Bluestripe Clownfish

[moonyguy]

Hey guys

I am setting up a 75 gallon LPS dominated tank with a 20 gal Sump. Its currently cycling for the last 3 weeks and should be ready for my first fish soon. I am interested in getting a pair of Bluestripe Clownfish. And was excited to see large ones available from LA. I would like to get a pair with a large female and a smaller male but I see that smaller ones are not available now. Should I wait till you guys get smaller one? Or get the large one and add the smaller male (hopefully) later? Also I will be attending the Frag Swap end of the month (my first time and is there any possibility of picking them up at that time? Suggestions welcome. I would prefer to wait till my tank is fully cycled before adding the clowns but I am not sure how often you get Bluestripe Clownfish.
Any help or advice would be most welcome.
Vishnu

 

[dfs/la2]

Vishnu,

These are excellent questions. The Bluestripe Clownfish is a great addition to any experienced hobbyists aquarium. When adding this specimen to your aquarium you will want to add all of the Clownfish you plan to house in the aquarium all at once. We do not recommend purchasing the large Clownfish and then adding a smaller one later. The Clownfish is considered semi-aggressive and can become very territorial once acclimated to your aquarium. If a smaller Clownfish is added later the larger specimen may bully the new arrival.

We will offer many specimens for sale during the Coral Conference & Frag Swap this year at our Outlet Store. The specimens we have on our LiveAquaria site, excluding Diver’s Den items, are not available to be picked up at the Coral Conference & Frag Swap, as they are located at our California holding facility.

If we can be of any additional assistance, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-334-3699 and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Joyce F.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster & Smith

 

[moonyguy]

Hi Joyce,

Thanks a lot for the help. I think its a good idea not to add one fish at a time. I am excited about the Coral Conference. Hope to see you guys there.
clear skies
Vishnu

 

[criccio]

I HIGHLY recommend QT'ing any clowns, especially A. chrysopterus. This is not a clown you just buy and put in your tank, as they are very prone to disease.

 

[moonyguy]

Hi Chris, LA Folks

Thats exactly the reason why I have decided to wait and set up my QT before I get them. I am thinking of a 20 gallon tank with a HOB filter for water motion and biofilter, may be a bubble bar, heater and PVC fixtures for hiding places. I am not sure what the salinity of the water should be.....any suggestions and also what medication procedure I should go with. I dont like doing FW dips.
Vishnu

 

[dfs/la2]

Moonyguy,

Thank you for question on the acclimation procedure for the Blue Stripe Clowns. The fish that are shipped from our Aquacultured Coral and Fish Facility are shipped with a salinity level of 1.025. Having a quarantine tank for new arrivals is very important and we are happy that you are waiting to purchase these sensitive Clowns until your quarantine tank is ready. For these sensitive fish you may wish to drip acclimate them into the quarantine tank to help reduce shock. We would not recommend the use of a bubble bar for saltwater tanks.

In our facility, directly after acclimation the fish are housed in little to no light for 12-24 hours depending on the species, origin, and transit time from overseas or from a distributor in the US. This is accomplished by covering the cubes and tanks where the new fish are housed with black covers. Once the fish exhibit normal breathing and normal behavior (ie. swimming properly) we uncover the tanks and cubes and thoroughly inspect each fish. Fish such as Clownfish that suffer from common parasitic ailments like Brooklynella hostilis are give repeated freshwater baths that contain other anti-parasitic medications. Clownfish are quarantined for a minimum of four weeks at our facility before we offer them for sale. Other fish such as Angelfish, Tangs, certain genus of Wrasse and several other specific species of fish are bathed in saltwater baths for varying time periods containing Praziquantel or other medications that eliminate flukes, parasites and protozoan that are commonly found on these wild harvested fish. Extended baths to combat more common bacterial infections such as Vibrio are also administered when needed by using a variety of antibiotics such as Kanamycin, Nitrofurazone, Neomycin and a few other more common antibiotics. Open wounds on fish are treated and healed with a special topical treatment. Along with the baths all fish in quarantine are treated with copper sulfate and a 37% formaldehyde solution (Formalin) to combat Amyloodinium ocellatum and Cryptocaryon irritans. You may wish to follow a procedure much like this one.


It is great to hear your effort in setting up your quarantine tank for these Clowns. The quarantine tank will definitely play a positive role in your aquarium hobby, not only for your new additions but will also help lower the risk of infection for the fish in your main tank. If we can be of additional assistance, please contact us at 1-800-334-3699, via email at customerservice@LiveAquaria.com, or PM us at DFS/LA2.

Gwen S.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[moonyguy]

Gwen

Thanks a lot for the advice. I am pretty sure I am going to take a lot of notes when I come down to the frag swap. Can you suggest a basic list of medications that I would need for keeping these clowns alive? I live in a small town in North Dakota where I dont have big LFS where I can by them.
Vishnu

 

[dfs/la2]

Moonyguy,

There are numerous medications we have found useful to have on hand when keeping clownfish. These include PraziPro, Formalin, Pimafix, and Melafix. PraziPro helps eliminate flukes, parasites, and protozoa, and can be used with a saltwater bath for treatments. PraziPro can not only be used as a treatment, but also as a preventative in a quarantine tank. Formalin is also an excellent product for treating protozoa in fish. Pimafix and Melafix are effective treatments for taking care of fungal and bacterial infections, and can also be used together safely. All of these products can be found on our Drs. Foster and Smith website at the following links:

PraziPro: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Formalin: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Pimafix and Melafix: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Mike S.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[criccio]

Don't forget copper (Copper-safe/Cupramine).

 

[moonyguy]

Okay guys. I placed the order today. I got an email alert saying that you have small and medium bluestripes. I have a 20 gal L with HOB filter, heater, thermometer ready and running with 1.025 salinity water. I got all the medicines you suggested when I was there at the frag swap. All I have to do now is wait and hope for the best. Will post an image of my QT later so you can suggest any changes. I have an ammonia alert badge in the tank that will help me do water changes. I have a sponge filter in my display tank sump...do you suggest I can use it in the QT?

 

[dfs/la2]

moonyguy,

Thank you for your questions. A basic filtration system should be sufficient for a quarantine setup. A sponge filter with a pump can be used, however an ideal piece of equipment for this would be to add a simple power filter designed to handle the size of your quarantine tank. Like a standard aquarium, the quarantine setup will still need to be cycled before use. For further information on setting up a quarantine tank, we highly recommend checking out the following article on our Drs. Foster and Smith website:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?dept_id=0&siteid=6&acatid=413&aid=1119

Mike S.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[moonyguy]

Hi Mike

Thanks for the advice. There has been some mixup and I ended up ordering 3 bluestripe clowns...small, medium and large. I have few questions about housing them and pairing them...if you can answer that would be great.
1. Is it possible to house all three of them in the same QT? Or do you think I should put an egg crate divider and keep them separated?
2. I have seen in the wild many clowns living in a anemone with a dominant pair and several sub-adults. Can I try the same by letting the two of the three pair up and leave the smallest one in the same tank? Being aggressive I am worried they might kill the weakest.
Thanks for the help,
Vishnu

 

[dfs/la2]

Vishnu,

These Clownfish can be added into your hospital aquarium at the same time. If the Clownfish are acclimated into the aquarium together, they are able to find territories within the aquarium at the same time reducing the aggression levels, if these are the first Clownfish in the tank.

Ideally, Clownfish should be purchased in small groups consisting of one species, and introduced to the aquarium simultaneously.

Joyce F.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster & Smith

 

[moonyguy]

Great. They are the first and only fish in my 75 gallon so they hopefully be happy. Thanks a lot for the help.

 

[moonyguy]

Okay guys. My fish came in couple of hours ago and they are looking great so far. The packing was superb. I followed the acclimation procedure and they are now in their 20 gal L QT. I lowered the lights in the room and covered the tank with a dark cloth as suggested. I am thinking of keeping them in the dark till tomorrow morning. I will check every couple of hours or so.
Now do you guys suggest any dips and baths by default or do I wait for a sign of some disease? So far all I have done is make sure the salinity is 1.025 and temperature is within +/-0.2 deg F and let them in after an hour of acclimation.

 

[dfs/la2]

Moonyguy,

We are happy to hear that your order arrived safe and healthy. We do not suggest any type of dips or baths unless there is a sign of disease as this is very stressful for the fish.

Luci Z.
LiveAquaria
Drs Foster & Smith

 

[moonyguy]

Hey guys

Just want to give you a 24 hour update. The sheets came off late last night and I found the smaller clown at the bottom hardly moving. But within a few mins it found the larger clown and they were swimming together within an hour. I dropped some frozen mysis and they ate very well. This morning they were swimming fine and I fed them some crushed pellets and they ate that too. I then siphoned off the bottom for leftover food and waste and did a 2 gal water change (salinity 1.025). One thing that has been bothering me is the clown (at least the larger one) is staying close to the bottom and swimming about 3 inches above the bottom and breathing a bit unusual. Nothing like gasping but the mouth is open more than my ocellaris in my 20 gal Nano tank. I still don't have lights over the QT but the ambient light in the room is bright enough for me to see them.
haven't done any dips or baths so far.
Vishnu

 

[dfs/la2]

Vishnu,

Thank you for your keeping us updated on your aquarium. It is quite likely that the clownfish just feels comfortable in its spot near the bottom, and prefers to stay there.

Nate M.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster & Smith

 

[moonyguy]

Okay some very bad news. The smaller clown has white film covered parts of the body and it looks like Brooklynella. I am not sure what is the standard procedure to treat these fish. Any suggestions? My large clown will arrive on Tuesday...do you advice putting her in the same tank or do you think I should get another QT for her.

 

[criccio]

Do you have two chrys in QT right now? Whatever the case, if one's infected, they're both infected and you need to start treating immediately, and no, do not put any other clowns in with them. You really should be treating these guys upon arrival, chrys are swimming disease factories, don't wait until it's visible because it's usually to late by then.

If these where my chrys, I would be treating them upon arrival with copper, formalin, and nitrofurazone, per manufacturers instructions.

Good luck.