Gozer_1

I just picked up a Tomato Clown the other day. When I got him home and into his new home (don't have a quarantine) I thought I saw a small white spot on his head. He was pretty freaked out so I couldn't get a real good look at it till the next day. He picked a cave and hangs out in the entrance all day and hides all night, so in the day I got a good look at his head. He has the typical signs of HiTH (Marine head and lateral erosion). Small light dents in his forehead. They are very small and it has not progressed very far. I have had him for 4 days. He is the only fish. I fed him a small bit of frozen brine the first day. He was too freaked out. The shrimp had a hayday. The second day I offered some San Fransico Bay Brand Emerald Entree for omnivores. I also added some SeaChem Reef Plus, a vitamin, mineral, amino acid type supplement. He liked the Emerald Entree quite a bit. He came right out of his cave and munched a descent bit before retreating to his hide. Back at the hide he will nab floaters also. Day 3 I tried brine again and he only hit at a few, again the snails had a hayday. Today I went with the Emerald Entree with a little Reef Plus and he munched quite a bit again. The Emerald Entree is a blend of Brine, Mysis, Plankton, Spinach, Romaine, Red Leaf Lettuce, Spirulina, and various vitamins and minerals, so I think it should be a pretty good base food especially with vitamins added. Does anyone have any suggestions for other foods to provide? I have also removed the carbon as some have suggested this as a possible factor, and I'm doing regular water changes. Thats about all I know about this condition. Sounds like nobody knows a lot about it anyway. So, if anyone has had any dealings with this, I would gladly take any advice.

Gozer_1

Turns out he is a Cinnamon Clown and the spots seem not to be getting worse. He is eating much better now and even swims out of his cave a little more. I think he's gonna be OK.


Mysis and Brine seem to be his favs.

Bonochick

Glad to hear it!

Gozer_1

He is still pretty skiddish, but he eats well and keeps his head poking out of his chosen "lair". He's calm about most things too, no crazed darting. If he's feeling particularly spooked he'll just calmly swim behind a rock. He'll figure out that he's home and no one is gonna steal his cave. There is no one to steal it. lol

agsansoo

I want to see a picture of the clownfish !!!

sgould

Where in the blazes did those emotes come from!? Me want! Me want!

agsansoo

Right click ... and save away !

Gozer_1

OK here ya go. He's hiding in his cave but stuck around for a photo. You can see the four spots of erosion on his forehead. They haven't grown any but from what I've read they may leave a scar.

agsansoo

Great looking Cinnamon Clown !! He looks young. How long is he ? This could be why he shy. My maroon has one blue hole in her head also. I read somewhere it's not serious. I will do a little research tomorrow and let you know what I find.

Gozer_1

Thanks, I like the dark body with the bright fins. He is about 2 inches from nose to base of tail, maybe 2 and a half.... maybe. Pretty small. I hear the erosion is not too serious as long as you get it under control. If bad conditions persist it can get real ugly. Lucky for him I love my fish.

Wolfgang8810

ive heard that a diet with too much protein can lead to holes in the head at least with oscars

Gozer_1

Well a little update. The erosions have shrunk considerably. One spot is completely gone. It's looking like this little clown is gonna make a full recovery.

He's been much more adventurous and knows when it's time to eat. The day before yesterday I picked up 2 (1") Blue Green Chromis. I thought it would get the clown to be more active if there were possible "intruders". Sure enough, the clown is more than happy to express ownership of the righthand cave. lol The Chromis are loving life and give the clown plenty of space. I think they recognize who owns the cave. It also helps me at feeding time. It's harder to control overfeeding with only 1 fish. The competition actually gets the clown to eat more.

On another note, after referring to "Anemone Fish and Their Host Sea Anemones" by Daphne G. Fautin and Gerald R Allen, I have since come to find that this is indeed a Tomato Clown as I had originally thought. The Cinnamon Clown (A. melanopus) has black anal and pelvic fins. The female Tomato is often mistaken for A. melanopus. Anyway, the store had it listed as a Maroon lol.

Gozer_1

The erosions have completely healed. No scarring what so ever.  She has gotten a lot more active and even accepted the Chromis into her "clique". She lets them hide in her cave when they get spooked.

chris2

At the risk of sounding silly and basic, is it possible he's not tank raised? You didn't mention if he is or not.

Gozer_1

She was definitely tank raised. I have no doubt. The LFS I got her from had just gotten her from a local person. Theirs had babies. Mom and Dad may not have been but mine was most certainly. I usually try to buy only captive bred.

Gozer_1

She's doing fantastic. Not a single sign of the HITH. She's been eating straight out of the coral feeder tube and likes to bite the crap out of my hand any time I come near her cave or favorite hang out. lol Took about a month for the HITH to reverse.

agsansoo

That's good news ! Mine still has the one blue hole in her head. (That's her in my avatar)

Gozer_1

She looks fantastic!