What is this on the clownfish???

[Spare time]

What is this on the front of my clownfish?

I had a lawnmower blenny die out of no where past night (heavy breathing) and have had him for maybe 2 years so I figured it could have been age related. But now I am paranoid because of this


There are no other signs of illness with the clown and all of the other fish are acting fine. Water quality is good and the fish are fed a very wide variety of flakes, frozen, and pellets as well as given vitachem

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So - this clown isn’t breathing rapidly? I worry that the blenny could have had something contagious.
It’s difficult to make out in the photo, but that looks like an abscess. Maybe it got poked by a bristleworm, or otherwise was injured. Many of these sorts of things are minor infections that the fish can overcome on its own. If the lesion grows or the fish stops eating, an option would be to move it to a treatment tank an dose with an antibiotic.
Jay

 

[Spare time]

So - this clown isn’t breathing rapidly? I worry that the blenny could have had something contagious.
It’s difficult to make out in the photo, but that looks like an abscess. Maybe it got poked by a bristleworm, or otherwise was injured. Many of these sorts of things are minor infections that the fish can overcome on its own. If the lesion grows or the fish stops eating, an option would be to move it to a treatment tank an dose with an antibiotic.
Jay

None of the fish show rapid breathing. The blenny had no other signs except for heavy breathing yesterday (it died within an hour or two of me seeing it breathing like that. I did a 5 gallon water change yesterday ( i set up my coral qt so I needed some water) and didn't mix it as long as I should have but I would imagine if that was an issues it would be tankwide (plus I cant remember if it was before or after I saw the blenny). No fish have been added for months and the last 2 fish have been through rounds of medication from divers den. I have added some brittle stars since then but nothing else.


I have metroplex, focus, and prazi on hand and was thinking of feeding the fish some metro and focus but I just wanted to make sure this isn't something that I should be very worried about since I have never seen this before from my tank or from any fish at the lfs I work part time at.


I have also heard that lawnmower blennies only have a 2 to 4 year life span and I wouldn't be surprised if the blenny was 3 or so years old.

 

[Spare time]

Here are more pics

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Yes - that indeed does look like an abscess. The issue with the blenny is probably unrelated. Metro and prazi are for multicellular parasites, and this is almost assuredly bacterial. You could try focus alone, as it is an antibiotic by itself.

Jay

 

[Spare time]

Yes - that indeed does look like an abscess. The issue with the blenny is probably unrelated. Metro and prazi are for multicellular parasites, and this is almost assuredly bacterial. You could try focus alone, as it is an antibiotic by itself.

Jay

Is it something that needs to be treated or is it something that can be handled by the fish? I will probably feed the focus medicine but I can get some other meds if I need to

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Can’t really say one way or another. I’d mix the focus with food now and just watch the lesion for signs of worsening.
Jay

 

[Spare time]

Can’t really say one way or another. I’d mix the focus with food now and just watch the lesion for signs of worsening.
Jay

If I were to move the fish to a qt, is there something better than focus? I also have paraguard (supposedly treats bacterial lesions) on hand but can order some other meds. I was thinking of ordering some neoplex or polyguard just in case I have to move the fish over to a QT

 

[Jay Hemdal]

If I were to move the fish to a qt, is there something better than focus? I also have paraguard (supposedly treats bacterial lesions) on hand but can order some other meds.

A broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic in the water would be what I would do. Neoplex, Kanaplex or even Maracyn 2 would be good choices. Remember though, choosing an antibiotic is always a guess.
Jay

 

[Spare time]

A broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic in the water would be what I would do. Neoplex, Kanaplex or even Maracyn 2 would be good choices. Remember though, choosing an antibiotic is always a guess.
Jay

I will try focus though I am worried since my tank is heavily packed with corals and anemones. I am going to set up a qt tank tomorrow just in case. I may tryh some ruby reef rally pro since it says it treats gram negative infections. However I don't understand how gram-negative treating medicines can be safe with any reef tank since I would imagine it would kill nitrifying bacteria (not sure on that, that is just a guess). The only reason why I am debating the qt is that it would be very difficult to catch the fish. Also, thank you for you help. I very much appreciate it.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I will try focus though I am worried since my tank is heavily packed with corals and anemones. I am going to set up a qt tank tomorrow just in case. I may tryh some ruby reef rally pro since it says it treats gram negative infections. However I don't understand how gram-negative treating medicines can be safe with any reef tank since I would imagine it would kill nitrifying bacteria (not sure on that, that is just a guess). The only reason why I am debating the qt is that it would be very difficult to catch the fish. Also, thank you for you help. I very much appreciate it.

Sorry - no, I meant in a treatment tank. In an earlier post I had said this, "an option would be to move it to a treatment tank an dose with an antibiotic." So - in my mind, I was still assuming that (grin). I wouldn't put Ruby Reef in your display tank, people do it, but it has ingredients that could cause problems. My guess is they make the dose low enough that it won't cause problems - but then, it may not have an effect on the bacteria either!

Jay