sick clownfish

[efredes]

I'm new to the hobby and I have two clownfish in a 30 gallon tank. They're very sick right now - breathing heavily in the bottom corner of the tank. They're not swimming or eating and last night, they had stringy mucus hanging from them, but they do not have any spots. I've tried changing the water, raiding the temperature and even tried a freshwaterdip - nothing has helped. I've spoken to a few friends who say it could be a number of things. One friend said I should consider treating them with copper. My only concern with that is I've read that copper kills inverts and live rock and other things and once it's in the tank, it cannot be removed. I would like to have live rock and the such in the future and don't want to ruin my tank. Is there any way I can treat them in their tank without getting another 'hospital' tank and still be able to remove the copper later on? Also, is there any medication that would work just as well that does not contain copper? Thanks for whatever help anyone can provide.

This topic has been moved to it's current forum.

 

[reefrunner69]

My first impression is that it is Brooklynella hostilis.

Anemone Fish Disease
This ciliated protozoa. known as Brooklynella hostilis , infects both the gills and skin of fish. Two of the most diagnostic symptoms of this infection are the sloughing of protective skin cells and increased secretion of mucus. The infected fish may also I become lethargic, exhibit respiratory distress, stop feeding and display areas of discolored skin on the body.
Like Uronema , this parasite feeds on the tissue and blood of its host, and causes osmoregulatory distress as it opens portals for the loss of body water to the marine environment. The gill tissue can also be damaged by the parasite's feeding activity. Unlike Uronema , anemonefish disease must have a host to survive.
Brooklynella usually becomes apparent when fish are experiencing unusual amounts of stress. For example, it is often seen in young anemonefish that are crowded in wholesale facilities or retail stores. It gets its name from the fact that it regularly infects anemonefish, but it will parasitize other fish species, as well (e.g., it is a common seahorse parasite).
One of the most commonly employed treatments for Brooklynella is to use a combination of formalin and malachite green. However, care should be taken with fish that have severe skin damage, as this will make them more sensitive to formalin treatment (it could poison them). Malachite green can be used on its own at a concentration of 0.10 part per million (ppm) (Blasiola, 1992). Once again, the best treatment option is to lower the saliniity. This will eradicate the parasite and help reduce osmoregulatory distress in your fish. Note that copper is not an i effective treatment for this parasite.

 

[Anemoneman]

Once again, the best treatment option is to lower the saliniity. This will eradicate the parasite and help reduce osmoregulatory distress in your fish.

Here is a link with soem instructions on how to do hyposalinity to treat ick. I imagine the same method will work for this parasite.
http://www.pufferlovers.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=XForum&file=viewthread&tid=67#pid789