Home from vacation . . . Could use a little advice.

[Enigma]

Well, we're home. The tank survived, though it now has a nasty cyano outbreak.

What I thought was a parasite of some sort on my black occ.'s fin most certainly is a parasite. It is larger, and the clown is dive bombing my torch corals. It has is displaying no interest in the cleaner shrimp I added to deal with the parasite. I'm guessing that it is a fluke, but i am not 100% sure.

I figure the parasite must have come in on an invert (snail or urchin), as this tank was fallow while my fish did six weeks in the HT (two week Prazi-Pro and four week ParaGuard treatment).

I'm annoyed.

Anyhoo . . . I do not want to pull fish and leave the tank fallow again. I'm looking at either a Prazi-Pro treatment in the display, or that medicated food (long name which escapes me right at this moment, starts with an "M").

I'm pretty confident in the Prazi-Pro. The fish can all handle it. I am a bit worried about my tuxedo urchins and cleaner shrimp. I would say the fish are more important to me than the inverts, though I'd rather not kill anything.

I'm not opposed to a dip of some sort: if I can get her out relatively easily.

Suggestions?

[Coralgurl]

If your clown is hosting your torch, the black spots could be burn marks ( I think that's what they are called). My clowns hosted my frogspawn and they had them, when they stopped, the marks went away. My clowns now alternate between the nem and hammer coral, marks have shown up again. Nothing to worry about, but the clowns can cause damage and or kill their lps host.

[Enigma]

Thanks, Sheena.

This is a white spot that is raised. It is quite round, and it is around 1mm in diametre. I tried taking a photo, but it isn't clear in the photos.

She isn't flashing any of the rock work. The only change in her behavior is the molesting of the torches.

Should i just wait a bit and see?

[Coralgurl]

Sorry Shelley, I misread what you were saying. You could try a dip if she's easy to catch. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in! Hope you had a good vacay, how did the camera work out?

Now back to topic!

[Enigma]

The cam worked out incredibly well! Sometimes it took a while for it to reposition, but cell service was really poor. Between that and the Apex, I was able to monitor things almost as if I was standing in the room.

It was frustrating to watch the cyano patch start and grow bigger everyday. I could even see the spot on the clown getting larger.

[Reef_Geek]

most clownfishes can tolerate a freshwater dip between 30 to 90 seconds. Dechlorinate the freshwater first, and matching temperature. If you're hesitant, you can match the pH also. You can FW dip the fish once per day if you want. Most clownfishes get territorial in your tank and will readily attack your hands (and fish net). Good luck.

[HaZRaTTy]

Sounds like ich, maybe when the fish has it the growth grows on their fins until it completes its cycle i think its like 1-1.5 months then it falls off into the sand bed and releases more into the water column. I believe this is how it is spread from fish to fish.

If it is ich however it could be brought on due to stress, and outbreak and changing water quality in your tank.

Just my 2 cents. There are way more people with more experience with me on this site though.

If it is Ich it wouldn't have came in on an invert as If I remember correctly they cannot host/carry it.

Or........... I can be completely wrong - A Picture would definetly help alot.


Yes black spots (burn marks) are quite normal on clown fish.

[BlueWorldAquatic]

If it is a parasite, a freshwater dip would do wonders. Prepare similar temperature water.

Fish can handle up to 15 minutes in freshwater, watch for signs of stress, remove then if they start breathIng heavy or darting around.

Most tunes the parasite will release in fresh water

[Enigma]

I think it is too big to be Ich (though I've never seen that in person, before). I'm thinking it could be this: http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/12...o#post_2076263

I did cut back on feedings before we left on vacation. I tested the water yesterday when we got back, and calcium was very low. Otherwise, everything else was good (ideal, in most cases).

What can I use to raise the pH of freshwater if I go ahead and try a dip? I have Reef Buffer and Reef Builder . . . Can I use the buffer for fresh?

[Enigma]

So, I took the approach of doing nothing beyond adding garlic and just watching. While whatever was on her fin is still there, it has shrunk considerably and is barely noticeable. She remains very active and social, so I'm optimistic that the situation is resolving itself.