on them and one has a beige spot on the white stripe closest to his head. At first I thought it was ich, but now I'm leaning towards bacterial tufts since they have been in therapeutic copper the entire time and the spots seem to protrude from the body.

Interestingly, they seem to have it mostly on only one side. I used a net that I used for QT years ago (getting back into the hobby), and I'm wondering if it's possible that the got it from that?

I would love to get some opinions on what some of you more experienced fish keepers think it is, and what you think of the net theory. Thanks in advance!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

#fishmedic

 

[Sharkbait19]

I would say ich, but the time in copper doesn’t really add up.
I’d could be bacterial or it could be injuries from fighting for dominance. I would watch how it develops for now but be ready to treat with an antibiotic.
The purple/red patch looks like the “bruising” issue that has been popping up. We aren’t really sure what it is, just that it affects some clowns and (sometimes) goes away on its own.

 

[Farrun]

Thanks for the response Sharkbait! Ich was my first thought as well but it seems odd that it would show up this far into the copper treatment.

The purple/red bruising looks a lot better today. I purchased them out of a tank that had probably 100 of them all around the same size. I'm also wondering if there is some battling for dominance going on between them now that it's just the two of them.

I did notice today that the smaller (bruised) one was doing the submission wiggle to the other one today. So I'm hoping if that's the cause, then it will start to get better soon.

 

[Farrun]

They are looking a little worse today, starting to get some fin decay at the edges. I am going to add some Nitrofurazone to the tank to see if this is bacterial.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Can you post some updated pictures? If it has more of a tattered/random look, it’s likely damage. Bacterial is more consistent across.

 

[Farrun]

Sure!

 

[Sharkbait19]

It’s generally not advisable to mix copper and antibiotics. I do think there is a bacterial issue, so treating with nitro or kanaplex wouldn’t be a bad thing. If you do treat, you’d just have to stop and restart copper.

 

[Farrun]

Thanks for the advice. Since it's not advisable to mix antibiotics and copper, I'm going to give them a 30 minute Methylene Blue bath, sterilize their QT, and put them back in copper power after. Does that sound good?

 

[Sharkbait19]

You can give that a try and see if it helps. Ruby rally pro will also be an option.

 

[Farrun]

Good news! Yesterday I took them out of QT and put them in methylene blue bath at a concentration of 1 mil per gallon of saltwater with no other medications or additives. While they were in there I tore down the QT and sterilized the tank, the net, and all equipment with a 1:10 bleach solution. I rinsed everything well with RO water and set it back up with clean new salt water. I had to rush a little because 35 minutes is not a long time to get that done in. I also added prime to the tank (just in case) and re-dosed the tank with copper power.

I happy to report that they look MUCH better today! Thank you for all your help and suggestions! I'll report back if anything changes.

 

[Farrun]

Well unfortunately the saga continues... the little cone bumps are back. They've been back for five days but of course they're out of the QT and in the display tank :rolleyes:. I know I should have waited longer but every thing seemed to be going well.

Over the last 5 days, they seem to be developing more and more of the little cones which I believe to be mucus plugs. My display tank has been cycling for well over a month (I used dr tims ammonia and brightwell microbacter start xlm to cycle). Last time I checked the parameters they were 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 10 nitrate. I tested with water today and noticed I had no ammonia but my nitrites were now off the charts. I did a 75% water change and the nitrites were still off the charts (over 10ppm)??

The first time the cones appeared in the QT was right after I used water from my display to do a water change in the QT. So I'm wondering if I had super high nitrite then as well? I know it's debated whether nitrite is really that bad for marine fish or not. But it may make sense that the reason for the cones is because of stress related to the high nitrite and suppressed immune system from the copper, since it got better the first time immediately after I changed the water to freshly mixed salt water instead of water from my display tank.

It's also possible that my display tank has either a virus, bacteria or parasite. I did add a few snails, hermit crabs, and coral to the display tank at the same time I added the clowns to the QT.

I'm waiting to see if the water change makes a difference. If not I may try a rally pro bath to see if that helps. I just figured I would come back on here to update the thread incase someone in the future has the same symptoms. As well as to see if any of the people on here with more knowledge and experience than I do, would like to give me their take on what's going on. I appreciate all the help!

 

[Sharkbait19]

Are nitrite or nitrate elevated? Nitrite isn’t toxic in saltwater, but 10 would be high in any tank. High Nitrate is more of a chronic issue, but can still lead to adverse effects.
I think your water change and ruby rally plan is good.

 

[Farrun]

Both are high, but I know high nitrites can throw off nitrate tests so not really sure what the nitrate is at. Since the nitrite is still of the chart.

I'm going to try another large water change tomorrow to try to get it to some level that's measurable. I'm curious to see if the clowns will improve by doing water changes. If I see no improvement after tomorrow I will give them a ruby rally bath.

What time and dosage do you suggest? I have rally pro.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I would dose according to the bottle (1 Oz per 20 gallons) for 45 minutes.

With any antibiotic, it could take a few rounds before you see an effect.