Sick clown with lesions.

Alexraptor

New member
So I didn't really give it much thought at first as my two clownfish scrap from time to time, but I think my female clownfish has developed a parasitic infection as she's got lesions that won't go away on her body.
I tried to get as good pictures as I could.

She's been like this 2-3 weeks now, the lesions don't seem to have progressed much but they won't go away either.
She's gotten skinny despite being properly fed. She's got a good and healthy appetite and does not seem to be behaving in an abnormal fashion, though her swimming is a little wobbly with her pectoral fins being clamped. Can't tell if breathing is abnormally fast but it does not appeared to be labored in any way.

They have not been exposed to any new animals for 4-5 months, which is when they got moved to a new setup with new rock and inverts, but the tank in question had been fish-less for another 6 months prior to the clowns being introduced. The male clownfish does not seem to be affected.

Any ideas on what this is and how to treat?
 

Attachments

  • Sickclown3.jpg
    Sickclown3.jpg
    25.6 KB · Views: 0
  • Sickclown2.jpg
    Sickclown2.jpg
    26.3 KB · Views: 1
  • Sickclown1.jpg
    Sickclown1.jpg
    34.8 KB · Views: 1
My guess would be advanced Brooklynella. It usually kills pretty quick so the clowns living with it for 2-3 weeks is pushing it. If it is brook the only way to treat it is with Formalin and leaving your tank fallow for 5 weeks.

Did you add anything to your tank recently like coral, rock, sand, inverts, anything at all? 4-5 months is a long time for brook to show itself, but I guess it isn't impossible.
 
Absolutely "nothing" new has been brought into the house for 11-12 months from any source whatsoever. 4-5 months is only the time since the clowns were moved into a fish-less system and were exposed to invertebrates that had already been there for 6 months.
Also definitely not Brooklynella, as the clown's mucus production is completely normal. And excessive mucus production is one of the defining symptoms of Brooklynella. Those white patches are bare spots where the scales have fallen off the skin.
 
possibly Uronema disease. If so...
Causes: The ciliate protozoan Uronema marinum
Symptoms: External ulcers, muscle and skin bleeding, lethargic behavior, cloudy eyes, and sloughing of the skin are signs. They usually die right away if infected because of the impaired circulation of the gills.
Treatment: Freshwater bath followed by prolonged immersion in a formalin bath a day later is effective.
 
Wow major correction to add here.
Just reviewed some of the videos I've been shooting of the fish and noticed that the symptoms of clamped fins and lesions started to appear 5 and a half months ago.

So "whatever" this is its been progressing to this point since then, at least. And lesions have barely progressed since the beginning of March.
I would probably have picked up on it sooner, but I've been dealing with critical illness in the family that kind of diverted my attention.
Would malnutrition cause symptoms like this?
 
Back
Top