Clown Fish help!!

[balakoth]

... Now im worried. Afraid my tank has some sort of mysterious clownfish disease! After coming home from dinner, I find my clown fish has taken on a white blemmish on his bottom lip.. looks like he has two on his fins... I posted earlier and its only been a couple hours that he's been in my tank.


What the heck have i done wrong? My other fish are fine and inverts. My nitrates are a little high and will be doing another water change. Salinity is a little high? 1.028 or 1.027 Ph fine, ammonia none nitrites none. Temp 80 Degrees.

Ahh yes, he is a Maroon Clown probably about an 1 1/2 inches long



Thanks in advance for some help!


- Joe

[beach bum]

It could just be shipping/handling damage or maybe he got spooked and darted into a rock or the glass or something. I wouldn't worry about it yet, give it some time - disease probably wouldn't manifest so quickly.

[balakoth]

Thanks beach bum, makes me feel a bit better. Though I hate to see the fish sick. From what Ive been told higher salinity makes it harder for the fish to fight off disease or heal its wounds. Is this true and is my Salinity of 1.027 to high for SW?

I assume a water change is in order to correct this reading?


Thanks again. He still looks healthy this morning, and the spots arent as bright (But maybe thats cuz the lights arent on :P)


- Joe

[balakoth]

HEY! I think my girlfriend is on the ball this morning. Could anyone else tell me if this is a likely situation. From what I had described above, I had forgotten to say that the moment we stuck him in the tank, he swam around a bit and tried to take host to our Branching Torch Coral.

Which by watching obviously stunk the poo out of hte poor guy. He had tried several times before giving up. But is it possible those marks were from the Torch stinging the fish?

Never thought about that.

If this could be the case.. My girl is getting pretty handy now ad ays with the fish tank! (watched her call some guy in the Fish Store an idiot "Loudly might i add" because he was adding frogfish after frogfish to his tank that was only a week old and had one of those 20 dollar Millennium Hangon the back Filters :P)


Any insight on these things?

Thanks

[Mr. Ono]

The spots could have happened from the coral.

I would lower your sal. to 1.023-1.025. That way when water evaporates you sal. will not be too high. You can use a deep six sal. meter to test. Just rinse it in fresh water after the test to get the salt from building up inside around the arm of the pointer.

[beach bum]

AFAIK, the higher salinity simply makes the fish work harder to expel salt from their system. Also parasites thrive better in ocean-like salinity (1.026) vs. a depressed salinity. That could be why you heard about it being harder to heal or fight disease in high salinity. I don't think there is any reason to go over 1.026.

HEY! I think my girlfriend is on the ball this morning

Sounds like a keeper...

[balakoth]

Well some of the white spots have healed over conciderably. Though on his fin he has a hole in it. I assume like skin the fish will be able to regenerate this portion? Or will he be holey for the rest of his life now.


Thanks

Joe