Need help with diseases and parasites

[marinegeek101]

Hi i have 2 percs and the smaller one has a discoloration on its right side, he also has a black dot in the middle . I can't take a picture but I was hoping people could send me pics of fish with different sicknesses to see if I can ID the disease or parasite. Thanks it would be greatly aprreciated

 

[mmkeeper]

I can't help you, hopefully Steve-S will be by soon to help. You also might want to post in this forum.http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=15

 

[marinegeek101]

thanks can anyone else help me?

 

[Meche]

Go here, and check out the links.

 

[Juanfer]

Does it looks like this???

 

[Juanfer]

sometimes when they are using a coral as a host black spots may appear!

 

[Juanfer]

or like this???

 

[Meche]

http://www.fishbase.org/Diseases/DispicSummary.cfm?pic=SknFunD0.jpg&notcom=

or

http://www.fishbase.org/Diseases/DispicSummary.cfm?pic=UronemD2.jpg&notcom=

 

[marinegeek101]

I can't really tell. But it could be true. What about the discoloration?

 

[steve-s]

Please give us some history about the fish and the tank(s) so there is some tangible information that may help shed some light on this.

How long have you had the fish?
Where they QT'd? If so, how long? Describe the QT set up/water parameters.
Where any treatments performed?

Describe the display system along with water parameters, chemistry and maintenance.
What fish are they currently housed with, what types of mobile and/or sessile inverts?
Did this suddenly come on or has it been there awhile?
What exactly do you feed, how often and are there any food supplements used?

Any information along those lines will help.

The most common skin anomalies on this type/species of clown will be a form of melanism. That can either be caused by a chemical reaction to a host (usually a strong chemically defended soft coral), improper diet or overall tank/living conditions. Lets not jump to any conclusions that quickly though.

 

[steve-s]

I have merged and deleted the duplicate posts as well!!

 

[marinegeek101]

Ive had the fish for 4 months. I do not have a quarantine tank but I am setting one up this weekend. No treatment was performed. I have some scarlets and blue legs. My water parameters are good. I feed them brine shrimp and marine flakes. We decreased feeding because of cyano. It could be improper diet because of cyano. I do maintenance every week. There is only a small discoloration so i am not that stressed just being cautious. Thanks

 

[steve-s]

Good to be cautious, nothing wrong with that at all

The fishs' diet does need to be addressed. It is definitely the cause of the cyano but not sure on the mark you've noticed. Nix the brine completely and move to a frozen Mysid shrimp instead. Pre prepared blender mush like Ocean Nutrition or making your won might be an option as well. As for the flake, it's not the worst food but it's by far one of my least favorite. Low nutritional value but very high pollution content. It will definitely fuel unwanted alga's. Clowns are omnivors with a preference for meaty fair. They like the meat but they need the veggies as well. Their diet should contain a good 25-30% vegetable matter. This is where gel bound mush foods perform best but as I said you can also make your own.

There are two articles at the top of the forum by Leebca that I would suggest reading.

As for you maintenance, what exactly do you do weekly?
What are "good" water parameters?

Do you have any kind of coral/anemone/hydroids in the tank?

Should have asked this before but where do the clowns keep to (at night especially)? Is the mark small and dark in color or larger and red/ulcerated?

 

[marinegeek101]

I do water changes once a week and clean my equipment. I have no ammonia, my Ph is 8.1, no nitrates, no nitrites, phosphate 0.25 ( I know its high im workin on it), I have a polyp, a nippy puffer fish that has been nipping at them so im returning him this weekend, and mushrooms. The clowns usually stay behind the live rock or between depending. The black mark is small.

 

[steve-s]

Better, thanks! The more you give me the better I can help you

Puffers can be a real bane with certain tank mates, especially the smaller tobies. Do the clowns ever get near the mushrooms or polyps?

 

[marinegeek101]

Nope, and it is a small toby puffer

 

[steve-s]

Address the feeding/food types, make sure your water changes remain weekly and if at all possible increase the quality if below 10%. Wouldn't hurt to do twice weekly changes until the P/cyano is dealt which will in turn benefit the animal as well. If this is simple chemical melanism there's no real concern.

If you are able to post a pic at some point that would be a bonus.