Are "Pinpricks" On White Stripe Normal??

[adoptaspork]

I'm currently treating a clownfish with PraziPro - I've done three consecutive doses of the treatment, and went to add the clown to my DT today. In the tank he was in, there was no light, but on the DT I have LED lights. When I put him in I noticed that his first white stripe behind the head is not *solid* white. It looks like the stripe was covered in wet paint, and then someone took a toothpick or something and just poked it in a couple of spots before it dried, creating a bit of a stippled look or textured look on the stripe. I scooped him out ASAP and tossed him back in the other tank. His stripe looks normal when there's no light over the tank - just the room light is on. Is this normal???

 

[adoptaspork]

Anyone? :/

I'm trying to figure out if I should put him back in the tank or treat with something else. Could it be old open spots from flukes that fell off or something??

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Maybe try posting a picture?

 

[adoptaspork]

the problem is that i can't really get a photo of him in the QT right now. i tried to grab a small LED i had and put it over the tank to get a photo, but it just washes everything out in a blue tint and makes it hard to see. flash on my phone washes it out white. perhaps i could toss him in the DT and take a photo, but i don't want to toss him back in there if i'm just going to contaminate it... :/

 

[CoralsAddiction]

I'm currently treating a clownfish with PraziPro - I've done three consecutive doses of the treatment, and went to add the clown to my DT today. In the tank he was in, there was no light, but on the DT I have LED lights. When I put him in I noticed that his first white stripe behind the head is not *solid* white. It looks like the stripe was covered in wet paint, and then someone took a toothpick or something and just poked it in a couple of spots before it dried, creating a bit of a stippled look or textured look on the stripe. I scooped him out ASAP and tossed him back in the other tank. His stripe looks normal when there's no light over the tank - just the room light is on. Is this normal???

In many cases the symptoms you described are related to water quality.

 

[adoptaspork]

i purchased him not long ago for one of my tanks and he's misbarred...i've heard the misbar is often due to poor water quality, so would these two go hand-in-hand? i've been doing nearly daily partial water changes in the QT he is in and adjusting the prazipro dosage accordingly; the water parameters have been fine every time i check. he seems fine otherwise, eats like a pig, has no symptoms of anything, and the only time i noticed the texturing on the stripe was when i plopped him into my DT, saw them, went EEEEK!, and plopped him right back into the QT.

should i just go ahead and put him in the DT, then, and see if it disappears over time?

 

[CoralsAddiction]

should i just go ahead and put him in the DT, then, and see if it disappears over time?

Misbar Maroons and True percula clowns are found in the wild too. Your case is not related to your clowns markings. The clown was probably stressed in your tank and developed those spots. You could add him to DT if he's healthy. It might help moving him there at night so he doesn't get bullied by territorial tank mates like tangs, etc if you have them. Best of luck.

 

[adoptaspork]

Thank you very much!!

I knew that misbars could happen in both the wild and captivity, but had also learned that a higher percentage of misbarred offspring could be caused in the captive breeding system either intentionally or unintentionally by tweaking water parameters at a particular stage of growth...is there merit to this, or just an old superstition? I'd imagine we probably don't usually see as many misbars in the wild due to it being a potentially deleterious mutation in their camouflage, as well.

I went ahead and added him to the DT the other night since he seems to be healthy otherwise, and everything seems to be going "swimmingly" thus far. I can still see where the strange stippling was on his stripe, but it seems like it's faded so perhaps it was stress.

 

[adoptaspork]

Reviving this thread because I am still seeing the marks on the clown's stripe, and want to be sure that I shouldn't be treating.

https://scontent.ftpa1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-0/p370x247/12094995_10204691892967143_8119307766379401864_o.jpg

Is this normal? Water parameters are fine; I guess it could still be stress from the other fish, but I'm just trying to err on the side of caution.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

That fish looks like its suffering from malnutrition to me. Definitely not a healthy fish, it's skinny and doesn't have good color. The little bit of the one behind it I can see is good color and seems plump

 

[adoptaspork]

I agree; I've actually been feeding extra to try to fatten him up. The one in the back is a fatty.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

You need to worm the sick one. Prazi pro you can treat the tank and it wont hurt any corals or inverts.

 

[adoptaspork]

The whole reason he was out of my DT until this past week was because I had him in a QT; he had three consecutive PraziPro treatments, and then I noticed the weird "pock-marked" look on his first stripe when he was under the DT lights which prompted this post... :/ Should I treat AGAIN with PraziPro, and if so, should it be all of the fish? They eat like gluttons. When I first got him, he was skinny and the female would out-compete him for food - it was as if he just didn't know HOW to even get some and wouldn't even try that hard - but now they seem to both be getting similar rations and he gets a fat little belly after he eats. I've been hoping that he'll fatten up and start looking better, but I'm not sure what the timeline is as far as how long that should take. I pretty much distract her and feed him while she's busy. There's a sixline in there who occasionally bluffs at him but for the most part leaves him alone.

[edit - about putting it in the reef, previously I did it in a QT/HT because I've got some featherdusters and whatnot in the tank that would be affected and I don't want to murder them. ]

 

[Dkuhlmann]

So it hasn't completed a full dose of Prazi Pro? I don't remember exactly what it is but there is a timeline of keeping them in the treated water and then dosing additional times f still have worms?

I''m getting tired and going to sleep. When i get up I'll check into this further.

 

[adoptaspork]

Thank you!

On the PraziPro bottle, it recommends 1-2 consecutive doses to get rid of parasites. Since it is supposed to be fairly innocuous to fish themselves, I dosed him a third time (all of the fish, actually - not just him) so that he was in the bath technically for 3 weeks straight. Every time I did a water change, I would add back the PraziPro that had been removed, and there was no light on the tank to err on the safe side because I saw conflicting arguments as to the half-life on Prazi and whether or not it was particularly light-sensitive. Plus, I figured it would stress the fish less. :/

I noticed the odd "spots" on his stripe behind the eyes when I put him back in the DT after prazi treatment, scooped him up, tossed him back in the holding tank, and then asked about it. On the suggestion that it could have been stress, I decided to toss him back in the DT to see if the spots went away. They haven't, really, and I can't find anything on any "disease" catalog photos, etc. that *really* look like it. Unless maybe they could be wounds left behind by something? Could they be related to his skinniness or am I reading into it too much?

He stuffs himself full every time he eats now so that his little belly pops out, although he did lose some weight initially during the Prazi treatment because he refused to eat for a little bit and used to get outcompeted sometimes by the female so that I have to intervene. Everyone in the tank gets a potluck of formula 2, mysis/mysis with spirulina, emerald entree, occasional other special fishy treats depending on what I get my hands on, and NLS. It all gets soaked in garlic. The clowns also occasionally peck at nori, too, although it doesn't make up much of the diet and I feel like they do it just to be bratty and steal everyone else's food.