Stick Clown Fish

[Skrymir]

I have a pair of tank raised true percula clowns. One of them has a cream/white colored fuzz growing on the sides of his head. It fuzz goes right along his front strip on one side and there is just a small dot on the other side, he hasn't ate for the past two days. The tank water is parameters are 0, 0, ~20ppm, 8.3ph.

The LFS says that it is probably just a secondary infection from a wound from fighting with the other clown in the tank (I have never seen them fight) and recommended treating with Melafix.

I'm wondering what you fine people think. Is the diagnoses correct and am I treating appropriately?

 

[mmkeeper]

Are any of your other fish sick? Can you set up a Quarantine tank? Here is a link to an area that can be very helpful. http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=15

 

[jsmkmavity]

how long have you had them? not eatind is not a good sign and you need to figure out what it is quickly. is it a reef tank? do you have any invertibrates? if so you can only effectively treat most diseases in a qt.

 

[ronj]

i never believe the "fish" stories that my lfs tells me. they will do what it takes to make a sale. it may not be a fighting wound, but a disease of some sort. was it like this when you bought it? also most people that work in a fish store have no idea what the disease is or how to treat it. don't treat it until you are sure of what you are treating. then buy the proper meds. try to get a pic or two and keep everyone posted

 

[Skrymir]

No other fish are sick. I can set up a QT tomorrow night.

I've had them for about 2 months. Yes it is a reef tank, there are inverts in the tank.

I'd like to get a pic but the batt. charge for my camera is broken and the new one won't be here until next week.

I've looked at the other fish disease thread and pics. I haven't seen anything that I can make a sure match with.

 

[steve-s]

Let's be sure of what it is before suggesting treatments. It does sound bacterial but I would be hesitant on reccomending Melafix. It is very hit and miss at what it will be effective against.

One of them has a cream/white colored fuzz growing on the sides of his head. It fuzz goes right along his front strip on one side and there is just a small dot on the other side

How large is the tank/what tank mates?
Does the fuzz remain in this particular area and look sort of like a cotton ball that's been frayed or a little bit smoother like a wart?
Any sign of excess slime coat/mucus?
How is the fish overall color and are the eyes clear?
Where the clowns (all your fish) QT'd before adding to the display and where the clowns ever treated for Brooklynella?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Skrymir]

The tank is a 37g with a 15g sump, in which water changes happen weekly. There is the one other clown in the tank, a small angle, a bubble coral in which the clowns host, a brain coral, couple of sps' and some zoas.

I would say "cotton ball that's been frayed" is exactly what it looks like, only cream colored. I don't see any extar smile on the fish, the rest of his body looks fine, his eyes are clear.

No on both the last two questions.

I'm planning on getting a small tank and a filter that I can drop some live rock rubble into on the way home tonight and get that rolling.

Thanks for the help on this everyone.

 

[steve-s]

I would say "cotton ball that's been frayed" is exactly what it looks like, only cream colored.

Sounds like a bacterial infection then. Any redness in that area at all?
I would begin doing some large water changes (well aged/aerated) to bring down those nitrates and the most likely elevated DOC. Although this is not threatening to tank mates, let's make sure it stays confined to just the one fish.

I'm planning on getting a small tank and a filter that I can drop some live rock rubble into on the way home tonight and get that rolling.

Don't add the rubble. Use only inert materials in your QT and only items that will not be missed from the main tank. For the filter, transfer some material from the display filtration like floss, bioballs, filter sock or the like. No carbon, rock, sand or resin type products.

I would fill the QT with you main tanks water and get the chosen equipment running.

Do you have access to Maracyn II? If not what is available at your LFS?
What does the fishs' main diet consist of?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Skrymir]

There is no redness at all.

I change 3-5gal every week, I'll get some water mixed up to do more than that.

I don't have any Maracyn II on hand but I will pick up some tonight.

The fish eat Ocean Nutrition flake food daily. I alternate between the reef mix and formula II.

I was going to cut some short length of pvc pipe, sand the edges and use those in the tank for hiding areas. Is that correct?

 

[steve-s]

I don't have any Maracyn II on hand but I will pick up some tonight.

Make sure you pick up enough to treat the QT at a rate of 2 mg/gal each day for 7 days. Do not follow the directions on the box.
If you have a 10 gal QT, you will need 140 mg total. One box is usually 16x10 mg so you should be okay with that. Read the label to ensure it's Minocycline.

You will need to add 2 pills each day. Before each new dose you should do a 25% water change first. This will help increase the efficacey of the antibiotic. If there is no/little improvement after 3-4 days, we will need to switch gears.

The fish eat Ocean Nutrition flake food daily. I alternate between the reef mix and formula II.

I'm not a big fan of flake foods, especially with clowns. I would urge you to consider frozen alternatives or a high quality pellet. At the very least be sure the flakes are fortified with vitamins, stored in the freezer and not allowed to float on the waters surface. Surface gulping by fish can easily lead to internal problems.

I was going to cut some short length of pvc pipe, send the edges and use those in the tank for hiding areas. Is that correct?

That's just fine. You can use pretty much any plastic with enough weight to stay submerged. Even coffee mugs will do.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Skrymir]

I have tried feeding the frozen formula I & II, the fish show no interest in it, even tried the garlic attractant juice. Also tried mysis shrimp, the clowns will take but the angle just ignores them. I've even tried to attach the formula II to a small piece of rock and letting the fish graze on it, no luck.

What pellet foods would you recommend? Any other feeding ideas are more than welcome.

 

[Beckmola24]

Spectrum pellets seem to be popular these days. I alternate with frozen mysis and spectrum pellets for my clarkii clown. I'm not sure if this is the case with treating fish, but with my seahorses, everyone recommended to keep the temp in the tank around 74 or so because the lower temps keep the bacterial infection from spreading quickly... That's with seahorses though... Steve-s I'm sure will chime in on that

 

[steve-s]

What pellet foods would you recommend? Any other feeding ideas are more than welcome.

One benefit of the frozen formula foods over the dried is they contain Beta Glucan which can aid in the fishs immunity and "self healing".

New Life would be a good choice. I would still suggest a good variety of foods but buying a bunch of different kinds would be costly and wasteful. I would instead suggest a "blender mush" you can make yourself. You can choose a variety of food choices that suit the species of fish you have and balance between meat and veg appropriately. It also allows you to add your choice of prefered vitamins and HUFA products. Freshness and pollutants will be controlled soley by you.

I'm not sure if this is the case with treating fish, but with my seahorses, everyone recommended to keep the temp in the tank around 74 or so because the lower temps keep the bacterial infection from spreading quickly... That's with seahorses though

Lowering temp can help in available O2 and slow the progress of certain bacterial problems. It's a bit hit and miss though, bacteria is more affected by pH than temp unless large swings. A drop of 78-80° to 74° is not something I would recommend. Given this is so far appearing to be a minor issue, I would let the meds do their job. If this was a bit more serious or prgressive, I would actually suggest lowered salinity instead. It would allow the fish to speed it's own recovery from reduced energy consumption. It actually works much better.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Skrymir]

Well the second clown had a little mark on his side when I got home last night. So they both went into the QT for treatment. I think I found what was causing the wounds. It seems the coral beauty angel gets pretty aggressive around feeding time. I watched it fight with the clowns last night before I moved them.

So the plan is to remove the angel (I knew it was a risk) and put the clowns back into the tank after the treatment is down. To replace the angel I'm thinking maybe a six line wrasse or a firefish.