my clownfish is sick

[toned]

I posted this on another forum (nano-reef) but the fish is not getting any better, so here goes the initial post and updates, ANY HELP APPRECIATED!


----initial post-----
some background:

tank has been up and running over a year, water paramters are fine (can post them if requested)

current livestock:
6 crabs
4 snails
2x clownfish (one was purchased for my 55gal, but it's not ready yet)
1x peppermint shrimp
green star polyps

the sick clown (let's call him nemo) has been the primary and only resident since the tank cycled about a year ago

two weeks ago I was at the fish store and picked up another clown, which is going in my 55 after it's cycle is done (almost there)...I put them together and they got along fine, I was happy

about 4 days ago I notice a white pimple on the face of one of nemo, I googled quickly and couldn't find anything conclusive, a few sites said it may have been common so I left it alone
about a day later, one became two...
about a day or two after that, it looks like it 'poped' and you see what's in the pictures below...it's almost scabbed
that was yesterday, today it looks like he has white dots all over him, raised as well

he's not eating, looks sluggish and has not eaten in about 3 days now

any ideas?
some images:

------action taken-----
after their feedback and advice, here's what I've done:

I moved them both to their own 10 gallon tank, just tank, fish, heater, koralia nano 240 powerhead and a HOB
------update------

Update time...and it's not looking good 



I've treated them both with erythromycin and he does not look any better...if anything he looks worse...today was the last day for the first treatment:

day1: add packet
day2: add packet
day3: 25% water change
day4: add packet
day5: add packet (where I am now)

still won't eat, he looks like he has popeye now...breathing VERY heavily...I'd almost say he's on his way out 

any ideas? do I take out the 'healthy' fish and just leave nemo in there or leave them both and do another cycle? or try something else altogether?

any ideas helpful...I really don't want to lose this fish!

 

[MrTuskfish]

I can't be 100% sure; but I'm almost positive that this is brooklynella, or "clownfish" disease. This is a very fast moving and contagious parasite/disease and is not limited to clowns. The real obvious symptom of brook is peeling or sloughing skin. The damaged skin often starts out as small pimples like your fish. I'd Google "marine brooklynella' and see if this is the culprit. This is a protozoan parasite and the only cure I know of is formalin. the antibiotic you're using won't do anything. If it is brook, all of your fish need to be treated in a QT/HT and the tank left fallow for 6+ weeks. Unfortunately, brook is often fatal, even when caught early. I'd strongly suggest you start using a QT regimen on all new fish where parasites like this can be seen & cured without tearing apart a tank to treat the remaining fish.

 

[toned]

thanks for the reply

I googled a bit and got a bit more info and I am not confident that it's brooklynella (just based on observation of the fish, if I am wrong please correct me) and the reason I say that is the article I found (
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/ichparasiticdiseases/a/aabrooklynella.htm) mentions that it attacks the gills first and one of the behavior is the fish scraping up against objects? is that always the case? the first sign of this was on the face and I never saw it rubbing up against anything..everything else is right on though:
lethargic, refusing to eat, discoloration

I also looked up Oodinium and it's very similar, but again, I am not sure

it seems like it's gotten worse then ever, I just did a 30% waterchange for the QT tank and to be honest I will be surprized if it's alive when I wake up tomorrow morning

poor fish

if this is a bacteria infection, how come the other fishh that I've had for about a month or so is as healthy as can be? wouldn't it be showing sings of sickness too? if not, how could this have been avoided if I had QT'ed the newer fish for 4-6 weeks?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Best guess: I don't think this is bacterial, I think is one or the protozoan parasites. You can't avoid parasites in a QT, but you can kill them there and stop them from getting into your DT. A fish with brook, velvet, (oodinium) or even ich can easily end up killing all the fish in your tank. These parasites are very contagious and your should read the stickies on their life-cycle. If this is a parasite; all of your fish are in trouble, unless treated.

 

[Triton_Z]

It's not clearly brooklynella from your pictures IMO. However since the antibiotics are not yielding any results, I would suggest a formalin bath or Seachem Paraguard bath to provide some immediate relief from an unknown ectoparasite. This could also aid you in diagnosing the disease.