Need help with Tomato Clown diagnosis/treatment

[kero]

I’m worried about my Tomato Clown and not sure what to do for him right now. If anyone has ideas, please let me know.

The main symptom is that my tomato clown has an appearance as if he is shedding scales (doesn’t look slimy). He has been this way for about 2+ weeks now. I went through this same process with him about 4 months ago and he recovered with some TLC and now it seems to have returned. About a week ago, in addition to the ‘shedding’ appearance he also started to develop small white spots on his body and fins (same thing as 4 months ago). I followed up with feeding him some chopped garlic and doing an immediate water change. He started looking a little better (no more white spots), but still not back to normal. I installed a UV Sterilizer (I know people have differing opinions on their effectiveness) to help in case it is some sort of parasite. After a couple more days, the Tomato Clown still looks like he is shedding and has started acting a little ‘strange’. This strange behavior could be totally normal for a clown, but it is strange for him. It seems as if he is trying to host in some green hair algae. That’s the best way I can explain it, although a co-worker told me he thought the fish was dying because it was lying horizontally on the algae. He has been biting at the algae and pulling some of it off, and also wiggling in around it. This fish is about 8 years old and has never appeared to try and host in anything. So I’m wondering if his new behavior is related to his health issues? I did find a couple of posts online where people had clowns that were hosting in algae, so it seems normal. I’m just not sure why he has chosen now to do this. Otherwise he is acting normal. He eats fine, swims fine, and doesn’t seem to have labored breathing. My impression is that ich spreads fast (and none of the other fish show symptoms or problems) and that Brooklynella can quickly overtake and kill a clown. What are signs of old age in fish? I’ve read that Tomato Clowns can live to 20 years in captivity, but maybe that is the exception?

I can give more background if that would be helpful, although the background for this fish/tank is very long. But, some pertinent information might be that a month ago he was in a 35 gallon tank and has since been moved to a 55 gallon. New stuff has been added to the tank, so a parasite infection is definitely an option. And there are 4 new feisty Green Chromis in the tank now (as well as other inhabitants), so they could be a source of stress, although I have never noticed them picking on the clown. I got some new Mararita Snails (I think that's what they are) about 4 weeks ago and at least 3 of them have died in the last two weeks for unknown reasons (It is like they fall off a rock and can't turn themselves over). All the other types of snails, crabs, shrimp, etc. are just fine. Besides a couple Chromis disappearing, which I've heard is common when you buy a few, nothing else seems to be affected or ill. Also all tank parameters are good and salinity is kept at 1.023-1.025.

Sorry for such a long explanation, but hopefully something triggers an idea in someone's mind. Any ideas on what I should do next are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[leebca]

I know of a Tomato Anemonefish that is now 30 years old. They can and do live a long time in captivity.

The longer they are in captivity, sometimes the more susceptible they become to diseases and microbes brought in my new fish. Hence to protect a long established tank it is always best to use a quarantine process on all new additions. In fact, using this procedure is best from the very start.

I'd tend to think that Brook has gotten a foothold on this fish. The things you're doing are not treatments, so if it was this originally, it really didn't go away, it just became unnoticeable to the human eye. The change in tank and the new tank mates all pose stressors that will weaken a fish and encourage an otherwise low level infection to bloom.

Food doesn't prevent disease. However, it can and does go a long way to extend the life and improve the health of the captive fish. What the proper nutrition does do is allow the fish to better handle stress and to provide enough energy for the fish to cope with stress. You did not provide any info on the diet of this fish.

Nonetheless, I'd treat the fish for Brook. I would rather see a photos of this fish before committing to a diagnosis. It's hard to do this from a description. The most effective treatment for Brook is this:
Formalin Treatment - Marine Fishes

[kero]

Thanks for your response! I now feed them a variety of foods. Their main food is Formula One Flakefood by Ocean Nutrition. About 1-3 times a week they get either Reef Plankton, Mysis shrimp or Brine Shrimp. And about once every two weeks I add Reef Bugs (sometimes every week). Since the last bout of spotting with the clown I have also started adding Vita Chem to their diet. Usually I add it to the thawed frozen food before adding it to the tank.

Is there any other way to treat Brook besides the formalin dips? It seems so intimidating to me and I'm not sure how you get rid of all the formaldehyde when transferring the fish using a bag? Do you know how fish in the wild deal with these infections? Have you ever had the formalin dip kill a fish?

Someone recommended that I try an antibiotic, although I know if it is a protozoa, this probably won't help. Any thoughts about treating with antibiotics first and if that still doesn't help thinking about the formalin dip?

Another question: I've heard in multiple places that these protozoa are always present in the water and when the fish are stressed is when the parasites start to affect them. Hence the reason why I am trying more of the immune booster approach. Do you know if this is true or where I can find some more information on it? Also, do you think frozen food is a source of harmful parasites and do you use them?

Thanks!

[leebca]

FW dips are an option but not as good.

Not sure you're feeding enough food. How many times a day do you feed them? Flake food is one of the two worst foods to choose -- the other is pellets. These are herbivores -- they need algae too.

Mistakes happen in any treatment and when they do, fish die.

Antibiotics are worthless. You asked what to do and I told you.

Brook is one of those opportunistic types of infections. They do tend to infect fish that are weakened. Once infected though you won't cure the fish through feeding them.

Search the Internet for more info.