Clownfish with White Spots/Wounds (not ick)

BUVandy1010 · May 19, 2024

Hello all!

I could really use some help in determining what is happening to my clown. I’ve had her for several years along with her (now deceased) partner and really want to figure out what is wrong with her. A week ago the male in the pair suddenly looked horrible and had fallen on a torch. He was breathing heavily and had wounds all over. I separated him and began preparing a QT but he died soon after. Now, the female is showing signs of issues but it doesn’t look like any disease I am familiar with. Please help if you can! Only recent change is the addition of an anemone that neither clown has gone near. She also has a large white spot/area on her fin and a lot of white around her face.

vetteguy53081 · May 19, 2024

BUVandy1010 said:
Hello all!

I could really use some help in determining what is happening to my clown. I’ve had her for several years along with her (now deceased) partner and really want to figure out what is wrong with her. A week ago the male in the pair suddenly looked horrible and had fallen on a torch. He was breathing heavily and had wounds all over. I separated him and began preparing a QT but he died soon after. Now, the female is showing signs of issues but it doesn’t look like any disease I am familiar with. Please help if you can! Only recent change is the addition of an anemone that neither clown has gone near. She also has a large white spot/area on her fin and a lot of white around her face.

Seeing bacterial lesions on the body of the fish, I suspect under the chin is excess mucus (better/brighter lighting can confirm) both associated with brooklynella disease.
This mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Typical treatment is a formalin solution is mixed with in a separate container with either fresh or saltwater which is near impossible to find. Start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
Since a formalin solution is often not available for immediate use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.
With the advanced stage of this- I recommend immediate quarantine of all inhabitants and leaving display without fish for 4-6 weeks.
A quarantine system if you dont have one can be as easy as a second hand tank from a thrift store or as simple as a starter tank kit from Walmart which has most of the essentials

Jay Hemdal · May 19, 2024

BUVandy1010 said:
Hello all!

I could really use some help in determining what is happening to my clown. I’ve had her for several years along with her (now deceased) partner and really want to figure out what is wrong with her. A week ago the male in the pair suddenly looked horrible and had fallen on a torch. He was breathing heavily and had wounds all over. I separated him and began preparing a QT but he died soon after. Now, the female is showing signs of issues but it doesn’t look like any disease I am familiar with. Please help if you can! Only recent change is the addition of an anemone that neither clown has gone near. She also has a large white spot/area on her fin and a lot of white around her face.

Could their pair bond have broken down, and the male died from injuries, but not before getting some licks in on the female?

BUVandy1010 · May 20, 2024

Jay Hemdal said:
Could their pair bond have broken down, and the male died from injuries, but not before getting some licks in on the female?

It’s possible but I think there is something else going on. Adding another photo that shows the weird lesion type thing on her fin. Another commenter said it could be Brook. I’ve also heard Lympho which I’m not as familiar with. Planning to treat for Brook as of now per the comment above. Thanks and let me know if this photo changes anyone’s mind!

vetteguy53081 · May 20, 2024

BUVandy1010 said:
It’s possible but I think there is something else going on. Adding another photo that shows the weird lesion type thing on her fin. Another commenter said it could be Brook. I’ve also heard Lympho which I’m not as familiar with. Planning to treat for Brook as of now per the comment above. Thanks and let me know if this photo changes anyone’s mind!

This is not lympho which they rarely if ever get but the spot looks like remnants of an injury or bites and has a blemish or infection. To be safe , again Ruby rally pro will address this to prevent infection and also will Seachem neoplex which will need to be done in a separate tank

BUVandy1010 · May 20, 2024

vetteguy53081 said:
This is not lympho which they rarely if ever get but the spot looks like remnants of an injury or bites and has a blemish or infection. To be safe , again Ruby rally pro will address this to prevent infection and also will Seachem neoplex which will need to be done in a separate tank

Thank you so much. I have some of the ruby rally pro arriving today and will start treatment asap! I’m so glad to finally know what this is.

Jay Hemdal · May 20, 2024

BUVandy1010 said:
It’s possible but I think there is something else going on. Adding another photo that shows the weird lesion type thing on her fin. Another commenter said it could be Brook. I’ve also heard Lympho which I’m not as familiar with. Planning to treat for Brook as of now per the comment above. Thanks and let me know if this photo changes anyone’s mind!

Brook and Lympho are both most typically seen in newly acquired fish. You've had these really too long for those to show up.

When I see a ringed lesion like that, I often find that it is bacterial (that's how bacteria grown on a petri dish).

BUVandy1010 · May 20, 2024

Jay Hemdal said:
Brook and Lympho are both most typically seen in newly acquired fish. You've had these really too long for those to show up.

When I see a ringed lesion like that, I often find that it is bacterial (that's how bacteria grown on a petri dish).

Thank you for your thoughts!

vetteguy53081 said:
Seeing bacterial lesions on the body of the fish, I suspect under the chin is excess mucus (better/brighter lighting can confirm) both associated with brooklynella disease.
This mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Typical treatment is a formalin solution is mixed with in a separate container with either fresh or saltwater which is near impossible to find. Start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
Since a formalin solution is often not available for immediate use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.
With the advanced stage of this- I recommend immediate quarantine of all inhabitants and leaving display without fish for 4-6 weeks.
A quarantine system if you dont have one can be as easy as a second hand tank from a thrift store or as simple as a starter tank kit from Walmart which has most of the essentials

Following up on this, would you ever recommend using Ruby Reef Rally in the display tank? Would be great to eliminate it from the entire system without pulling all the rock apart to get every fish. Thoughts on that?

vetteguy53081 · May 20, 2024

BUVandy1010 said:
Thank you for your thoughts!

Following up on this, would you ever recommend using Ruby Reef Rally in the display tank? Would be great to eliminate it from the entire system without pulling all the rock apart to get every fish. Thoughts on that?

I have high regards for ruby rally and it’s my personal go-to med for my own tank