Help with diagnosis please

[Poeticlydead]

First let me say sorry for the pics, never realized how hard it is to take a non blurry pic of a clown fish. So quick backround I have had this clown pair for going on 5 years with no problems in fact they regularly spawn in the tank as of yesterday night the female started showing some hazy white on one side towards the tail it isn't so much distinct spots like I would expect with ich and their appears to be a little damage to the very end of the tail fin.

Well on to the bad pics:

Used the flash here and the white doesn't show up but you can see the end of the tail where it looks a little frayed.

I appreciate any help in diagnosis so I can take an appropriate course of action.

 

[Poeticlydead]

Tank info
90 gallon reef
s.g. 1.026
temp 79-80 degrees F

pair of clowns was added a little over 4 years ago

other fish:
1 - hippo tang
2 - anthias
1 - target mandarin

I had added a male target mandarin to the system right before christmas and in the hectic season skipped QT - he was fine and corting my female target for a couple of weeks then came home to find him on the sandbed breathing hard and his fins where in bad shape - pulled him from the system and put in a hospital tank but didn't make the night. After that I had no other problems and non of the other fish showed any signs of disease or stress. Now my clown has something wrong with it though it doesn't look anything like what happened to the mandarin.

The clown isn't breathing heavy, rubbing or acting sluggish. She has been active, eating, swimming and chasing the anthias away from her home, if it wasn't for the white on her I wouldn't think anything was wrong.

 

[Poeticlydead]

Anybody have any ideas should, I just go ahead and place them in the hospital tank and treat with copper?

 

[b0bab0ey]

Man, it's so hard to tell with those pics. The tail rot is probably a bacterial infection and should be treated with antibiotics. I'd go with Furan-2. The hazy white spot looks like Brook to me but it could also be the bacterial infection spreading. Google "Brooklynella" and see if that looks like what your clown has.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Man, it's so hard to tell with those pics. The tail rot is probably a bacterial infection and should be treated with antibiotics. I'd go with Furan-2. The hazy white spot looks like Brook to me but it could also be the bacterial infection spreading. Google "Brooklynella" and see if that looks like what your clown has.

It looks like brooklynella to me too. Is the skin peeling or sloughing off? Clowns are really susceptible to brook, was the mandarin the last fish (or anything else wet) added?

 

[MarinaP]

If the tail is damaged, it could be bacterial infection spreading. With brook you usually will see very rapid breathing and cloudy eyes before skin start to crackle..

Do you think the damage was mechanical? Do you have/might have any crabs in the tank?

 

[Poeticlydead]

If the tail is damaged, it could be bacterial infection spreading. With brook you usually will see very rapid breathing and cloudy eyes before skin start to crackle..

Do you think the damage was mechanical? Do you have/might have any crabs in the tank?

I have some emerald crabs in the tank and a couple really small hermits.
I don't know if the damage was mechanical as you can see in the picture with the flash the damage appears to be on the outside edge and really is fairly minimal.

 

[Poeticlydead]

It looks like brooklynella to me too. Is the skin peeling or sloughing off? Clowns are really susceptible to brook, was the mandarin the last fish (or anything else wet) added?

Mandarin was the last fish only other addtion was a conch snail and a scarlet cleaner shrimp.
There doesn't appear to be any peeling or sloughing of the skin just the white patches.

The fish doesn't show any other signs of brook
"At the onset fish may scrap up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus. Fish become lethargic, refuse to eat, and colors fade, but the most noticeable difference that sets Brooklynella apart from Oodinium is the heavy amount of slime that is produced."

^ not doing any of this, just the white areas ^
This is what confused me as she really doesn't show any other symptoms that I can go by.

 

[MarinaP]

It's the crab. Clowns fall asleep and that's when the crabs get them. She should heal on her own.

 

[SjadeD]

Mine get that from time to time when their nem stings them. It goes away in a day or two.

 

[MrTuskfish]

It's the crab. Clowns fall asleep and that's when the crabs get them. She should heal on her own.

I think so too; I've seen crabs do this sort of damage often.