Clarkii clown fish

[texasranchers]

Our Clarkii Clown goes around with his/her mouth opened all the time now. He still looks healthy, swims good, darts and dives after food. Does not breath hard, protects his anemone, still has vibrant colors.

However, I have noticed that when he tries to get the large flakes he can't seem to close his mouth over them. Then he just waits for the small pcs to "float" into his mouth. It is as if his JAW is caught and can't operate. Thanks for any suggestions. TR Shirley

[JimD]

Im not sure what the problem could be, hopefully Richard or CD will chime in.... bump to keep the threat visible.

[texasranchers]

Thanks JimD I appreciate that. I'm wondering if it is some sort of mouth fungus or mouth parasite?? Thanks for the bump

[christerrell2k3]

Im just wondering about this. So if you take a fish out of the water, does their mouth open and close along with the gills for the exchange of oxygen/water?

If so, what about taking him out of the water and see if he can do that... but i wouldnt... i was just wondering.... and to bump this thread :D

[texasranchers]

christerrell2k3, thanks again for the bump. All bumps are appreciated.

[VeeDub]

Bump while CD looks for the info. ;)

[CD]

OK - I would like to ask a few standard questions, and will also throw out some "guesses" (it's really hard to give a definitive answer with no info other than the fish's mouth is stuck open)...questions first:

1) Tankmates - what other kinds of fish do you have in the display with your clown AND what kind of corals. Especially - have you noticed any aggression towards your clown by another fish?
2) How long has the clown been like this? Was he/she purchased this way, or is the "malady" a recent development? If it is a recent problem, how long did you have the clown before this problem appeared?
3) Does the clown play in any other coral...something other than it's anemone?
4) Tank params and water temp. stable? Also, are you VERY careful about keeping toxins out of the tank (ammoniated cleaners, perfumes, lotions, soap residue, etc...)?
5) Do you notice any swelling inside the fish's mouth? or growths?

Guesses:

My first thought would be that either another fish may have latched on to your clown's mouth during a dominance scenerio, or the clown nipped/came in contact with something that was toxic. There ARE parasitic crustaceans (copepods) that will attach themselves around a fish's mouth, but generally they are readily seen. I found one instance of a clownfish with the same described "malady" on WetWebMedia...Bob Fenner replied that it didn't sound like any illness that he knew of, and just advised to wait it out in hopes the condition would right itself.
When you get a chance, please respond as best you can on the above questions, and if at all possible, post a pic of the fish. Hopefully, we'll be able to figure out what the problem may be...I'll do my very best to help ;)

W. :)

[texasranchers]

1) Tankmates - what other kinds of fish do you have in the display with your clown AND what kind of corals. Especially - have you noticed any aggression towards your clown by another fish?
A) Cleaner Goby, had several months, no aggression
LTA, no agression

2) How long has the clown been like this? Was he/she purchased this way, or is the "malady" a recent development? If it is a recent problem, how long did you have the clown before this problem appeared?
Several days like this, Clarkii is about 4 yrs old, we have had her 2 years

3) Does the clown play in any other coral...something other than it's anemone?
No other corals in tank

4) Tank params and water temp. stable? Also, are you VERY careful about keeping toxins out of the tank (ammoniated cleaners, perfumes, lotions, soap residue, etc...)?
Tank is stable, set up about 1 year, regular w/c
I do not wear perfumes, lotions when cleaning tank. Use scrubber, ro-di water, and brushes for cleaning

5) Do you notice any swelling inside the fish's mouth? or growths?
Last night her "throat" area seemed slightly larger

W. :)

Thanks Wendy. I appreciate the help from everyone. I will try to get a pic later this morning. Right now is a little early to focus.

[Instar]

I've had the same experience with my Ocellaris Male clown. It seems like he picks up something that stings his mouth like a little bristle worm or medusa larva. After that he has a hard time eating and can't close his mouth. It appears swollen in the throat area for several days. I keep the tank temp stable. The effect looks like its a canker sore like local infection or swelling inside the mouth.
I feed the fish well on thawed frozen brine during that time. No pellets, no flake food because some of that is a little sharp. Sometimes I use a vitamin complex in the water as well.

[texasranchers]

I will keep that in mind as well. I have plenty of frozen food and food enhancers on hand. Thanks Larry.

[texasranchers]

Here is Clarkii. I took well over 50 and these are the best.

[texasranchers]

This is another view of her.

[Reef69]

Hmm, that happened to one clown i had..a percula. The lips got swollen and started to peel off, hopefully this isnt the case, but if you see a white, flaky layer of "skin" starts to peel off her lips, its probably it. Im not sure if its a bacterial infection or not. i tried to medicate my clown with anti-biotics, bt she starved before i could do anything..Once again, i really hope this isnt the case, but to me, it seems like it. Hope she gets better..

[texasranchers]

Meds I have on hand for my fish:
Furan-2 or Triple Sulfa
Super Sulfa
Neomycin
Maracyn II
Furacyn
Spectrogram
Quinsulex
Furan-2
Erythromycin
Paragon II
Methylene blue
Melafix
Formalin
Kanamycin
Nitrofura-G
Waiting to see if I need to use any of them.

[CD]

OK - seeing as the tank is well established and stable, there are no other corals, and one other very docile fish inhabiting the tank - I'm going to go with the probability that your clown nipped a bristle worm or some other type of stinging/toxic invert in your tank. She/he looks very healthy and plump (other than the mouth being open) which is a good thing - if the clown is not eating as well for a couple more days before the swelling goes down, it will be OK. I wouldn't freak out and start putting a load of medications in there - maybe a vitamin soak for the food (like Selcon) and possibly some type of antibiotic to prevent a secondary infection in case whatever your fish came in contact with resulted in a blister inside the mouth. The food should be soft and chopped fine so that your clown can scoop it up into it's mouth without having to use it's jaws for the time being. If the clown seems to be getting worse, stops eating altogether, or if you notice anything else that looks odd, let us know! I would think from what you've described that the clown should pull through this, and hopefully within about a week or slightly more, will be back to normal. Please keep us posted on how it's doing?

W. :)

[texasranchers]

Thanks for the input. I don't like to medicate but I always have 'stuff' on hand in case.

She took the frozen mysis, thawed and enhanced, from turkey baster this morning. Also gave some to LTA since she can't feed it right now.

[Reef69]

Keep feeding the LTA, most of the time clowns dont feed their anemones, but store food in it for later..Like Wendy said, as long as the clown is eating, it will pull through.

[texasranchers]

I am so glad I posted this. I feel so relieved now to know that maybe she will be alright. I am very paranoid (sp) about our fish. Thanks for everyone's help.

[bigdscobra]

This is very interesting, hope she gets better.

[texasranchers]

She was still eating very well today. I also cleaned her tank today, scrub walls, wc, filtration and blasted her LR for left overs that she hadn't eaten yesterday. She is still very active. Hope all of this is leading to good things for her.