Black Spots On Clownfish?

[dja1980]

I posted this in the Clownfish Forum too, but thought maybe someone locally has had experience with this.

I’ve noticed some black spots on my clown and figured someone might have some ideas as to what’s wrong.

The spots seem to be primarily on his right side and under side.

He doesn’t act stressed, and he’s been eating… really no changes in behavior.

I haven’t noticed him hosting anything other than his RBTA, which he’s been hosting for about 2 years.

Any ideas?

[jcm1229]

I had a similar situation when I had a pair in my sps frag tank. since there was nothing for them to host in, they were irritated probably by brushing up against the frags etc... After I relocated the clowns, the spots went away. If you search back aways, you will find more threads on the same stuff.

[Caragol]

Yeah... looks like a coral sting, could be from anything. It doesn't really bother them too much. It takes a while to go away though.

[Rod Buehler]

Yes, Hyper-melaninism. Very common in clowns that use an an-natural host. Not to worry.. The clown is fine. The spots may or may not disappear .

( Sorry David.. My computer has been down, and am just now getting to my emails

[dja1980]

Thanks guys! I've had the clown for almost 3 years. He's been hosting that RBTA for over 2 years.

The only corals I have been adding are small SPS frags. I did notice that the Pocillopora (bottom left of 3 of the pictures) hasn't been as fuzzy looking for the past few weeks. Actually, if you look at the 3rd picture, you'll notice that the Pocillopora is only fuzzy at the base. I've had that frag since July (Fragapalooza) and it's always been very fuzzy looking... I wonder if the clown recently started rubbing against it at night... I'll have to watch more closely.

[Kmiec123]

How are the clowns doing?

[dja1980]

He's still pretty spotted up... still acting just fine though. If I get time, I'll post some new pictures. Thanks for asking!