Spots on clownfish

[JeffK]

Hello all.

I just recently moved a common clownfish that I've had since 1997 from my 55-gallon fish-only aquarium into my 75-gallon reef (established for two years). Approximately 1 week after the move, the fish began to exhibit black spots on its flanks. The spots almost appear to be pigment rather than fungus (though I may be way off base here).

The only other fish in the tank are the same ones that were kept with the clownfish before--a royal gramma, yellow-tailed damsel, and a yellow tang. I've had all of these fish for many years, living together, and none of the others shows similar symptoms.

Any thoughts as to what might be causing the spots? Perhaps contact with the stinging tentacles of a bubble coral? The clownfish is very active and feeding well otherwise.

Jeff

 

[LauraH]

I have seen pigment changes in fish that have been stressed by something, though it's hard to say if that's what's going on with yours.

Do you have a host anemone for the clownfish?
Have you observed any of the other fish (particularly the damsel) harrassing the clownfish?

The other thing that came to mind is a parasite that causes black spot (don't know the sci name), but you can tell when this is the case because the fish will look as if it's been sprinkled with pepper.

 

[JeffK]

Hi Laura.

I don't have a host anemone for the clownfish. It tends to seek refuge around and beneath an open brain coral. The spots don't resemble pepper sprinkled on the skin. They remind me of dark moles that sometimes appear on people's skin--not raised, however, and irregular at the margins. Could this be some form of fungus triggered by the stress of transfer?

Jeff

 

[JeffK]

I forgot to mention that I haven't seen any of the other fish harrassing the clownfish. Every once in a while, there will be some very mild displaying between the clownfish and the damsel, but it lasts only seconds and then they go about their business. As I've mentioned, these fish have been sharing an aquarium for many years.


Jeff

 

[grav]

Do you have Zoos or anthhing else that might sting the little guy? A little hosting attempt that goes awry was the decission for what happened to my A. Ocellarious. Some kind of bruise or something. He had one big one under the chin, and a few other small ones. Check out the whole thing here.

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t ... highlight=

 

[LauraH]

Jeff,

It's hard to say what's going on. I can't recall ever seeing anything like that on a clownfish before. I've seen bacterial infections that caused discoloration, but never black spots like that.

Grav's experience might be a possibility. I've often wondered if clownfish were as immune to a surrogate host's sting as they are to typical host anemones. I did keep a clownfish for awhile without a host anemone, but he adopted a Sarcophyton leather so stinging wasn't an issue, though the Sarcophyton wasn't too thrilled with the idea.

As he seems otherwise healthy, I would just keep a close eye on him to see if the spots worsen. Maybe you can move the brain coral and see if he follows or if he finds something different to take refuge in.

 

[Anonymous]

Check out the thread titled "Percula or Ocellaris Poll" by DustinDorton. He shows pics of perculas that hosted in zoanthids and developed black spots. It might be something similar to this.