Sick clown -- parasites?

[lopeyc]

This afternoon I noticed that my yellow-banded maroon anemonefish has gone from lovely to sickly:
-- his fins top and back are messed up, shredded
-- he has what looks like detritus or webs on his swim fins and back.
-- he has 3-4 'splinters' sticking out of his face.
-- he is sticking very very close to his anemone
my water specs:
ammonia: 0
nitrites: 0
pH: 8.0
KH: between 5 and 5.5
specific gravity: 1.023 (measured with swing arm)
temp: 82
Because the KH was so low and the pH was low, I just added a buffering agent to try and get it back up to 8.3.
Here's a pic of the clown:

 

[lopeyc]

the only new inhabitant brought in recently was a small orange fromia or linkia star that didn't last 72 hours. I removed him today.
i have no quarantine tank, but you can bet after this i will get one.
i have had the tank a month and the guy who set it up had it for a year. i don't know how long he had the maroon. i will ask him.
another photo:

 

[lopeyc]

can't see too great in the dark, but it looks like he is now clean of all that crap, including the splinters.
somebody suggested he fought a bristleworm which is believable, I guess. I have a big one and he likes to truck right through the clown's anemone like he owns it!
maybe i should get one of those worm traps, although I bet they don't work...

 

[lopeyc]

Not sure why I'm updating a thread nobody else has used, but...in case you're a well-intentioned moderator or wise one who read through the above:
my maroon is free of anything on his skin now.
he is still staying very close to his anemone, however, but appears to be swimming OK and is whatever the fish equivalent of "alert". I am cautiously optimistic, but worried that he might have gotten so stressed that he'll sill get sick.
Now i'm also worried about my goby ... i think this hobby might be to stressful for me! I'm becoming paranoid.

 

[beth]

Bristleworms worms really won't fight a fish. They will eat it if it is dead, however. That is why some people get the impression that a bristle might have killed their fish. NO.
It is possible I suppose that a bristle worming about thru an anemone might have rubbed some of those stinging bristles against the clown. In which case, the clown my have suffered the consequences of having those bristles rub off on him.
I made the mistake of getting too close to a large bristle a while back. He didn't attack me, but my finger rubbed up against the bristles and boy did it sting. And continue to sting too, as the bristles imbedded in my finger. You really couldn't even see them, wo a mag glass.
Yes, this hobby can be stressful. Any time that you are taking care of living creatures it can be stressful. If you weren't stressed, then you probably would not be very conscientious.

 

[lopeyc]

Originally posted by Terry B
Are the fins still frayed or are they healing now?
Terry B
No, I don't think they're healed. Wouldn't that take a few weeks? It's only been a few days.
I haven't seen anybody harassing him.

 

[beth]

How does the fish look now? What I think Terry is getting it, is the fish fins getting worse? Any further deterioration noted? We are only guessing about the bristleworms at this point, so deterioration would definately be a sign that things are not good.
Yes, if a fish is on the mend, it does not take long to notice fin regeneration, thus get a magnifying glass out and take a good look at the fins.

 

[lopeyc]

The fish is acting normal -- eating, hanging with his anemone. His skin is clear of stuff. He seems to be breathing normally and I have seen nobody pick on him -- in fact, while the tank's two damsels routinely get chased around a bit (but not bitten) by the bigger fish, this guy never seems to have a problem with anybody else.
However, his tail and back fin (i don't the appropriate names) are definitely still frayed. I don't think they're worse, though.
I haven't seen the bristleworm since before this incident, but I only usually see him once a week or so.
I ran all my water tests last night, and things looked good. My pH has come back up, too, to 8.3. My alkalinity, which was low at 5.5, is up a bit to 7, although I read that it should be over 8.

 

[jlem]

Have you lightened up your bioload yett in your tank ?

 

[lopeyc]

OK, so my maroon is still not healed. there are no spots or any other symptoms. his behavior seems normal, his breathing seems normal and he eats.
but I think the fraying on his fins is a bit worse, and definitely not better.
should I dip him? copper?

 

[beth]

Can you get a picture up. I still think agression may be the problem here.

 

[lopeyc]

if it's agression all i can think is it might be at night and it might be an invert. Could it be the arrow crab camped out at the foot of his rock all the time? (see picture at top...)
but i am building a q-tank this weekend, so i can isolate him.
questions on a q-tank:
-- is 12g big enough?
-- shud/can there be live rock? live sand?
-- plants ok?

 

[lopeyc]

tail...

 

[lopeyc]

front top fin...

 

[lopeyc]

bump

 

[buzz]

Those pics are really blurry.
The web looking stuff hanging from it may just have been anemone waste. They excrete stringy matter, and if the clown was swimming in the anemone, he may have picked it up. That may not have been related to the issue at all.
But yes, the frayed fins are more of a concern.
and I have seen nobody pick on him -- in fact, while the tank's two damsels routinely get chased around a bit (but not bitten) by the bigger fish, this guy never seems to have a problem with anybody else.
What "bigger fish?" What else do you have in there, new or existing? Damsels alone could do this...but list off what else is in there.

 

[lopeyc]

Originally posted by Buzz
Those pics are really blurry.
The web looking stuff hanging from it may just have been anemone waste. They excrete stringy matter, and if the clown was swimming in the anemone, he may have picked it up. That may not have been related to the issue at all.
But yes, the frayed fins are more of a concern.
What "bigger fish?" What else do you have in there, new or existing? Damsels alone could do this...but list off what else is in there.
Yeah, not sure why I couldn't get clear pics this time. Will try again.
I don't think he just had detritus land on him. One minute he was perfect, the next he had messed up fins, detritus AND these splinters *stuck* in his face. Took like two days for him to get the splinters out, by rubbing his anemone.
Here's what's in the tank: yellow tang, cottontail damsel, yellow-tail blue damsel, flame angel, bicolor blennie, canary wrasse, clark clown, magenta dottyback and the maroon clown in question.
And, as I've said before, I've never seen anybody in the tank so much as nip, chase, bother, harass, bump, bite or talk dirty to this particular fish. I have a hard time believing that as soon as I turn my back, everybody goes for him!
However, at night, he goes into his hole that his anemone withdraws into, and I can't see what happens in there.
I bought a quarantine tank today and it will be set up with old water from the tank by tomorrow. However, I'm worried that putting him over there, minus his anemone, will be more stressful than taking a wait-and-see approach.