What are these dark spots on my Oscellaris pair?

[The Escaped Ape]

They've been there for a while on both fish, not really appearing to affect them obviously (no signs of poor health, just the spots themselves). They've not spread to the other fish in my tank (Tailspot Blenny, McCosker's Wrasse).

Here's the best photo I have, of the larger fish.

 

[WaffleWalffle22]

:deadhorse: Ewww who added this new icon? :worried:

Some Ocellaris will get those black splotches of coloration. My Fancy Ocellaris get those on their chest all the time, but they go away. Some people say those splotches are related to host corals/anemones/etc. mildly stinging the clowns, which may be true because I saw lots of those on my Fancy Ocellaris when I added new frogspawns for them.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Thanks WaffleWalffle. Sorry if this is a subject that has been discussed at length already! I hadn't seen anything like this before...

Thanks also for the suggested explanation. They have had these for a while now (maybe several months) and seem to be getting more of them gradually. They're not using the RBTA in the tank as hosts and don't seem to be trying to, but are prone to nipping at each other, and I've wondered if that's the reason for the spots.

Even considering all that, do you think it's probably not cause for serious concern? They do seem perfectly healthy otherwise.

 

[sjwitt]

Never had personal experience with it but I've read some about Black Ich. See info at link below.

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/compldiagnodisease/a/aa041701.htm

 

[shifty51008]

those are just coral stings and nothing to worry about. mine got them all the time when he was going into the frogspawn and such.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Never had personal experience with it but I've read some about Black Ich. See info at link below.

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/compldiagnodisease/a/aa041701.htm

Thanks for the link! I got myself a bit worried when I first started reading, but then a number of things didn't ring true if it really was black ich. They've shown no other symptoms, after first developing the spots some months ago, the other fish seem completely unaffected (and I've read now that clowns are perhaps less likely than other fish to be affected, so I'd assume if they were, so would the other fish) and the spots don't really seem to match the description for black ich.

That was a useful trail to follow though, thanks. It also means I know what symptoms to look out for (the fish gasping, scratching against things) if it is black ich. I'll keep an eye on them.

those are just coral stings and nothing to worry about. mine got them all the time when he was going into the frogspawn and such.

Thanks shifty. I've not seen them in a coral, but I know that they do hang around at night the area in my tank where I have a small frogspawn. It's possible they're dipping into it at times. I'll try and keep a closer eye on where they go. If only they'd go into the anemones!

 

[sjwitt]

Thanks for the link! I got myself a bit worried when I first started reading, but then a number of things didn't ring true if it really was black ich. They've shown no other symptoms, after first developing the spots some months ago, the other fish seem completely unaffected (and I've read now that clowns are perhaps less likely than other fish to be affected, so I'd assume if they were, so would the other fish) and the spots don't really seem to match the description for black ich.

That was a useful trail to follow though, thanks. It also means I know what symptoms to look out for (the fish gasping, scratching against things) if it is black ich. I'll keep an eye on them.

Glad to hear there's no other symptoms. I didn't want to assume so thought I'd pass it on. I hope it all works out.

 

[shifty51008]

I have never had any luck with them going into anemones. right now I have a nice RBTA that they could care less about, but the wife loves it so it's not a total loss.

corals that have hoasted my clowns though were, fogspawn, mushrooms, toadstool leather, and devils hand leather.

 

[steelhead77]

those are just coral stings and nothing to worry about. mine got them all the time when he was going into the frogspawn and such.

+1 on this. Not very likely it's black Ich or any other nasty thing. Simple coral or anemone stings is all they are.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Thanks again, both of you!

 

[bymers42]

I thought they looked like coral stings as well.

On a different note, nice job capturing such a good pic. I am horrible at taking pictures, which isn't helped by my pos camera. Getting a good quality pic like that is extremely helpful in getting opinions from others.

 

[The Escaped Ape]

Thanks, both for offering your experience and the kind comment! I've just got myself my first really decent digital camera (a Canon Rebel T2i) and it's helped immeasurably in taking decent pictures of my fish. I only managed to get 2-3 halfway presentable shots with my previous compact.

The next step is to get myself a decent macro lens for those close up shots of coral.