Clownfish with white feces and brown spots

[dinki]

I have a three month old clownfish that has of a two days ago been having stringy white feces hanging from him from time to time. He is still very active and still has a hefty appetite. Is this usually caused by an internal parasite?

Also, a few weeks back I noticed a darker spot on one side of his body. It reminded me of a bruise and I thought maybe the other clownfish had somehow done that to him. As the weeks past, the spot faded to almost nonexistent. Today I noticed he has another in a different place.

I did just upgrade from my crappy 36W FW lights to T5HO. Could this be contributing to my clown's health 'issues'?

Here's a rundown of my parameters and my tank contents:

pH 8.2
Temp 77F-78F
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10-20
Salinity. 1.025 (Oceanic salt)

40 lbs live sand, 45 lbs live rock

2x Ocellaris Clownfish, Royal Gramma, Cleaner Shrimp, 3x Astrea Snail, 10x Nassarius Snail, Fighting Conch, 15x Blueleg Hermit, 2x Redleg Hermit

2x Maxijet 1200s, AquaC Remora PS, unknown HOB filter (300 gph), Nova Extreme HO T5 4x 54W.

I've been feeding Spectra Pellets every other day and on the off days I've been feeding homemade food (fresh shrimp, mussel and spinach). I just purchased some Ocean Nutrition Formula One pellets this week and have been adding that into the feeding schedule as well. The fresh food has a couple of drops of Vitachem added to it and I also add Vitachem to the water as directed on the bottle.

Any help in diagnosing and treating would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rlcline76]

I'm guessing by the feces, you have an internal parasite. The fresh seafood...did you freeze it prior to use? That should reduce some of the possible parasites. I do not know what is in spectra pellets. The Formula One is not a bad food at all! You could also try freeze dried foods, they will absorb vitamins and other supplements readily. It might be a good idea to look into medicated food or, some might suggest prazipro ( I have never had to use it). Soak your food in your vitamin supplement...I wouldn't even worry so much about adding it to the water, I am of the opinion that most of it is leeched out. Also, try a garlic supplement. I use Kent Garlic Extreme...but some are ambitious enough to mince their own.

 

[dinki]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I did freeze it before using it. Well, I guess that's not entirely true as I did feed it once right after I made it, but that was probably four or five weeks ago. I do have some fresh garlic that I can add to the food as well.

I'm not reading a lot of urgency in your response. Does that mean that fish get these parasites from time-to-time and that eventually it will pass?

 

[rlcline76]

I try not to panic. ; )

 

[ryanclark2002]

Hello, I have a clown fish that has the same exact issue just recently. I have had him in the tank for about a year and a half with no issues until now. The clown has a dark spot near the top of the body and has a white upper lip. I have seen the white stringy feces coming out of him too!! Over the last couple of days, maybe a week he has lost his appetite all together. What can I do if he doesn't eat!

 

[dinki]

I'll tell you that my fish never lost his appetite. I have only seen the white feces once over the past week and that's the day after I fed cyclops. I'm not sure your problem parrallels mine due to the fishes appetite.

I'm pretty sure the brown spot is some sort of bruise or abrassion from my LR. It seems to be getting lighter by the day.

Best of luck!

 

[ryanclark2002]

Crazy!?? I actually just started feeding cyclop-eez about 2 weeks ago. I wonder if this is related??

 

[dinki]

I hope that's all it is too. Try feeding whatever you were feeding before and see if it goes away. Like I said before, though, my fish never stopped having an appetite. Does he eat the cyclops?

 

[rlcline76]

I have never heard of cyclopeeze causing intestinal problems. It is supposed to be an extremely healthy food for fish.

 

[ryanclark2002]

Just an update on my clown. Today I fed some mysis shrimp and my clown actually was eating a little bit. I will watch him very closely and hopefully he will get back to normal. Thanks for all your replies.

 

[dinki]

Ryan, Please keep the updates coming. I'm interested in trying to figure this one out too. Best of luck!