Spot on clownfish ID

[Oregonic]

My female clownfish has this spot on her left side. She has had it for a few weeks but seems as healthy other then the spot. She is acting completely normal and is a pig as usual when it comes to feeding. I had originally thought it was a bite from a squabble with the male clown but its not going away. I have noticed she has finally started showing interest in a BTA the last week or so but has not completely committed to nestle into it. She just seems to be passing by, checking it out and occasionally quickly swimming throug it. Is it possible it stung her and causes a wound?  I thought they could just dive in if they ever decided they wanted the anemone to host them. I dont have a QT, how should I handle?

[CrabbyCrabs]

Maybe where the anemone stung it? Mine were stung quite a bit when they first tried hosting. I thought they were going to die they were tweaking all over, like seizures. For days this went on. Happens every so often now. 

[SuncrestReef]

Clownfish shaking or quivering is a normal behavior.  Mine do it all the time.  Google it and you'll find lots of videos showing the behavior.

[Pennywise]

It's bonding/paring behavior. Male will start to get aggressive and territorial.

[Emerald525]

Clownfish do have to acclimate to the anemone. 

[Oregonic]

She is acting normal.  Both my clowns have always done the shaking. The did seem to do it more when they were younger and fighting for dominance bit now the female is clearly the boss. When they do fight now they dont seem to do the shake as often but are more aggressive in their quick fights. 

[Oregonic]

2 minutes ago, Emerald525 said:

Clownfish do have to acclimate to the anemone. 

Can the anemone sting and leave that big of a wound on a clown?  If so Im not to concerned as it would just be part of the hosting process and the wound should heal.

[Pennywise]

That could be an old wound from the two paring and fighting that has slowly got a little infected. If so. I see a 10 gallon QT in the near future 

Edited November 27, 2018 by Pennywise

[Emerald525]

56 minutes ago, Oregonic said:

Can the anemone sting and leave that big of a wound on a clown?  If so Im not to concerned as it would just be part of the hosting process and the wound should heal.

Not typically that big. I had that happen when one of my clowns got stuck in a maxi mini which has a more powerful sting. Like what was mentioned, it could be an old wound that got infected either from a bite or getting a scrape on the rocks.

Edited November 27, 2018 by Emerald525

[Oregonic]

I do have a few flower anemones not sure how bad their sting would be, and they do fight a lot less but have short more violent fights when they do. So probably just a wound of somesort. I dont have a qt is it something that I should set up or would it be more stressful to remove her from her home of 2 1/2 years?  If qt the best option should I be treating the water with any medication?

[Pennywise]

I would remove her. Typically medication has copper and inverts don't fair well...,or basically die.there are other"invert safe" meds but I am leary. But I'm kinda a noob

[Oregonic]

I wouldnt medicate my display. If meds are needed I will definitely set up a qt. 

[CrabbyCrabs]

What I witnessed, when the clowns first hosted the anemone, was not their mating dance or whatever you call it. They would dart all over and twitch in a much more violent way due to the anemone stings. I know their dance, they do it non stop.

[Emerald525]

46 minutes ago, Oregonic said:

I do have a few flower anemones not sure how bad their sting would be, and they do fight a lot less but have short more violent fights when they do. So probably just a wound of somesort. I dont have a qt is it something that I should set up or would it be more stressful to remove her from her home of 2 1/2 years?  If qt the best option should I be treating the water with any medication?

There are different schools of thought. I personally don’t tend to take them out and consider treatment unless they aren’t doing well.

@IntoTheMystic any thoughts on this one ?

[CrabbyCrabs]

Try a slime coat medication. I used one briefly in my tank due to fish fights. Worked and didn't seem to affect any coral or inverts. If I think I can look and see what I used, thought it was a seachem product though.

[Oregonic]

28 minutes ago, CrabbyCrabs said:

Try a slime coat medication. I used one briefly in my tank due to fish fights. Worked and didn't seem to affect any coral or inverts. If I think I can look and see what I used, thought it was a seachem product though.

Prime?

[Oregonic]

31 minutes ago, Emerald525 said:

There are different schools of thought. I personally don’t tend to take them out and consider treatment unless they aren’t doing well.

@IntoTheMystic any thoughts on this one ?

That has been my thought, if its just a wound and as long as she continues to act normal I feel ot may be more stressful to remove her. I know stress can make things worse sometimes. I have not introduced anything new to the tank in months so I am fairly confident its not a parasite.    

[pdxmonkeyboy]

15 hours ago, Oregonic said:

She is acting normal.  Both my clowns have always done the shaking. The did seem to do it more when they were younger and fighting for dominance bit now the female is clearly the boss. When they do fight now they dont seem to do the shake as often but are more aggressive in their quick fights. 

You have  just precisely described my home life. ..

[albertareef]

40 minutes ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:

You have  just precisely described my home life. ..

Remind me again... does Dawn read this forum?

[IntoTheMystic]

16 hours ago, Emerald525 said:

There are different schools of thought. I personally don’t tend to take them out and consider treatment unless they aren’t doing well.

@IntoTheMystic any thoughts on this one ?

Can't really get a good look at it from the image but a few questions:

1. How long has this lesion/discoloration/ulceration/whateverthehellitis been on this animal? How long is a few weeks?

2. Looks like there might be scales missing on the spot. Is this true?

3. Have you noticed this animal flashing (i.e. rubbing against hard objects as if to dislodge an ectoparasite) at that spot?

4. Doesn't appear to be any swelling at the site. Is this true?

5. Are either the pectoral or pelvic fins on that side acting odd, seemingly impaired, or otherwise affected by this?

6. Does this spot appear to be getting larger over time?

7. How long has this animal been in your collection?

 

A bit of context and perhaps another image or two will help me work this problem a bit more effectively. Please let me know what you think when you have a moment or two.

 

[Oregonic]

4 hours ago, IntoTheMystic said:

Can't really get a good look at it from the image but a few questions:

1. How long has this lesion/discoloration/ulceration/whateverthehellitis been on this animal? How long is a few weeks?

2. Looks like there might be scales missing on the spot. Is this true?

3. Have you noticed this animal flashing (i.e. rubbing against hard objects as if to dislodge an ectoparasite) at that spot?

4. Doesn't appear to be any swelling at the site. Is this true?

5. Are either the pectoral or pelvic fins on that side acting odd, seemingly impaired, or otherwise affected by this?

6. Does this spot appear to be getting larger over time?

7. How long has this animal been in your collection?

 

A bit of context and perhaps another image or two will help me work this problem a bit more effectively. Please let me know what you think when you have a moment or two.

 

1. It has been about 3 weeks. 

2. I believe there are scales missing. It looks fairly raw, but not 100% sure as she is so active all the time it is hard to get a look for longer then half a second. I was just able to get a somewhat better photo with flash. 

3. She occasionally will flash against the sand but does not favor one side as opposed to the other. I have assumed the flashing against the sand as just normal clown behavior. She has done this for the 2 1/2 uears I have had her and never seen her do it against rocks. More like she is stirring the sand then flashing. I have added nothing to my tank in 6-7 months. These two things have steered me away from really considering a parasite. 

 

4. No swelling that I can tell. 

 

5. She seems to swim completely normal. All her fins seem fine. 

 

6. Seems the same size as when it appeared. 

 

7. Two and a half years. 

 

She will not stay still long enough for a good photo.  I have probably tried to take 50 photos and this is the best I could get.  I may have to pull out the gopro and film her so I can screenshot a decent photo if necessary.   

[IntoTheMystic]

That's a much better image. Thank you.  Pretty fish. When I zoom in on what looks like a lesion, I def see scale loss and what is probably exposed muscle tissue. Curiously, I don't see much inflammation at the site. I would expect to see some on the margins. Is the tissue raggedy in appearance or smooth? It looks smooth at a distance. The fuzziness I'm seeing could just be loss of definition at max zoom.

To me, it looks like this animal may have bolted into something unforgiving and given itself a nasty abrasion. With no swelling, no sign of inflammation and the fact that is started out this size and has stayed this size makes me think that this is trauma, rather than some type of pathogen. It could also be a bite. If there's a way to safely extract this critter without too much collateral damage , I'd recommend at least 1 Stresscoat bath to get it some osmoregulatory relief.

If that's impractical, just keep a real close eye on it and holler if you see any reddening around the margins, swelling, excessive mucous production or other signs of an infection. On the plus side, the color and posture of this fish looks good. I've seen these types of abrasions before. If the fish is in good shape before it happens, and this appears to be, they often heal well on their own.

'The microbe is nothing. The terrain is everything."

                                                       Louis Pasteur

 

Edited November 28, 2018 by IntoTheMystic

[Oregonic]

18 hours ago, IntoTheMystic said:

That's a much better image. Thank you.  Pretty fish. When I zoom in on what looks like a lesion, I def see scale loss and what is probably exposed muscle tissue. Curiously, I don't see much inflammation at the site. I would expect to see some on the margins. Is the tissue raggedy in appearance or smooth? It looks smooth at a distance. The fuzziness I'm seeing could just be loss of definition at max zoom.

To me, it looks like this animal may have bolted into something unforgiving and given itself a nasty abrasion. With no swelling, no sign of inflammation and the fact that is started out this size and has stayed this size makes me think that this is trauma, rather than some type of pathogen. It could also be a bite. If there's a way to safely extract this critter without too much collateral damage , I'd recommend at least 1 Stresscoat bath to get it some osmoregulatory relief.

If that's impractical, just keep a real close eye on it and holler if you see any reddening around the margins, swelling, excessive mucous production or other signs of an infection. On the plus side, the color and posture of this fish looks good. I've seen these types of abrasions before. If the fish is in good shape before it happens, and this appears to be, they often heal well on their own.

'The microbe is nothing. The terrain is everything."

                                                       Louis Pasteur

 

I may be able to net her without having to remove any rock work. What would you recommend for ratio of sw to stresscoat for the bath and how long of a bath?

[Oregonic]

Also Prime claims to help restore slime coat. Is there an advantage to stresscoat over prime?  If I can not net her would there be any disadvantage to just dosing prime to the display directly?  I had a small ammonia spike about a year and half ago and dosed directly to tank for 2 days while doing water changs and had no ill effects.  I also use prime when doing water changes on my planted tank so I have it on hand. 

[IntoTheMystic]

Can't vouch for Prime over Stresscoat. Really don't know. I'd say, at least for now, monitor this insult (whatever it is) and see if it begins to resolve on its own or whether it's going to need more attention. Your eyes will tell you when you need to go proactive on it.  If you do, whatever the bottle dosage is should work well. Good luck with this. Hope it resolves without intervention. 🍻