Sick clownfish?

Question
We have a 55gal. tank connected to a 45gal. tank. We have our own sump filtration and we have checked our water and everything is fine there. In the 45 we have a green wolf eel. In the 55 we have 2 false percula clowns, a coral beauty, a damsel ( the nice one), a chocolate chip, and a dottyback. Within the past couple days, the oldest clown started breathing really fast (mouth open all the time), and swimming like he's a beginner. Then tonight I noticed that his lips and gills look swelled, and on his right side he has tiny red holes all around his mouth. All the fish have been in the tank together for about 2-3 years. At first it kinda looked like maybe he had just gotten into
a fight cause his side looks chewed on, but now I'm not so sure. Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Sarah. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I hope your clownfish is doing okay. It is really hard for me to say exactly what has happened to your clown. The possibility of a dispute between fish is always my initial thought when I hear about a fish that falls ill after it has been thriving in a tank for a few years. Territorial disputes can erupt between fish as they reach maturity and it is not uncommon for one of these disputes to end in wounds. After the attack a fish can become very stressed out leading to a lowered immune system and thus making the fish more susceptible to other infections. I would recommend getting the clown out of the main tank and housing him in a hospital tank for a week or two to see if he makes a full recovery once separated. You may want to start giving him either an antibiotic food or treat him with a full spectrum antibiotic in a hospital tank. There are many common occurrences causing illness in a saltwater tank. Poor water quality, poor nutrition and bullying are the main causes of a fish being stressed and having a lower immune system leaving them open to infections. These infections include parasites, bacteria and viruses. There are no true fugal infections of saltwater fish except one which can not be treated once signs appear. From what you have described to me it does not sound like a parasitic infection and viruses are untreatable so I would have to deduce that what you are seeing could quite possibly be a bacterial infection resulting from some kind of stress factor. Most of the time a good cure is simply eliminating any stress factor on the fish and giving him high quality nutritious foods. Keep him calm, in high quality water, away from anything that may be bullying him and feed him his favorite foods soaked in a good food supplement like selcon and he should make a full recovery!