White mouth and infection on clownfish?!

[TomS15]

Happy new year. I’m new to R2R and the hobby itself so please have patience. 2 days ago my male clownfish had a white mouth, a bit of its fin missing and what looks like a bite mark on its side (first 3 pictures in atinic). You’ll see a pic of the clown with the torch tentacle in its mouth. Read a bunch about this but it got worse. Today, there is a white growth on the bottom of his jaw, there’s more missing on his fin and the side looks the same (1 atinic and the rest filtered pictures). Any help as to what this could be or what the cause could be would be a major help. I’m new to the hobby so every little thing scares me. For background, I have a 10g nano (started in July) with 2 clowns (F & M, supposedly a bonded pair as advertised by the website), sexy shrimp and a porcelain crab. The female sometimes goes after the male. As for coral, I have a torch, a frog spawn, a hammer, a bbta, a Duncan (male would hang out in the Duncan), an Elegance (the female would lay in the elegance) and gonis. Everything has been great (no fluctuations in nutrients either) up until 2 days ago the male has been in the torch like never before. Let me know if I should put up more pics, I hope they help. Thanks I’m advance for any guidance.

 

[Dahas]

@Jay Hemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Happy new year. I’m new to R2R and the hobby itself so please have patience. 2 days ago my male clownfish had a white mouth, a bit of its fin missing and what looks like a bite mark on its side (first 3 pictures in atinic). You’ll see a pic of the clown with the torch tentacle in its mouth. Read a bunch about this but it got worse. Today, there is a white growth on the bottom of his jaw, there’s more missing on his fin and the side looks the same (1 atinic and the rest filtered pictures). Any help as to what this could be or what the cause could be would be a major help. I’m new to the hobby so every little thing scares me. For background, I have a 10g nano (started in July) with 2 clowns (F & M, supposedly a bonded pair as advertised by the website), sexy shrimp and a porcelain crab. The female sometimes goes after the male. As for coral, I have a torch, a frog spawn, a hammer, a bbta, a Duncan (male would hang out in the Duncan), an Elegance (the female would lay in the elegance) and gonis. Everything has been great (no fluctuations in nutrients either) up until 2 days ago the male has been in the torch like never before. Let me know if I should put up more pics, I hope they help. Thanks I’m advance for any guidance.

Hi - welcome to Reef2Reef!

How long has the tank been set up?
Can you get us a picture of the whole tank, taken under white light?

Hosting in corals can result in damage, as you know. The typically clears up without treatment.
Clownfish pairings are dynamic, and they can and do break down, reform, etic. The trouble is, in a 10 gallon tank, there simply isn't going to be enough room for them to dissipate aggression by separating far enough apart. The ripped fins are likely a result of fighting. You probably won't actually see it happen - while you are busy watching the fish, they are watching you.

Short of isolating this fish from the coral and the other clown, there isn't going to be any real way to stop this, but these issues do sometimes self-correct over time.

Jay

 

[TomS15]

Hi - welcome to Reef2Reef!

How long has the tank been set up?
Can you get us a picture of the whole tank, taken under white light?

Hosting in corals can result in damage, as you know. The typically clears up without treatment.
Clownfish pairings are dynamic, and they can and do break down, reform, etic. The trouble is, in a 10 gallon tank, there simply isn't going to be enough room for them to dissipate aggression by separating far enough apart. The ripped fins are likely a result of fighting. You probably won't actually see it happen - while you are busy watching the fish, they are watching you.

Short of isolating this fish from the coral and the other clown, there isn't going to be any real way to stop this, but these issues do sometimes self-correct over time.

Jay

Thanks Jay!
Been set up since early July starting adding coral in September, have over 20 pieces so far ( I think I’m maxed out actually!). I added more pics, white light and blue light filters. Would love to get your overall thoughts on anything else you see.
Thanks
Tom

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The tank looks good, but I do think you are maxed out on corals(grin). They will grow!
I still think that the root of the issue is fighting and coral stings....I don’t see any evidence of external infection from parasites. There could be a minor bacterial infection going on, but the fish should fight that off assuming more damage doesn’t occur.
Jay