very strange clownfish problem

Discussion in 'Fish Diseases' started by antlerfish, Feb 16, 2011.

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  1. antlerfish

    antlerfish Plankton

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    Hi everyone,

    I am new to this forum and I'm hoping someone can help me here. I've asked a few people about a problem I'm having with one of my clownfish, as well as inquired on the internet about it, but I've had no luck finding a solution.

    I've had a pair of ocellaris clownfish for about 2 weeks now. A few days after I introduced my fish to the tank, I noticed that one of them had a white lump on his belly in front of his anal fin. After a few days it turned brown and started to look very fungus-like. It is also accompanied by white feces, which I've heard can be indicative of a parasite.

    My fish is swimming a lot and gobbling up food whenever I feed him (the LFS guy gave me frozen brine shrimp to feed them with but I recently purchased some frozen mysis shrimp instead). He actually seems like the dominant of the pair and is very energetic. No gasping or lethargy as far as I can tell.

    If anyone can offer any ideas as to what the problem is and what I can do to remedy this, I'd greatly appreciate it. I have medication on hand for bacterial infections (Maracyn 1 and 2) and parasites (PraziPro). I haven't used anything yet because I am not sure of the problem and I don't want to put the fish through any unnecessary treatments or stress.

    Here are some pictures
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    Thanks very much!
     
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  3. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    Welcome to 3 reef,

    Hard to tell from the picture but that looks like a parasite to me.

    Marine Fish Diseases and Parasites

    Take a looks at the link under the parasite section.

    Sorry I can not be of more help but I can not see the problem as the image is too small.
     
  4. antlerfish

    antlerfish Plankton

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  5. Reeron

    Reeron Blue Ringed Angel

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    I'm going to agree with Corailline. Looks like a parasite to me too.
     
  6. antlerfish

    antlerfish Plankton

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    any suggestions for treatment?
     
  7. Teelabrown

    Teelabrown Astrea Snail

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    We put our clown though a freshwater dip once to take care of some ick. Killed the parasites and the clown pulled though just fine. Only took about 15 seconds of freshwater to clear him up completely.

    There was a really sweet moment when we put him back into the tank. He was more than a bit shocked and swam right to the bottom to recoup. His little buddy swam to him and kept nudging him until he got up and started swimming around again. Quite adorable. My husband said it was just school behavior and was more akin to a drill Sargent screaming at him to get in line, but I like my version better.
     
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  9. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    Make sure the water for a fresh water dip has the same pH and temp as the aquarium water. You may have to manually remove the parasite while in the dip with some tweezers, but very carefully if you can, if the parasite shows resistance go with a different method after the clownfish has had a chance to recover.

    You should also consider de-worming the fish.
     
  10. antlerfish

    antlerfish Plankton

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    Okay, thanks everyone. He's in QT right now with a de-wormer, I hope it works!