wow! you need something that would eat that stuff. i was trying to go figure what it is, but it's so many of them that it would take me hours to figure what kind it is. well, give a clown a brake for two days or so before you mess with him again. i read about parasites and it could be anything, but some use fish for just transportation and others suck their blood. interesting thing is that lice, and i'm sure some other, will hook onto the host's face because it keeps the parasite from being washed away by the current. suppostibly, those things are irritants to the fish, but it's worse if there are several at one time. i say, give the fish a break and try again, but don't take it out of the water. i just netted my fish and brought it up near the top and worked from there, put a hand under a net and gently turned the fish a little on the side so i could get the worm. now, i would run out to the store and get cleaner wresse, but you can't go by me. that fish or cleaner shrimp will take care of the problem withing few days, so you wouldn't have to torcher and maybe loose your clown to stress. there are two things about cleaner wresse you need to know. first, you have to make sure it eats at least live brine shrimp before you buy it, so ask to feed it. later it will learn to eat averything else, but if it doesn't take anything than it's possible that it never will and soon will starve because you don't have that many fish. second, when they adjust they can get a bit territorial. mine attacks new fish sometimes, and my hand.