wackyvolitan
New Member
Hi,
I have a Tomato Clownfish (about 3-3.5") that I've had for several weeks now. He's in a 55 gallon FO aquarium with 2 yellowtail damsels that I bought a while before the clownfish (I didn't use them to cycle, I used raw shrimp instead), and a few crabs and snails. The aquarium is well established.
I bought the clownfish at an LFS and he seemed to be very healthy and active then. Within the past couple weeks, I've been noticing several black "blotches" appearing on his sides... I'm really sorry I don't have a picture, I'll just have to describe it as best as I can.
The spots are fairly big, not small and salt-like. It doesn't look like any disease that I know about, definitely not ich becuase the spots are big and black, and I'm pretty sure it's not velvet, clownfish disease, etc. The blotches aren't extremely dark, a couple of them are almost see-through a little bit. They are mostly on his sides near the top of him (near the top fin), but recently I noticed a very little bit at the rear near where the tail starts. They have been spreading fairly gradually, when I first got the clownfish none of them are there. Then a couple days later I noticed just a very, very little bit of them starting to appear, and now there are a few on each side.
I have searched the internet a lot to find information or similar pictures, and the closest pictures I could find were 2 pictures on one of the FAQ pages on WetWebMedia.com... the link is http://wetwebmedia.com/clnfshdisfaq5.htm. Scroll down until you see the 3 clownfish pictures in a row, then look at the middle and bottom picture... that looks a lot like my Clownfish, except most of the spots are near the top, and near the white band (on the side opposite his face). There aren't quite that many spots yet and they're not that big, but it still looks really similar.
None of the other fish (the 2 damsels) have shown any signs of anything yet, they have been acting perfectly normal and eating. The clownfish is also acting normal, I haven't seen any really weird behavior yet. He is alert and active, and is eating well... he's such a pig! I feed marine flakes most of the time, as well as freeze-dried krill and some other foods. The only thing that I have noticed is that he normally just stays near the surface and sometimes gasps for air at the surface, which I'm pretty sure isn't normal, so is that a major cause for concern? That could just be because I need to have more sources of oxygen and better water movement, this may be part of the problem?? Main filtration is a big Tetra Whisper power filter. I also have 2 airstones in the tank... I know they don't help a lot in marine tanks, but I just like to see the bubbles, so I want to keep them unless I find out that they are downright bad. Are they actually harmful in marine aquariums, or are they just not particularly helpful?? Water parameters are mostly good - ammonia is 0 and nitrite is 0... nitrates are at about 50, I know that is really high, but I am trying hard to get it down and I'm doing a lot of water changes to help. Temp. is about 78° and pH is about 8.3.
Hope that comeone can help me identify this or give me some good advice! Thank you! If you need any more information then just post here and let me know!
-Jesse
I have a Tomato Clownfish (about 3-3.5") that I've had for several weeks now. He's in a 55 gallon FO aquarium with 2 yellowtail damsels that I bought a while before the clownfish (I didn't use them to cycle, I used raw shrimp instead), and a few crabs and snails. The aquarium is well established.
I bought the clownfish at an LFS and he seemed to be very healthy and active then. Within the past couple weeks, I've been noticing several black "blotches" appearing on his sides... I'm really sorry I don't have a picture, I'll just have to describe it as best as I can.
The spots are fairly big, not small and salt-like. It doesn't look like any disease that I know about, definitely not ich becuase the spots are big and black, and I'm pretty sure it's not velvet, clownfish disease, etc. The blotches aren't extremely dark, a couple of them are almost see-through a little bit. They are mostly on his sides near the top of him (near the top fin), but recently I noticed a very little bit at the rear near where the tail starts. They have been spreading fairly gradually, when I first got the clownfish none of them are there. Then a couple days later I noticed just a very, very little bit of them starting to appear, and now there are a few on each side.
I have searched the internet a lot to find information or similar pictures, and the closest pictures I could find were 2 pictures on one of the FAQ pages on WetWebMedia.com... the link is http://wetwebmedia.com/clnfshdisfaq5.htm. Scroll down until you see the 3 clownfish pictures in a row, then look at the middle and bottom picture... that looks a lot like my Clownfish, except most of the spots are near the top, and near the white band (on the side opposite his face). There aren't quite that many spots yet and they're not that big, but it still looks really similar.
None of the other fish (the 2 damsels) have shown any signs of anything yet, they have been acting perfectly normal and eating. The clownfish is also acting normal, I haven't seen any really weird behavior yet. He is alert and active, and is eating well... he's such a pig! I feed marine flakes most of the time, as well as freeze-dried krill and some other foods. The only thing that I have noticed is that he normally just stays near the surface and sometimes gasps for air at the surface, which I'm pretty sure isn't normal, so is that a major cause for concern? That could just be because I need to have more sources of oxygen and better water movement, this may be part of the problem?? Main filtration is a big Tetra Whisper power filter. I also have 2 airstones in the tank... I know they don't help a lot in marine tanks, but I just like to see the bubbles, so I want to keep them unless I find out that they are downright bad. Are they actually harmful in marine aquariums, or are they just not particularly helpful?? Water parameters are mostly good - ammonia is 0 and nitrite is 0... nitrates are at about 50, I know that is really high, but I am trying hard to get it down and I'm doing a lot of water changes to help. Temp. is about 78° and pH is about 8.3.
Hope that comeone can help me identify this or give me some good advice! Thank you! If you need any more information then just post here and let me know!
-Jesse
