sick clownfish

[ckfazz]

I have two small tank raised percula clownfish in my 12g nano tank that have black spots all over them. They look almost like dark brown/black freckles. All of my paramters are fine and are as follows:

temp - 80
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Phos - 0
Calcium - 420
Alk - 9dKH

I do weekly water changes of about 15% with RO/DI water and match the temp/salinity with the tank water. The spots first started about a week ago with only one spot on one of the clownfish and now both fish have it covering their bodies. They are not raised at all and actually don't seem to be bothering them. They are both swimming, breathing, eating and acting normal. Any ideas as to what this is and how to cure it? Everything else in my tank is doing fine (snails, shrimp, zoas, xenia and monit cap)

Thanks
Chris

 

[SAT]

There are two possibilities here. One is you have some parasites such as "black ich". The other is melanin spots caused by contact with anemones or corals. If it's the latter, there is no cause for alarm, but it may indicate an unhealthy relationship with a host animal. The parasites are generally fairly regular in shape and similarly sized; melanin spots will be more irregular.

Here's a reference that may help for black ich.

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/blackich.html

 

[ckfazz]

Thanks for the reply and the site Stuart. Looking at the picture and reading the description, it is definitely not black ich. The only corals that are in my tank are zoas, a small monti cap and a piece of xenia. I was not aware that any of these would cause a reaction to the clownfish but apparently it has. Do you think that it is the xenia that is causing this since it is the only coral that the go near?

Thanks
Chris

 

[SAT]

If the clowns attempt to host on the Xenia, then yes that could be the cause. I don't think it's particularly harmful to the fish, but if it was mine I would separate them.