Help with possible sick perc.

T

tdbrown75

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[I could use some advice regarding a possibly sick percula clown. I purchased a pair of true perculas three weeks ago. The female is in perfect condition, not a spot or lesion on her. The male has developed some kind of strange symptoms; I am not really able to match them up to any of the symptoms I have seen on any web sites or in any books.

Towards the pectoral fins on his underbelly, it appears something is maybe eating away at him. I can not tell if any scales are missing, the area is not red or bloody, but rather a dark greenish color, slightly indented. Looks like a patch or dark area running across his underbelly up to his pectorals. Maybe just missing his slime coat or got injured? There is a really small patch on one side, almost a hole; and a slightly larger one on the other. The one patch on one side has been there about a week, the larger patch is two days old, and things do not seem to be getting any worse.

He has no spots, no dusting of spots, no white thick slime coat, no black spots, no frayed fins, red streaks, cloudy eyes or any of the other symptoms I have seen listed for common fish diseases.

He eats like a horse, is not scratching, berating rapidly, is active, not twitching or racing or slimming at the water surface or into the current.

He just looks a little well "crusty" on the belly. I have been trying to get a decent picture, but every time I get near the tank, the little guy thinks its dinner time and does his food dance! The only other fish in the tank is a dragon goby that seems to be doing just fine.

Some background: I have a 75 gallon tank, 90 lbs of live rock, 1 ½ inches of sand, a wet/dry and skimmer. The tank has been up almost 5 months, all tests normal. PH 8.3, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 0, 77.5 degrees. The temperature fluctuates less than ½ degree in a 24 hour period. I am at a loss. Should I just let him be and keep an eye on him, or does he need to go to the quarantine tank for some meds? Could this be a bacteria infection?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Tim]
 
[I really don't know without seeing it, but it could possibly be an internal bacterial infection. A quarintine tank w/ meds would be sufficient for treatment.

OTOH it is nice to hear that with the exception of the discoloration, it appears to be behaving normally. I would just keep an eye on it and have a quarintine tank waiting at the first sign of distress. If it is indeed a bacterial infection, it will take it's toll quickly, so if you want to be safe, start the anti biotics asap.]
 
[was the pair already "mated", any possibility of female picking on him if not mated yet?

i would still consider putting the male in quarantine tank, just in case.

good luck, where did you purchase the pair?]
 
[The male seems to be getting a bit worse despite two days of Maracyin with the effected areas enlarging and looking more pit like. (You can see the pit between his pectoral and side fin) He also seems to have some grey/white patches on his body, visible mostly on the black areas.

The female has now developed three white patches on her body despite the addition of the antibiotic. The patch near the gill looks as if it is a boil or lump. I enclosed a PIC of her too.

I switched them over to Maracyin 2 last night in hopes it would be more effective. On the positive side, there are still no signs of distress or changes in behavior or feeding. However I imagine it’s just a matter of time unless I can get this under control.

Anyone have any other ideas? I must say this totally stinks. I am new to the hobby, and have been very patient setting things up, doing lots of reading, and trying to provide a good home for my fish. I seem to be having some rotton luck!

Male Perc
Male Perc 2
Female Perc]
 
[Clowns are susceptible to these kinds of infections due to stress from capture /shipping. Especially if they are wild caught fish. I would recommend in the future that you stick with captive raised clowns to leesen the chance that this happens. Dispite our good intentions, wild caught fish have a distinct disadvantage compared to captive raised when placed in our systems.

By the time a internal bacterial infection is visable on the out side of the fish, it is usually too late to help. This happens and it has happened to me before as well. That they are eating is still a good sign. If you can add a little antibiotic to the food they are eating, that would be the best way to treat the infection from the inside out.

Good luck,

Brad]
 
[I am at the end of my rope with my wild caught pair of percula clowns. I will only buy tank raised from now on!

It all started about two weeks ago. The clowns had been in my tank for over three weeks without a sign of trouble. At about three weeks, I noticed something at the base of the pectoral fins on the male’s underbelly; it appeared as if something was eating away at him. The area was not red or bloody, but rather dark splotchy slightly indented patches. In addition, his pectoral fins were slightly frayed. I was advised that this was likely a bacterial infection, and it was recommended I try an antibiotic for grahm negative bacteria. I dosed Maracyin 2 for the recommended 5 days at the recommended dosage, and also dissolved a tablet and soaked some food in the medication. After 5 days of treatment, the disease had progressed, and I was now facing a secondary problem; grey/white patches on his body, visible mostly on the black areas. These patches look like white mold, and have spread over his entire body at this point.

I next tried MarOxy, recommended fro true fungus. Again I dosed at the recommended dosage for the recommended 5 days, no improvement there either. I am now on the last day of a five day treatment of Penicillin. And guess what? NO IMPROVEMENT! I have spent twice as much on meds at this point as I did the fish! But it will be worth it if I can save the little bugger; we have really taken to him. He still eats like a horse, is not scratching, berating rapidly, is active, not twitching or racing or slimming at the water surface or into the current. He is missing his mate who is in the main tank, and now is developing some of the same symptoms even though they have been separated. A royal gramma and banded goby show no signs of trouble in the main tank.

I figured out I can get some decent pictures at night with the lights off, and have attached them so you can take a look. I was thinking of trying Malachite Green next, but have not been able to locate any locally, and will have to order off the internet. I have some Maracyin on hand as well. Does this look like something that Malachite Green might help with? What can throw at this nasty stuff? I really appreciate any input!


male percula

female percula]
 
[td,

It doesn't look good for the male for sure. :( I have had 0% recovery rates over the years when they exhibit those symptoms unfortunately. I have no other recomendations to give you. Sorry.

OTOH, The fact that he is still active and swimming and eating is remarkable and maybe it will recover. I will keep my fingers crossed for you and the little guy.

Brad]
 
[I too have no idea, and it does sound like you've tried just about everything available. However, on a good note, the pictures of the male gave me the impression it didn't look too bad. Not perfect, but not horrible.

Since you've treated with different meds, you may need to change the water over for this idea, but maybe it might be helpful to add a cleaner shrimp or fish that eats the stuff right off the body of the clownfish?]
 
[Somehow... The little bugger keeps on chugging! He seems oblivious to the fact he looks terrible, good thing I don’t have mirrored glass! The female has developed some cottony patches that look very much like fungus, not just the coating the male has. Tomorrow when I got home she is headed to the QT with her little man to be treated with malachite green. I threw a piece of live rock in the QT the night before last to beef up the filter, water test tomorrow, and away we go!]
 
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