Black spots on clownfish

[lostkingman]

It seems that both of my clowns now have black spots all over their bodies. They are acting very normal as does the rest of the tank. I believe the marks are coral stings but they live in Xeina and i have not added any new corals for them to get into. here is the pic:

Thanks for the help!!!

 

[lkc]

No worries. Could be two things: They are trying to blend in with their background, or, aclimating to whatever is hosting them. All normal. This is also called "peppering".

 

[jt_milstead]

Looks like coral sting to me....

 

[MarineFlake]

Normal ime. White spots, different story. Black spots, come and go on my clowns. Just depends on what they are getting into. Either way, nothing to worry about ime.

 

[returnofsid]

It's not normal at all. It is called Hyper Melanization.

 

[Bmgrocks]

seems to me that TONS of clowns that host alternative species get them...
typical of a coral sting

Hyper Melanization?
if my vocabulary lessons are correct, it sounds reasonable...
excess melanin concentrations? due to being stung....Quite possible

Should you be worried...NO

The clown will continue to act normally and eat...
I've had a couple that have had it...they all did well and moved onto an anemone...the spots soon disappeared
watch, if you remove that alternative host, those "hyper melanin" spots should go away

 

[returnofsid]

Bmgrocks, you're absolutely correct. This is caused by the fish being stung, or otherwise effected, by various LPS and sometimes Soft Corals. Once removed from that host, the spots do go away, though it takes awhile.

There's various theories on whether this can cause harm or not, so I don't know that I'd say it's totally harmless.

If you Google it, you'll find all kinds of information about it.

 

[lostkingman]

Thanks for all of the information and the reassurance!