Problematic tank

[jeremyglen]

OK....here it goes.
First off, I am starting this thread to try and figure out what my percula has come down with. I have pics, but the little guy won't sit still for his close up. I have been watching these spots come and go for the last 3 months now. They start out as either a little red spot, or almost like a hole in his white bands. Then there is a white mass that protrudes from the fish. It almost is like the fish is going through puberty, the pimples get ready and then go away. I feel bad for the little guy, especially when his girl picks on him for it. I have had him in my QT for about 2 months now and have treated it with everything I can think of; Kick Ich, Rally, Cupramine, Maracyn 2, Erethramyacin(sp?), etc. It doesn't go away with anything I do. I paid $27 each for these two clowns and I don't want to lose this one. I know $27 isn't a lot, but these are two of the most beautiful true percs I have ever seen. This disease has not spread to any other fish.
The other problem I had/have is the tank these clowns are from. I had 2 green-banded gobies, a scooter dragon, and the two percs in my 10g reef. They all came down with what I thought was ich, so I QTd all of them for about 7 weeks. I left all my corals, shrimp, crabs, and snails in the tank while the fish were away. I put the fish back in around New Years, since they got sick just before Thanksgiving, thinking the life cycle of the ich should have been through and gone. About 2 weeks later, one of the gobies had it bad again, but the others did not. She finally died before I had the time to tear the whole dang tank apart to get them out(about 18 lbs of LR make it hard to catch a 2" fish that likes hiding). It could be a recurrence of the ich, but what else could it be? The fish had it bad the first time, but never once scraped, scratched, or stopped acting normal.
Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[lefty]

Is there any way that your clownfish may be getting injured on something? Fish can sometimes get hurt, which results in the red spot. The red spot will then become infected and turn white when a cyst is formed over it. Then the cyst pops and it heals. Either something is repeatedly hurting him or he may have some sort of bacterial infection. Did you ever perform hyposalinity in your QT?
For treatment of bacterial infections, Maracyn-Two is an effective medication. However, you would need to use double the dose found on the back of the box since they don't make it strong enough for SW fish (this means four tablets the first day and two each day after that, after a small water change in between dosings). The treatment should also go for 7-10 days, unlike the five days they say on the box.
It's possible that your fish still had ich after all of those treatments. The only treatments considered effective for ich are copper and hyposalinity. It's hard to say what else it would be. It wouldn't be lymphocystis because even though your fish may have white spots, it isn't a fatal disease. A case of marine velvet would have wiped out all of your fish and not just one. Chances are it was still ich, but it would not have been contracted from your display tank since you left it fallow for over a month.
What are the exact water parameters of your tank?
Hope this helps.
-lefty

 

[jeremyglen]

I am at work right now, but I will post the parameters of both the display and the QT when I get home. The injury thing is what I considered first. The fish first started getting the spots when I caught it to put it in the QT back around Thanksgiving. I noticed a red spot near the fish's lip, apparently from hitting a rock or something in the process of being caught. The female of the pair harassed the male(the fish in question) quite a bit after being seperated, but that was expected. I actually saw her grab him by the anal fin and drag him across the tank. After that happened, I put the female in the QT to seperate them, then introduced the male to the QT after a day or two. They get along fine now, but there are still spots that show up every couple of days. There is no ich in the QT. There is no way that stuff could have survived all the medication I have put in the tank. I have seen spots on the fish on both sides of its pectoral fins right at the base, just over its eyes towards the top of its head, to the back of its eyes in the first white stripe, and down below its mouth. They come and go. The initial red spot near its mouth is one that I have seen get "infected" many times.
With the marcyn-2, I am double dosing the medication per a post I read a while back. The tank has clouded up and now become a strange dark-opaque color. I guess I'll just have to ride out the maracyn-2 treatment and see what happens.
The fish is a pig. The only physical problem it has is swimming when the cysts are on its fins.
Thanks for the reply.....

 

[lefty]

When you say spots, are they protruding or do they look more like a sore?
-lefty

 

[jeremyglen]

When they are red, they are just little sores. When they are white, they protrude. It almost looks like something growing out of the fish from where it was red a day or two before.

 

[lefty]

If you're sure that your other clown isn't causing the sores, the only other thing I can think of is a bacterial infection. Aquatronics makes an antibiotic called "Spectrogram" that you may want to try, should you see no improvement from the M2.
-lefty

 

[jeremyglen]

I haven't been able to find the "spectrogram" for aquatronics, but I did find one that sounds like it would work. It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic called "Kanacyn". Looks like it may be the right thing for the job.

 

[lefty]

Kanacyn is the next best thing. Spectrogram is just a combination of Kanacyn and Nitrofurazone, another effective antibiotic.
-lefty

 

[jeremyglen]

Thanks for your advise. I got home and looked at the fish and all but one or two spots are gone. I think the maracyn is working, but I'm about to run out. Gotta remember to go get more.

 

[lefty]

Glad to hear it. Good luck with your fish! :joy:
-lefty