growth on clownfish

I was recently given a saltwater tank that a friend of a friend could no longer take care of. When I got it, ammonium levels and nitrites were low, but they nitrates were off the charts high. I was told that this was because of the crushed coral substrate, and the only way to lower the nitrates was to change to a better substrate. The tank came with a starfish, an anemone, a clownfish, several reef hermits, a leather coral, and live rock. I kept the fish and the fish, starfish, and hermits separate from the tank for two days to be sure the tank wouldn't recycle, and the ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate levels remained constant. I acclimated my animals and put them in my main tank. Everything seemed to be doing well for the first four days or so, except that my anemone remained closed up a good deal of the time. But yesterday I noticed a gray/white lump on my clownfish right above its gills. It has also quit eating and has become extremely passive and rests on the bottom of the tank between a couple of rocks. I watched it overnight to see what would happen, and the growth only got larger. Any ideas on what this could be and how to treat it? The closest thing I can find to it would be Brooklynella. It looks more like a wart than a speck of salt though, the latter of which I read to be more common with Brooklynella and Ich. The tank had been established for a couple of months at least before I got it, although the previous owners slacked on care. The pH is around 8.0, and salinity is 1.021. Thank you!

 

To 3Reef!!! ​

Salutations! Glad to see you found way here!

Do some water changes with a good salt mix. Will fix ph and raise salinity a bit. Get water params stable and fish less stressed will probably come thru just fine.

Good luck.


;D ​

The Tao of Marine Aquaria
Tips for Our Hobby and Life

© 1997 Adam H. Whitlock
Edited By Elizabeth M. Lukan 11/25/00 ​

 

Yup! Follow omard's advice and boost water parameters: your target pH and salanity @ 78F should be: 8.3 and 1.024 g/cm3 respectively!