What are these on my Clownfish?

[CrazyDuck959]

Hello everyone,

I recently got 2 Clownfish for my saltwater fish tank. And its been about 5 days since I got them and this morning the fish looked fine. But as soon as I got back from school today I saw some bizarre white spots/splotches on one of them. I’m guessing its Ich but I’m not 100% sure. They were not eating first 1-2ish days of being added but have been fine for the past few days and eating well. Only one of them has it and that one has tended to stay towards the top of the water column. As I have said in previous posts Im experienced in freshwater fish tanks but Saltwater is quite new to me. I have dealt with Ich in freshwater aquariums before but never Saltwater. And Im not 100% it’s Ich.

Anybody able to help confirm it for me? And help me with potential treatment methods?

 

[rmorris_14]

I could be Ich. I think it typically begins on the fins because there is less mucus coat there. It might be something else though. I would post a short video if you can so others can see how it is swimming, the respiration rate etc. are the any spots on the body?
Here is link to treatment options based off the diagnoses, so you can start researching some medications you might want to have one hand if it does end up needing treatement.

Treatment Options Index

This thread contains links to useful treatment options. Please click on the blue links below for more info. :) Treatment Options 102 provides a brief rundown of most medications & treatments. Acriflavine is a first aid antiseptic. Antibiotics treats bacterial infections. Chloroquine...

www.reef2reef.com

I'll be hoping for a positive outcome!

 

[CrazyDuck959]

No spots on the body, but here is a video.

Let me know if this is not loading.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Any aggression between them? Flashing against rocks? Swimming into flow?
@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081
Ich is definitely a possibility, let’s wait for the experts to chime in though. The timetable definitely checks out.
Whatever it is, you likely will have to have a qt tank setup and treat them in that.
One option is to do a freshwater dip and see if anything comes off - that may help to determine/rule out various parasites. Also it provides temporary relief.

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Any aggression between them? Flashing against rocks? Swimming into flow?
@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081
Ich is definitely a possibility, let’s wait for the experts to chime in though. The timetable definitely checks out.
Whatever it is, you likely will have to have a qt tank setup and treat them in that.
One option is to do a freshwater dip and see if anything comes off - that may help to determine/rule out various parasites. Also it provides temporary relief.

No aggression that I have noticed, and I have not noticed them flashing against the rocks either. But I have noticed them swimming into the flow. I definitely could setup a qt tank and do a freshwater dip. But I’m not exactly sure what to do to eradicate the Ich from the main tank. Any ideas?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Swimming into the flow can be indicative of velvet - much worse than ich. Both can be treated in qt using copper (cupramine or coppersafe are recommended). The two can look similar.
In the dt, all you have to do is keep it fishless for 45 days (though longer up to 76-90 is even better) to starve out the parasites, as their life cycle depends on fish.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

No spots on the body, but here is a video.

Let me know if this is not loading.

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Sorry, I couldn't get the video to load. Hosting it on YouTube might work better.

From the picture, it could be ich, but the spots are a bit large/diffuse (but that could be a result of the focus of the shot).
What other animals are in the tank?
The clown hanging near the surface may be threatened by the other one, clowns often fight.
What are the tank water quality parameters?

Jay

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Swimming into the flow can be indicative of velvet - much worse than ich. Both can be treated in qt using copper (cupramine or coppersafe are recommended). The two can look similar.
In the dt, all you have to do is keep it fishless for 45 days (though longer up to 76-90 is even better) to starve out the parasites, as their life cycle depends on fish.

Where can I get this copper stuff? Also darn about the 45 to 90 days. Just got the tank cycled fully now I gotta deal with this , should the fish stay in the QT tank for the whole duration of keeping fish out of the DT?

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Sorry, I couldn't get the video to load. Hosting it on YouTube might work better.

From the picture, it could be ich, but the spots are a bit large/diffuse (but that could be a result of the focus of the shot).
What other animals are in the tank?
The clown hanging near the surface may be threatened by the other one, clowns often fight.
What are the tank water quality parameters?

Jay

Yeah gimme a couple hours and I will post a video on YouTube. I have not tested my water recently but I will test it and let you know the parameters when I get home. And with aggression I have not noticed it at all. And there are only 2 clownfish. And only one of the clownfish has it. Which is what I am confused about. Also anything specific I should do for velvet?

 

[rmorris_14]

Where can I get this copper stuff? Also darn about the 45 to 90 days. Just got the tank cycled fully now I gotta deal with this , should the fish stay in the QT tank for the whole duration of keeping fish out of the DT?

45. days should be good if you keep your tank temp consistently at 81 degrees. if it drops below 80.6 at any point during that, you should go with the longer timeline like 76 days. The fish have to remain in the QT the entire time so that the parasites in the DT don't have a host to start the cycle all over again. Inverts and corals are ok to remain. once you are through this, you should consider quarantining all new fish yourself or purchase quarantined fish before putting them in the DT., otherwise, you run the risk of being in this situation all over again.

 

[CrazyDuck959]

45. days should be good if you keep your tank temp consistently at 81 degrees. if it drops below 80.6 at any point during that, you should go with the longer timeline like 76 days. The fish have to remain in the QT the entire time so that the parasites in the DT don't have a host to start the cycle all over again. Inverts and corals are ok to remain. once you are through this, you should consider quarantining all new fish yourself or purchase quarantined fish before putting them in the DT., otherwise, you run the risk of being in this situation all over again.

Alright, yeah this is a learning experience for me. Any way one of you could walk me through the steps of doing this?

 

[rmorris_14]

Alright, yeah this is a learning experience for me. Any way one of you could walk me through the steps of doing this?

I have experience with quarantine procedures but not treating fish with disease. Sorry, I’ll leave that to Jay. He knows all

 

[CrazyDuck959]

I have experience with quarantine procedures but not treating fish with disease. Sorry, I’ll leave that to Jay. He knows all

Alright! Thanks for your help also!

 

[Unitylover]

IMO it looks like ick

 

[rmorris_14]

just one more word of advice. if you end up treating the fish with copper, you need to invest in a good Hanna copper test kit so you can make sure you are accurately maintaining the therapeutic levels

 

[Sharkbait19]

Copper can be purchased at the pet store, lfs, Amazon, etc.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Yeah gimme a couple hours and I will post a video on YouTube. I have not tested my water recently but I will test it and let you know the parameters when I get home. And with aggression I have not noticed it at all. And there are only 2 clownfish. And only one of the clownfish has it. Which is what I am confused about. Also anything specific I should do for velvet?

Velvet needs to be dealt with fast. You may just see rapid breathing and then fish loss within 48 hours. Copper is the best treatment for that, I use coppersafe.

Jay

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Hello everyone,

I recently got 2 Clownfish for my saltwater fish tank. And its been about 5 days since I got them and this morning the fish looked fine. But as soon as I got back from school today I saw some bizarre white spots/splotches on one of them. I’m guessing its Ich but I’m not 100% sure. They were not eating first 1-2ish days of being added but have been fine for the past few days and eating well. Only one of them has it and that one has tended to stay towards the top of the water column. As I have said in previous posts Im experienced in freshwater fish tanks but Saltwater is quite new to me. I have dealt with Ich in freshwater aquariums before but never Saltwater. And Im not 100% it’s Ich.

Anybody able to help confirm it for me? And help me with potential treatment methods?

Forgot to make a update here so I will now, I decided to go to my LFS to get their opinion on this. I don’t exactly remember what they told me. But I just let the fish do there thing for a few days and the spots disappeared. I have absolutely no clue what it was but, the fish are doing wonderfully. Eating every day, swimming around fine, etc. I even managed to get one of them to eat a pellet of the tip of my finger.

Sorry for never making a update here, it blipped from my mind. But TLDR my fish are fine now!

 

[Sharkbait19]

Forgot to make a update here so I will now, I decided to go to my LFS to get their opinion on this. I don’t exactly remember what they told me. But I just let the fish do there thing for a few days and the spots disappeared. I have absolutely no clue what it was but, the fish are doing wonderfully. Eating every day, swimming around fine, etc. I even managed to get one of them to eat a pellet of the tip of my finger.

Sorry for never making a update here, it blipped from my mind. But TLDR my fish are fine now!

How long has it been?

 

[CrazyDuck959]

How long has it been?

About a month and a half.