Reef Discussion

[Noro]

Hi there,
I bought two clownfish last weekend, and I've been feeding them daily with frozen brine shrimp.

As of yesterday I noticed the smaller clown is barely eating, and spends most of it's time hiding behind a rock. It's constantly opening it's mouth and moving it's gills, and isn't swimming as actively as the other larger clown.

I've turned on the air conditioning for an hour or so now, he's looking a little more outgoing but he's still rapidly opening and closing his mouth.

 

[MichelleShocked]

I would say his labored breathing is the key to what is wrong. Is he being picked on by any of the other inhabitants? It is possible he has some sort of gill flukes/parasites that are making it hard for him to absorb the oxygen he needs. Not eating means he really isn't feeling good at all and the hiding means he is feeling particularly vulnerable because he's ill. Has he any damage or injury markings on him?

 

[MichelleShocked]

I was just looking at another thread and read this description:

brooklynella parasite, with the white fluff being excess mucus production. By the sounds of it I may have missed some of the early signs by just writing them off to a bit of stress from being moved to a new tank.

INFECTION INDICATORS - The usual first indication would show itself as rapid breathing and loss of coloration in the head area of the fish, followed by obvious excessive mucous sloughing off of the fish, Excessive mucous may not be confined to the head area, it may show up anywhere upon the fish. Scraping itself against other objects in the tank may also be seen as the fish trys to dislodge the parasite, you may also notice the fish has lost its appetite and remains listless or hides constantly​

 

[Noro]

I would say his labored breathing is the key to what is wrong. Is he being picked on by any of the other inhabitants? It is possible he has some sort of gill flukes/parasites that are making it hard for him to absorb the oxygen he needs. Not eating means he really isn't feeling good at all and the hiding means he is feeling particularly vulnerable because he's ill. Has he any damage or injury markings on him?

There's no visible damage; the bigger clown does swim close to him sometimes but there isn't any fin nipping or anything of that nature. The Green Clown Goby keeps to himself and sits under a rock.

 

[MichelleShocked]

Ok so he's not being bullied. I would be leaning toward some sort of bacterial infection then or parasite. Have a look at this thread as well

http://www.thereefuge.com.au/threads/clown-fish-disease.5680/

 

[Noro]

I'll wait and see if there's any mucus being produced, or any changes to his appearance today.

Would you think it's a bad idea to add any coral to the system at this stage? I'll be doing a waterchange this evening once the salt has mixed.

 

[Buddy]

It might help to point a powerhead towards the surface to get more oxygen in to the water.
I would hold off adding any coral to the tank. Your hands in the tank will just stress the fish even more.

 

[Noro]

It might help to point a powerhead towards the surface to get more oxygen in to the water.
I would hold off adding any coral to the tank. Your hands in the tank will just stress the fish even more.

I'll move my loc-line return to agitate the surface of the water more aggressively.

 

[MichelleShocked]

Agreed - dont add anything until you know what is wrong with your fish. 1stly becoz you will stress the tank & 2ndly becoz if your fish dies, you risk losing more stock if your tank crashes. Can you set up a basic hospital tank with fresh salt water, powerhead filter & bare bottom & place the clown in that?

 

[MagicJ]

How are things today?

Your water temp was a little high which may have reduced the oxygen concentration in the water - getting some more surface agitation was a good suggestion.

Your tank is 2 months old - what are your current ammonia and nitrite readings? With a relatively small tank there may not have been sufficient bacteria to deal with the extra waste produced by the clowns.

 

[chrispc66]

Yep....it's either disease or water parameters. Small fish are the canaries of your tank. Keep a very close eye on the fish. In the meantime, continue water changes, increase oxygenation, reduce temperature. If things improve you know what the problem is. If the fish doesn't show signs of improvement, then isolate the fish as soon as possible.

Good luck, its a challenge....:)

 

[Noro]

I was just looking at another thread and read this description:

brooklynella parasite, with the white fluff being excess mucus production. By the sounds of it I may have missed some of the early signs by just writing them off to a bit of stress from being moved to a new tank.

INFECTION INDICATORS - The usual first indication would show itself as rapid breathing and loss of coloration in the head area of the fish, followed by obvious excessive mucous sloughing off of the fish, Excessive mucous may not be confined to the head area, it may show up anywhere upon the fish. Scraping itself against other objects in the tank may also be seen as the fish trys to dislodge the parasite, you may also notice the fish has lost its appetite and remains listless or hides constantly​

Watching the fish this morning it appears to be exhibiting this behaviour of swimming side down agains the live rock like it's trying to scrape it's gills against the rock. It also isn't eating at all; it shows interest in the brine shrimp but doesn't eat it. There's still no visible mucous either.

I'm going to set up a quarantine tank, but I don't have any cycled filter media to put in.

 

[Noro]

Does anyone have recommendations on treatment?

 

[MagicJ]

Does anyone have recommendations on treatment?

Unless you can identify the problem, there is no use trying a random mix of treatments. Some may actually exacerbate the problem.

 

[Noro]

Unless you can identify the problem, there is no use trying a random mix of treatments. Some may actually exacerbate the problem.

Thanks @MagicJ. At the moment I've done a large water change, levels are still good in terms of pH, Alk, Nitrates and temperature is stable at 27C. I'm heading into the LFS to see how accurate my refractometer is. The clown is still in the DT, more active than previously but is still pushing up against the rock every now and then.

Should I just wait and see how it goes?

 

[Buddy]

I think just let him ride it out. The transfer to a qt tank may be too stressful. He will start eating when he is ready, I sure know I don't feel like eating when I'm sick!

 

[Noro]

I think just let him ride it out. The transfer to a qt tank may be too stressful. He will start eating when he is ready, I sure know I don't feel like eating when I'm sick!

I'd like to move him down into the fuge though, I've noticed the other clown gets a bit aggressive towards him when I come near the tank or feed. Worth doing or should I just leave it alone?

 

[chrispc66]

Id leave him be, there's been improvement. They are hardy little fish. The other clown might be the issue here, they will tolerate each other in time.

They are the same species yes?

 

[aussieant32]

an ammonia/nitrite reading would still be good, the only parameters you are referencing are not really that important to fish at this stage

 

[Noro]

i.d leave him be, there's been improvement. They are hardy little fish. The other clown might be the issue here, they will tolerate each other in time.

They are the same species yes?

Yup they are the same species.

an ammonia/nitrite reading would still be good, the only parameters you are referencing are not really that important to fish at this stage

Damn, I should have taken some water with me to the LFS to get it tested. I've only got a nitrates test, which is undetectable both before and after the waterchange.