Trying to figure out what ails my ocellaris clownfish

Mike in AZ

New member
My female ocellaris clownfish has been spending a lot of tying laying on her left side the past 2 weeks, and sometimes she seems to be rubbing her left front side along the sand. She has 2-3 very light brown raised spots in the area (best way I guess to describe them is about the size and shape of a small wart on a human with a dirt color to it). She will become very active during feeding time, and swims in place all night long, but during the day it seems she is resting a lot. The male clownfish now has 4-5 of these spots but does not exhibit the same behaviors. Both are eating with gusto and aren't hiding or fighting with any other fish. The male developed the spots about 3 weeks after I began to see them on the female.

I do have a button polyup in the tank and just put a pink-tip anemone in this weekend (but both clowns had the spots before the anemone was added, so I ruled out them being stung).

There are 2 purple firefish, a lawnmower blenny, diamond watchman goby, and a royal gramma in the tank with them as well. No other fish have the bumps or are acting strange.

Any thoughts? There is no slime coating or small white spots so I ruled out ich.

I got the fish from a local reefer who was getting out of the hobby, and his tank had poor water movement in it, so at first I thought maybe the female clownfish was just getting tired from having more water flow in the tank.

I know these pictures are 99% worthless, but all I had was a cellphone camera and clownfish do not sit still.

Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=271489

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=271488
 
from what I can find on the net, Sounds like a bacterial infection. Try QTing, and soaking food in an antibiotic for a while? Someone else might have some better info, but this is what I found. :)
 
Try a freshwater dip for 5 to 10 minutes, bring the water up to about the same temp and ph as your tank water and just drop them in.
 
Well when I got home late last night they both looked like pictures I had seen of clownfish with brooklynella, and by this morning the male was dead. Picking up some formalin on the way home in hopes that I can save the female =(
 
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