FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have noticed that one of our clowns has increasing smudgy black marks on his upper body, that were not there to start with. I don't think they are injuries and have no idea what they could be. I spoke with LFS today, who also didn't know, but suggested tripple sulfar. Is that reef safe?

In any case, I thought maybe something more gentle to start with. What about melafix & pimafix - are they reef safe? I can see they are saltwater safe, just not sure about for the corals?

Thanks for any replies.

Cheers
TW

IMO there are no meds safe for a reef. Some might say they are, but if you are attached to your inverts(inc. corals), you shouldn't risk it. I saw a study that used self proclaimed(by the product) reef safe meds on tanks with similar setups and had a bit of xenia in each. Almost all meds had visible negative affects on the coral, and I think half killed the xenia straight out. If you want to dose something put the fish into a QT tank. However, I'm inclined to think that it's just a coloration thing anyways. I've seen lot's of clowns that get dark markings over time. Unless it's noticeably sticking out from the body of the fish, I'd just keep an eye on it.

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Thanks Matty. We will just watch him for a bit longer then.

In your opinion, what about things like Seachem Stressguard? Is that reef safe, or not even that?

Cheers
TW

What's that? Like a dechlor or something?

Honestly, I wouldn't put something in the water that isn't specifically made for a reef tank(even some things made for reef tanks are a little suspect as stated above). Nobody knows how coral is going to react to something that isn't normally in NSW - natural salt water. I use RO/DI and salt mix. Any additives are things corals use...calcium, carbonates, mg, and sr(or is it st? strontium in any case, but that's just tiny amounts as I don't test for it). IMO fish don't need stress stuffs, they just need clean water. Goes for FW too. Just my opinion here, but if the water is less crappy, the fish are more happy.

But if you've been dosing it and haven't noticed any negative affects, then you know better than me.

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Stressguard is Seachem's version of Stress Coat- it's supposed to just replenish the slime coat on fish. I don't *think* it's bad for reefs since Stress Coat is okay, but it shouldn't be necessary. I, like Matty, feel that the clowns are probably just changing their normal coloration. As long as they are eating and acting okay, I wouldn't be too worried.

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Thanks matty & sirbooks

The stressguard (slime coat) was more related to our yellow tang. When we got that fish, LFS said that as tang's are susceptible to getting sick (marine white spot) & that when we add the tang to the tank, we should add stressguard as a safety measure. We did so & haven't noticed any ill effect - but just wondered if anyone else out there in the marine world has found that it is harmful to reefs.

For the time being, we aren't medicating the clown, as he is eating & acting normal. We are watching him carefully for behavioural changes.

Thanks for the advice.

Cheers
TW