Clownfish White Swollen Spot.

bettababy

A youtube video may help alot. I am trying to determine if this is indeed fungal or if it is lymphocystis as Pasfur suspected. With photos that are sort of fuzzy and not crisp, it is difficult for me to determine, but treatment would be extremely different if its one vs the other, so I want to be as sure as I can be before I offer any suggestions to you.
If you can include photos and/or video of the damsel as well, that might also help. I apologize for the length of time it is taking to diagnose this problem, but I do need to be more sure of what exactly is going on. This would be much easier if I could examine the fish in person, but via internet, sometimes simple things become near impossible.

One last question, and I'm sorry if it feels like I am repeating myself... the appearance of these lumps... is it smooth and cotton like or is it fuzzy/furry looking? I'm not sure if that makes sense to you or not... but its the best way I can think to describe the differences I need to know about before we proceed. In lymphocystis some people describe it as a cottony growth, but it is actually smooth, almost waxy in texture and substance, and is solid. With fungus growth it is more like fur, fuzzy in appearance with fibers to it, typically only visible via microscope, but it is not smooth or solid. Think of mold growing on a slice of bread or a brick of cheese... that would be fungal.

I will check back in here when I wake up, I need sleep now, its after 5am.

zaitmi

What do u say abt Sera Sea Salt. Are they also good? They are available here. My salt is finished which one should i buy, i was using Red Sea Salt Mix.

Pasfur

Z - you have a very experienced person attempting to help you with your infection. Why are you not answering her questions?

I have no experience with Sera Sea Salt, but I have used Red Sea and would recommend it as a good option.

zaitmi

here is the video link :
YouTube - MOV00512.MPG

wake49

I don't think that if the shrimp died a week ago that it would still be showing as an ammonia reading. You are either reading the test wrong, doing the test wrong, or the small ammonia spike is due to a dead spot in the water (lack of flow). You have enough rock in your tank so that any ammonia should be taken care of (as part of the nitrogen cycle). I am a little worried about that pH, as earlier this month you were testing at 7.9, 8.0...why the increasing pH with such a good dKH reading???

Dawn, I think this is the answer to a question you asked. It was hidden in the same post as the test readings...

NC Frank

I believe he switched test kits. My tetra test kit says my PH is 8.0 but my API has it at 8.4.

bettababy

After watching the video I am tempted to agree with Pasfur on this one with the lymphocystis. The spots are not any clearer in the video, but having a chance to observe the fish's behavior, that does not look like a "sick" fish. Most fish suffering with fungal issues have other underlying problems, and then there are the conditions that caused the problem in the first place... which typically brings about some changes in behavior. I didn't observe any of those changes in the short video.

With lymphocystis you are dealing with a virus. It is highly contagious, so don't be surprised if other fish also come down with this problem. Unfortunately, when dealing with a virus, all we can do is let it run its course. The good news is that it is not contagious to invertebrates, only other fish. Some fish species are more vulnerable to it than others.

If you were an advanced hobbyist I might instruct you to manually remove the lumps, but in your situation I am going to advise you to leave it alone and let it run its course. Lymphocystis is not commonly fatal if the fish's immune systems are not compromised by other illness issues, dirty/polluted water, low calcium, etc. The worst part about this virus is that it looks terrible.

If your fish develop any new symptoms or their behavior changes, please let me know and I will assist you in any way I can.

zaitmi

Thanks bettababy. I have transferred the clownfish to QT.

QT Test Results :

Ammonia : 0 ppm
Nitrate : 10 ppm
Ph : 8.5 (Sera)
Salinity 1.023

Okay i will wait but how long 1 month or more. How long does it usually takes to get rid of this virus ?

bettababy

There is no way to make such a prediction. A virus will run its course based on the strain of virus, immune system of the fish, etc. That is like asking someone how long they will have the flu, some people have it for 3 days and others have it for 3 months... there is no way to predict such a thing. I have seen lymphocystis go away in a few days, and I have seen it last months. If the damsel is showing symptoms, moving the clownfish only is sort of pointless. If the QT tank is large enough you should move them both or just leave them all in the main tank and let things run their course. Any of your fish that is vulnerable to it has already been exposed, so any of them may also come down with it.

The best thing you can do is to just keep all of their conditions healthy and their food nutritious. Make sure each species is getting the proper nutrients from the food you're offering, and in variety so their immune systems stay strong and able to fight this thing.

If you see other symptoms develop post them here and we'll look into any secondary issues that may arise. The only other thing I can think to tell you is that many fish who suffer from lymphocystis do get it again, even if nothing new has been introduced to the tank. So don't be overly surprised if it goes away and then all of a sudden one day it comes back again. That is common.

Good luck to you!

Pasfur

To put your mind at ease, I have rarely found Lymphocystis to be a serious problem. It is generally very mild and the fish generally show no signs of stress. If this is in fact what virus we are looking at in the video, everything will most likely be fine and the fish will probably fight the infection off with little problems. Just keep the water quality high.