SICK CLOWN QUESTION

[mr_X]

last night i was checking out my marine buddies, and noticed my maroon clown has a sort-of fuzzy half moon around his one eye. he also has a couple spots on his body. these are not ich. they are more fuzzy looking and not round.
he's been in my tank for months(i got him with my purple LTA), and has showed no signs of distress until now. he is still eating good and doing his little clown-anemone duties.
the only new things i added to the tank recently are a couple red mushrooms(which are on the other side of the tank), and a mandarin, who doesn't show any signs of sickness.
i bought an arrow crab about a month ago and the arrow crab seems to always want to get too close to the anemone, and the clown picks at him to make him withdraw. do you think the arrow crab is stressing him out to the point of lowering his resistance?
there is also a camelback shrimp that likes to get pretty close to the anemone, but i don't see the clown bothering with him.
any ideas? :?

 

[Anonymous]

Is it white and fuzzy, like cotton? Can you get a picture? If it looks fuzzy like cotton, that sounds like a fungal infection, which is probably secondary to some other problem that has already weakened the fish. The only thing really to do is get it out into a Q tank and treat symptomatically.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/infectio.htm

Fungi

These simple, plant-like organisms have only started to gain notice for the roles they play in marine environments. Like bacteria, they are mostly benign, and of utmost importance in the wild for their roles in aiding decomposition. Also, akin to the bacteria is their role as infectious agents in aquaria.

Fungal diseases are rare; most are mis-identified bacterial problems, or if truly fungal, the result of a post moribund event; i.e. the specimen is long since dead. Most fungus difficulties are easily avoided by the prophylaxis and non-contamination methods that you've read through here.

If you see a real fungus it will appear to spread evenly, starting from a central point and grow in an outward pattern. Several areas may grow outward until they overlap and give the appearance of a bacteria infection. Fungus is white with a velvety or even hairy appearance. It is most likely to be found on the mouth, eyes, or tips of the fins.

Treatment consists of water changes, medicated food, and sulfonamides. You may find other authors suggesting the use of topical treatments (malachite, dyes, mercuricals...) these are nearly worthless. Once you've detected a true fungus on the surface of an organism it has penetrated below where these medicants will do no good.

 

[mr_X]

on that link you posted....the picture of the fish in the top right corner with the eye fungus, is very similar to the stuff on my maroon clown.
so, i was unclear on the medication.
i will remove him and place him in the qt tank and dose it with what? :?
medicated food, and sulfonamides????
medicated with what?

btw...i always wanted to ask you...what is that clown banner you post? i remember a clown clan that used to play "unreal tournament" DM games.

 

[Anonymous]

Here's a decent article at the Good Drs place that describes different medications. You want an anti-fungal treatment-your LFS should have on of the products listed. The problem is that this is usually secondary to some other problem, i.e. the fish is already weakened so the outcome is iffy.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/artic ... 11&aid=485

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/artic ... 11&aid=762

The ECB banner in reference to the "Evil Clown Brigade" of Sump legend. I'd tell you more, but we'd have to kil...well you know the rest