What could possibly be wrong with my Cowfish?

[brittbritt115]

Hello, about 2 weeks ago, I purchased my first cowfish. So far, its been doing great (eating well and not stressed) this morning I woke up and noticed a cloudy white film growing on its nose and into its eye. I've checked my water multiple times and everything is coming back with a normal range. I'm trying to figure out what this could be? Please help

 

[KrisReef]

Any aggression going on with the clownfish? The caudal fin looks nipped.

Otherwise, @ReefSquad

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello, about 2 weeks ago, I purchased my first cowfish. So far, its been doing great (eating well and not stressed) this morning I woke up and noticed a cloudy white film growing on its nose and into its eye. I've checked my water multiple times and everything is coming back with a normal range. I'm trying to figure out what this could be? Please help

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Cowfish are rather delicate, they often don't thrive in typical aquariums. In this case, I'm looking at the tail damage - somebody in your tank has been going after it.

The cloudiness is extra mucus, possibly bacterial though, visually, you can't really tell the two apart. I think you'll need to isolate this fish - in a hospital tank with a good bio-filter and dose it with an antibiotic - Neoplex is one good choice.

 

[brittbritt115]

Any aggression going on with the clownfish? The caudal fin looks nipped.

Otherwise, @ReefSquad

I haven't noticed any aggression but just to be safe I will go ahead and move my clownfish to a different tank.
Thank you so much for the feedback!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello, about 2 weeks ago, I purchased my first cowfish. So far, its been doing great (eating well and not stressed) this morning I woke up and noticed a cloudy white film growing on its nose and into its eye. I've checked my water multiple times and everything is coming back with a normal range. I'm trying to figure out what this could be? Please help

These are fish that should not be sold in the hobby and this has been for years. 5% may survive for a period of time but often, they eat, then stop eating, become lethargic and then found on the sand bed deceased.