So I've had 2 clownfish in a quarantine tank for almost two weeks now and I have been trying to narrow down their symptoms for an accurate diagnoses. I've narrowed it down to either flukes, hexamita, or HLLE. I've done some research and they have been showing many signs of flukes but I have already given them a dose and a half of prazipro and they haven't shown much improvement so now I'm beginning to think its hexamita or HLLE. They also have small reddish dots around their head which is why I think it might be hexamita or HLLE and they have white stringy poop and I don't think that's a symptom of HLLE. I recently found an article about Epsom salt to treat hexamita over metronidazole but the article is pretty much the only thing I found about treating hexamita with Epsom salt. I also gave one of them a freshwater dip and once it was over there was a small speck floating on the surface of the water. I originally thought it could be a fluke but after more research I think it could have been a hexamita Protozoa because it was at the surface of the water, I think flukes sink after a freshwater dip and I saw a picture of a hexamita Protozoa on Google and it was a similar shape and size to what was floating in the freshwater dip. I am wondering if anyone has any info on any of these topics and your help is greatly appreciated.
Hexamita or flukes
- Thread starter Ron448
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Newsmyrna80
Active member
Can you post a pic of the fish?
Heres another pic of a mark that appeared after the quarantine began that i don't know what it is either.
And here is a picture of the second one of the pair and he also has similar markings on his head but not as bad as the other one's. theres also a mark under the two spots that is questionable as well.
And here is a picture of the second one of the pair and he also has similar markings on his head but not as bad as the other one's. theres also a mark under the two spots that is questionable as well.
Newsmyrna80
Active member
So to recap, you've head them in a QT for two weeks...how are they eating, breathing, swimming,acting? As for the stringy poop, since they are still in a QT you could treat with metro. IME I had a clown that had it off and on for 10 years. It never bothered her but some parasites are meant to be symbiotic so they try not to kill their host.
As for the little "holes" around the head mine as that as well, it never been a problem. I don't see the redness that you mentioned.
What symptoms of flukes are they exhibiting? I do see the torn fins but that is symptomatic of several diseases, one of which is a bacterial infection.
As for the little "holes" around the head mine as that as well, it never been a problem. I don't see the redness that you mentioned.
What symptoms of flukes are they exhibiting? I do see the torn fins but that is symptomatic of several diseases, one of which is a bacterial infection.
When I first got them they were barely eating at all and now they eat much more than they were. The smaller one seems to be breathing twice as hard as the larger one, and the larger one seems to be breathing normally. The smaller ones fins have been a little torn and the gills look a little swollen which is why I originally thought they had flukes. I also saw the smaller one twitching and jittering a couple times I'm pretty sure some fish do that during breeding but I'm not sure about clownfish but I'm pretty sure they're too young to be breeding anyways. I was originally using a flood light to light the quarantine tank which could have been why the holes appeared red but now I'm using white and blue LEDs to light the tank. I'll post the picture i took we hen they were more red but the quality won't be as good because I took it with my phone
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Newsmyrna80
Active member
The smaller one sounds like it may have some kind of issue. Did you do a FW dip on that one?
Is there any ammonia in the tank?
As far as hexamita from my research it is not prevalent in saltwater aquaria. It is more of a freshwater disease. That's not to say it can't happen it's just not as likely as the standard brook, velvet, ich, etc.
Is there any ammonia in the tank?
As far as hexamita from my research it is not prevalent in saltwater aquaria. It is more of a freshwater disease. That's not to say it can't happen it's just not as likely as the standard brook, velvet, ich, etc.
I did try a freshwater dip on the small one. Only for about 3-5 minutes though and nothing much fell off of him. There was a small speck floating on the surface of the water when I was done and I don't think flukes float for every long. This thing was floating for as long as it was in there and I found a picture of the Protozoa the cause hexamita with a scale of 10 um which would be micro meters. I'm not sure if that would be visible with the naked eye but what was floating looked to be about a 4th or 5th of a centimeter. Ammonia has also been low but nitrites have been raising a bit but I've been doing water changes to try to keep it low.
Newsmyrna80
Active member
What do you mean the ammonia is low? If it's anything above 0 that could be the problem.
Well the ammonia did get up to about .50 ppm the first few days but now it's at 0. I only have the API test kits so it's not that easy to get an exact reading. They have been eating a lot more than they were when they got them and if the white poop isn't always a sign of a parasite and the holes are natural I kind of want to just put then in my DT because they are the only two fish I'm keepin so if they do get worse I can just set up another quarantine long enough for the parasites to die off in the DT. I did order some metro flake just in case though. Would it be better to give them the metro flakes just to be safe? And also can metro flakes be used in a reef aquarium?
Newsmyrna80
Active member
An ammonia reading of .50 can be lethal. That was probably your problem. Agree, those API kits are very hard to read.
You could put them into the main but realize that if disease presents they will need to be caught, put into a qt and leave the tank fallow.
You could put them into the main but realize that if disease presents they will need to be caught, put into a qt and leave the tank fallow.
The ammonia might have had some effect on them but I really don't think it was that because they had the white poop pretty much the day I go them and they weren't eating. Also when I got them I had my friend hold onto them for a few days because my DT hadn't finished cycling at the time I ordered them. His tank is about 6 months old all his parameters were in check and he didn't have a fish in his tank until these two. In the past when I kept clownfish I have found it extremely easy to catch them while they are sleeping so if I do end up putting them in the DT and have to remove them I'll probably just try it that way. I also have some metrodinazole flakes on their way so I'm probably going to keep them in the quarantine a little longer unless the metro flakes can be used in a reef tank
Newsmyrna80
Active member
Ammonia wouldn't cause the white poop but it will cause heavy breathing, torn fins, red swollen gills, no appetite, shaking or flashing.
I don't think the metro flakes will cause a problem in the main as long as they don't land on any corals and the excess is cleaned up.
I don't think the metro flakes will cause a problem in the main as long as they don't land on any corals and the excess is cleaned up.
joseph.lucketta
New member
Any update? My snowflake clowns are exhibiting almost this exact behavior so I'd like to see how things work out for you.
Hey joe, my clowns are still living which is a good sign. About a week ago before I started the metro flakes I thawed out some frozen food with my water from my quarantine and without thinking I dumped it into my display tank so I figured if they have parasites it's in the display tank so I thought I'd let them enjoy the main tank for a while until their symptoms worsen. I did end up treating them with the metro flakes in my display tank and my corals seemed to be unfased by them. I went 6 days of feeding only the metro flakes twice daily. I've managed to get them eating a lot which is also a good sign. I've been kinda busy lately and haven't been able to observe them very closely since the metro flake treatment but I've only notice white poop once since I've finished the metro flake treatment. Where did you get yours and what symptoms exactly do they have?
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