Clownfish not doing so well

[Squishie89]

I always check on my tanks before going to bed. Tonight I noticed my male clownfish not acting like himself and noticed some possible wounds on his face. I caught him very easily (however it was dark). The biggest "wound" like area is in front of his gills, a bit behind his right eye, he has some scratches on his first white stripe, and otherwise just doesn't seem himself. He is around 3-5 years old (I got him in Decmember 2012 and was already paired and in breeding condition). I am not sure if he is just deteriorating/dying or what. He did eat tonight and was acting fine, he and the female clown have been laying eggs pretty consecutively since late November and he has been a very doting Dad to the babies/eggs, not sure if it has all taken a toll on him. I did put him back in and helped him get back to his anemone/eggs/wife and he settled in, but was still acting strangely (after taking about 5-10 min to calm down with no flow in the tank).

 

I sincerely apologize for the photos, my phone started being weird and I had to use my Dad's phone and the fish was not working with me.

 

All other fish/inverts seemed fine (other fish are: 1 randalls goby, 1 gumdrop coral croucher, 1 mandarin, 1 starry blenny, 1 female clown), (inverts: snails, 2 hermits, 1 fire shrimp, 3 BTA and 3 rock anemones).

 

Could really use some insight into what might be going on. Thanks.

[Squishie89]

 

Looks like he is doing alright at the moment, he was caring for the eggs. Still concerned though.

[SandJ]

Sorry about your clown :0(

 

How is he doing today?

[Squishie89]

Sorry about your clown :0(

 

How is he doing today?

Thanks for checking in. I just looked at him and he is acting more his normal self, tending to his eggs, but he still has that big wound like thing on his face. Very strange. Just glad he seems okay. Thanks again =)

[YHSublime]

Could have just run into a rock?

[arking_mark]

More likely the female clown fish was harassing...and a rock could have gotten in his way of escape.

[Squishie89]

I am starting to think you guys might be right and he just got a nasty scratch. I am going to keep a very close eye on him and clear a space for my fish QT just in case.

[Caribbean Jake]

keep us posted, interesting to hear the outcome

[dipg]

It have seen scratches like these on my clowns and I have always assumed them to be related to rubbing against rock etc. The first time I saw it I was terrified but I kept monitoring and saw that the clowns were acting as normal and within a week the scratches were gone.

[greengalaxy]

Poor guy, hope he gets better

[Squishie89]

Thank you all for your support and inquires into his status! He is still going strong, seems normal, scratches/wounds still there but he continues to eat which is always a promising sign. Hopefully it was just a big fight between the couple, although Nym is one of the best Dads I have ever seen so not sure if the Mrs. is just jealous of the eggs or what haha.