Sick Clown?

[Ken_wied]

My clown who is hosting a Sebae Anem just started showing 2 little brownish colored dots on her side. She is healthy, active and eats like a horse. Water Params are all (Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia) unreadable, and pH is consistantly at 7.8. All the other occupants are doing great. Is this just a discoloration or should I be worried?
Thanks,
Ken

 

[Mayesj101]

My Perc's got the same thing, but other than that, he's fine.

On the other hand, your PH is ridiculously low. SW tank's PH should never drop below 8.0, with 8.2-8.3 optimal.

 

[sedor]

I wouldn't say ridiculously low. pH tends to drop around the 7.8 range at night, if you checked it during the day it should be above 8. If its not then you need to start addressing that because it means there is not enough gas exchange going on in your tank. Usually this naturally happens by having an open top, running a skimmer, surface agitation etc. Anything that allows the water to breathe basically.

As far as the clown goes, he looks fine to me. I doubt the BTA stung him, but usually anemone stings leave black marks, so that could possibly be it.

 

[Coral Hind]

Your pH should be higher. What is your alk at?

The fish has Hyper-Melaninization. The fish has come into contact with a coral, anemone or other such invertebrate that has stung or injured the fish. It isn't 'sick', just those areas of the skin changed their pigmentation. Sometimes when clowns first take to an anemone they will get these spots until they establish a relationship. Keep us updated if it doesn't go away in a week or if the spots show up else where.

 

[patriots81]

ph is low. it should be anywhere from 8-8.4

 

[Ken_wied]

Thanks all. The pH is something I have been battling for a while now. I dont understand. I have an open top, quite a bit of surface agitation, a fan blowing across it. The system has a 20g sump, a recirculating skimmer and overall good water movement. The sump is lit opposite the display tank. I've never tested for ALK, so I guess its off to the LFS I go. I've tried water changes galore, and it still remains where it is at. The Clown has been with that anem for about 2 months. I use ReefCrystals for my salt and it is stable at 1.025 (with refractometer). I didn' t mean to hijack this for pH issues, but if it helps get it resolved, then I'm game.

 

[patriots81]

you could try buffer.

 

[Coral Hind]

If your house has been closed up tight because the AC is on then that can cause pH to be somewhat low as the O2 in the house will be low. I am sure when you check your alk lever you will find it is going to be low if you don't normally add some type of buffer as patriots81 mentioned.

 

[RoastReef]

How old is your ph test kit? You may want to try testing with a different kit and see what your results are.

 

[Ken_wied]

I usually dont run ac. I prefer windows open, and the WI summer has been unseasonably cool. My test kit is an AP test kit from Foster and Smith and its probably 3 months old. (Chemical test kit). I will have to look at buffer to see whats going on.

 

[Mayesj101]

I highly doubt it's hypermelanization-my clown's got a spot exactly like these, and there's nothing in the tank that could possibly sting him-and besides, he's had the spot since the day I got him, and he had it at the LFS, as well.

 

[Ken_wied]

New info.. I noticed a couple Aiptasia Anems in my tank around where her sebae is. Could these be the culprit? I purchased 2 pep shrimps in hopes to get rid of them before they get out of control.

 

[asia102485]

Ken_wied- My clown fish also gets these spots when ever he goes on "vacation" In other words, when he leaves his RBTA and goes to the Frog Sapwn for a couple of days, then a week later he is back with his RBTA and the spots go away within a week.
I agree with Coral Hind, I think a certain coral or like you mentioned an Aiptasia is the cause of the spots.

Hopefully they go away. Good luck