What's up with my black clownfish

[elamsneb]

Woke up today and my juvenile clownfish has white-ish patches all over it, they aren't raised and seems pretty uniform so have appeared in the last 12-24 hours as he looked normal yesterday. The fish is eating and acting normally and my salinity, ammonia and nitrate parameters are all in check, I added a torch coral to my tank 2 days ago right near where my clowns hang out but that's the only change that's been made. Any help appreciated

 

[elamsneb]

Pic attached

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Woke up today and my juvenile clownfish has white-ish patches all over it, they aren't raised and seems pretty uniform so have appeared in the last 12-24 hours as he looked normal yesterday. The fish is eating and acting normally and my salinity, ammonia and nitrate parameters are all in check, I added a torch coral to my tank 2 days ago right near where my clowns hang out but that's the only change that's been made. Any help appreciated

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

How long have you had this clown?
You say you have two? Does the other one have any of these spots?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Pic attached

While this could represent ich, it looks to be secondary bacterial lesions associated with brooklynella. If so, other signs you will notice are lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus. If you see this also, start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
Temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

 

[elamsneb]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

How long have you had this clown?
You say you have two? Does the other one have any of these spots?

A little over 2 weeks, I have 2 clowns and the other one seems completely fine

 

[elamsneb]

While this could represent ich, it looks to be secondary bacterial lesions associated with brooklynella. If so, other signs you will notice are lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus. If you see this also, start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
Temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

The fish is currently acting completely normally, swimming around as usual and eating readily. No heavy breathing as of now, should I just monitor for the minute before treating?

 

[vetteguy53081]

The fish is currently acting completely normally, swimming around as usual and eating readily. No heavy breathing as of now, should I just monitor for the minute before treating?

Yes, monitor

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

A little over 2 weeks, I have 2 clowns and the other one seems completely fine

Sorry, I should have asked - did they come from the same dealer’s tank?

I’m trying to rule out ich or brooklynella versus bit marks from the other clown, or even torch coral stings….

 

[elamsneb]

Sorry, I should have asked - did they come from the same dealer’s tank?

I’m trying to rule out ich or brooklynella versus bit marks from the other clown, or even torch coral stings….

I believe they were in different tanks as they are different colour morphs but I'm not 100% sure on that

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I believe they were in different tanks as they are different colour morphs but I'm not 100% sure on that

Well, that's not conclusive one way or another. If the second clown starts to show spots, you can guess that it is a parasite. Watch the pair closely for signs of fighting - you may not see it easily - they will stop fighting when you are in the room. One trick is to set your phone up to video the tank and then leave the room. Review the video for any chasing, or if the fish with spots tends to shy away from the other one.

 

[elamsneb]

Well, that's not conclusive one way or another. If the second clown starts to show spots, you can guess that it is a parasite. Watch the pair closely for signs of fighting - you may not see it easily - they will stop fighting when you are in the room. One trick is to set your phone up to video the tank and then leave the room. Review the video for any chasing, or if the fish with spots tends to shy away from the other one.i will keep a close eye, the one with spots is a considerable size smaller then the healthy looking one

Well, that's not conclusive one way or another. If the second clown starts to show spots, you can guess that it is a parasite. Watch the pair closely for signs of fighting - you may not see it easily - they will stop fighting when you are in the room. One trick is to set your phone up to video the tank and then leave the room. Review the video for any chasing, or if the fish with spots tends to shy away from the other one.

Okay I will keep a close eye on them, the clown in the picture is a considerable amount smaller than the other one, maybe 2/3 the size so could be a possibility.

 

[elamsneb]

Well, that's not conclusive one way or another. If the second clown starts to show spots, you can guess that it is a parasite. Watch the pair closely for signs of fighting - you may not see it easily - they will stop fighting when you are in the room. One trick is to set your phone up to video the tank and then leave the room. Review the video for any chasing, or if the fish with spots tends to shy away from the other one.

Okay, so I have just been downstairs to spy on the clowns and all the lights are off as it's 10pm here in the UK. I think the larger clown is bullying it... Seems to be bashing against it and nipping it every so often, this is the first time I've seen this behaviour as I don't normally look at what they are doing at night time. Could they still be working out who's boss? Or should I remove the smaller clown or just wait and see if the large one develops the spots too maybe?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Okay, so I have just been downstairs to spy on the clowns and all the lights are off as it's 10pm here in the UK. I think the larger clown is bullying it... Seems to be bashing against it and nipping it every so often, this is the first time I've seen this behaviour as I don't normally look at what they are doing at night time. Could they still be working out who's boss? Or should I remove the smaller clown or just wait and see if the large one develops the spots too maybe?

That’s a tough call - certainly they could work it out, but there will be a tipping point, where the damage to the smaller fish could become infected. You could try a acclimation chamber for the larger clown, like a “time out”, but I like to use a tank divider if possible.

 

[elamsneb]

That’s a tough call - certainly they could work it out, but there will be a tipping point, where the damage to the smaller fish could become infected. You could try a acclimation chamber for the larger clown, like a “time out”, but I like to use a tank divider if possible.

Hi, the large clown now has what looks like small black specs on it's skin? From what I have researched it looks like this may be the torch coral stinging it... Is it possible they are both getting stung and the dots are showing more white on the black clown because of the colour of it's skin? Both fish still acting completely normally, eating and swimming and breathing fine

 

[elamsneb]

That’s a tough call - certainly they could work it out, but there will be a tipping point, where the damage to the smaller fish could become infected. You could try a acclimation chamber for the larger clown, like a “time out”, but I like to use a tank divider if possible.

Hi, the large clown now has what looks like small black specs on it's skin? From what I have researched it looks like this may be the torch coral stinging it... Is it possible they are both getting stung and the dots are showing more white on the black clown because of the colour of it's skin? Both fish still acting completely normally, eating and swimming

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi, the large clown now has what looks like small black specs on it's skin? From what I have researched it looks like this may be the torch coral stinging it... Is it possible they are both getting stung and the dots are showing more white on the black clown because of the colour of it's skin? Both fish still acting completely normally, eating and swimming

Yes, that would be my guess!