Growths on Clownfish

I got a pair of clownfish (tank-raised ocellaris, one less than an inch one about 2" the plan was to have a mated pair) on 4/21 to add to a five week old tank. To date I have never recorded any ammonia, nitrite, nitrate in tests. I drip acclimated the clowns into the tank over a period of 4 hours, at night lights low.

Seven days later 4/28, the littler of the two is dead, found it in the intake of a PH. It's behavior before was it would swim vertically near the corners of the tank on either side.

The larger of the pair, is doing ok, but now I have noticed what look like sores on the fish. This was first noticed 5/4. Attached is the best picture I could take, notice the white area near the dorsal fin, and the sore on the pectoral fin. There also seems to be a white are on his mouth I noticed within the last day or so. I don't think its ich, I don't know what it is though. I have hermits, snails and a coral and nothing else is doing any differently, they're thriving in fact, as far as I can tell. Any input is appreciated, specific questions:

1. What is happening to the clown and what can I do about it?
2. What happened to the dead clown?
3. What should/can I do generally to improve the situation?


Parameters
temp: 80
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
KH: 8
sg: 1.024

equipment info in signature

 

first upload failed the pic should be there now.

 

hmmmm, somehow someone's response got deleted when I added the picture. Sorry about that, not sure if I did it, or how I did it. I believe their thought was this is an ammonia burn which I can't find any info on. Anyone else?

 

Hi, I thought it was an ammonia burn, but looking at your clown fish pic it doesn't look lke it, ammonia burns are usually on the edges of the fins and gills not on the side of the fish like in your case. To be honest it looks like the fish has either damaged itself (like it has been bashed) or its a protozoan. In either case the best thing to do is try to keep your tank parameters (temp, salinity) as stable as possible. Garlic enriching your food might help by boosting your fishes immune system.

 

Were both clownfish swimming together vertically in the corner of the tank before it died?

 

no just the one, are you thinking osmotic shock?

 

looks like a fungus to me, perhaps a dose of melafix or primafix(forget the difference between the two) would be useful if it doesnt get better on its own.

 

I was actually thinking a bit of aggression between the fish may have stressed them out and made them more suscepticle to disease. I would need a more close up and detailed picture (ideally under a microscope) at this point to distinguish whether it is a protozoan parasite or fungus, they both start out looking fairly similar. For now though I would just see how it goes, if it gets a lot worse then as sostoudt says a dose of melafix or primafix might help. It's still worth using the garlic in the mean time.

 

Hmmm, the only way that would happen is when it would be too late for the fish. If it were dead, I imagine I could get it under a microscope easily. I hear you though, it could be a few things.

I'll try and get a better picture this morning (it being Mother's day and all, I'll probably be busy), but one element that is lost in the image is there's a whitish halo or ring around the wound that looks pretty gross.

Would a cleaner shrimp help keep the wound clean, thereby helping the fish recover naturally? I had been planning on getting one anyways so it may as well be now, I guess.

 

Yup, a cleaner shrimp might clean the wound, but theres no guarantee. The cleaner shrimp in my tank does a fantastic job and so does the neon goby I have, IMO it's well worth getting one.