Male Clownfish Losing Color, Help!

[Joshjr619]

I noticed yesterday one of my clown fish hanging around a rock towards the bottom of the tank. I didn't think nothing of it, but today he's still hanging out at the bottom and his color is fading. My water parameters are great, and everyone else in the tank is doing well. He will come up for food during feeding time but go right back to the bottom when I move away from the tank. Plz help!!

 

[Donya]

What are the specific numbers that you got for the parameters? Does it look like there is anything on the skin or just that the color isn't very bright? Any chance of a picture?

 

[Joshjr619]

Hard to get a picture but I noticed now there is like three little white strings coming out by his head. Is this a parasite? Can I treat the whole tank? I don't have an extra tank to treat him separate because of the rules here at my condo.
I found this instant ocean lifeguard treatment that helps a variety of parasites and such. Does anyone know if I can just add it to the whole tank? Store won't be open until 10am tomorrow hopefully he will survive.

 

[Donya]

Off the top of my head I don't know of any condition that exactly matches those symptoms, unless the appearance is a bit deceptive. Could it possibly be strings of excess slime coat that you're seeing? One possibility could be Brooklynella, which often causes sliming and is common in clowns. It usually causes a milky appearance to patches of the skin, so perhaps that's what you're seeing as faded color? Do a google image search for the disease and see if anything looks similar to your fish. If it is Brooklynella, then formalin is the most effective treatment and absolutely shouldn't be done in the tank.
 
Even if it's not Brooklynella, if you have any invertebrates in the tank or plan to have them at any point then don't add any medications to the main tank. Although there are some marine meds on the market that claim to be invert-safe, they are also generally ineffective. Medications that actually work against things like ich, brook, and other parasites are a risk for harming invertebrates. If you need to set up a temporary hospital container for the fish I doubt the condo association could fault you for a small one given that it's not intended as a permanent fixture. In a worst case, you could even use a couple gallon bucket for a treatment as long as you change the water daily and don't reuse the bucket for anything to do with the main tank later. 

 

[Joshjr619]

Looks like brooklynella. But still not 100 percent sure as I must of caught this early. Just bought a 5 gallon bucket that I'm going to put my CUC in. I also bought the instant ocean treatment and tonight I'm going to start trying to pick the CUC out. I'm going to mix some fresh clean salt water mix to the bucket then acclimate the CUC into it. Should I do the whole 5 gallons and change it everyday? Or just fill up half and change it everyday? Or should I not even acclimate to keep the new water away from the infected water, away from my CUC.

 

[Donya]

Use the bucket for treating the fish rather than treating the tank itself. If you have any live rock in the tank it will likely be killed by any serious anti-parasitic meds, throwing the whole tank into a recycle with bad water quality. Similarly, it might not be safe to put the inverts back in the tank after the treatment is done. It is best to treat he fish outside the tank. A 50% change is probably sufficient, keeping an eye on ammonia levels and doing more if they get out of hand.