Clown Fish with Vertigo: No other signs of sickness???

[mmgm]

The strangest thing has been happening with my Marroon Clown.... Three nights ago I turned the lights on in my tank to check on the fish. The clown was burried in some rocks and sleeping. After a few minutes she started swimming around but looked like a struggling sick fish..... The next day she was fine and attached to my Rose as usual.

This morning I turned on the lights and the clown was blown across the tank by a powerhead. She was spinning and turning head over heals until attaching to the inlet of my Tunze powehead. When the Tunze cycled she burried herself under a rock..... I thought for sure something was wrong. I have had this fish for 3 years and she is nearly 5 inches long.....

When I got home today from work I find the clown hanging around my rose as usual. No apparant problems and she looks perfectly healthy..... No signs of any parasites and she is big, fat and eating well.....

Does this happen to clowns? Is it possible for them to develp balance problems? This is really strange....

Is there a sickness that causes this?

Thanks, this one is a tough one and I don't expect many responses but if anyone can shed light on this it would be appreciated.....

 

[kevin2000]

That does not sound like normal behavior to me and would share your concern ... doesn't sound like anything that falls into any specific category and I am unsure how to advise you. If it were my fish I would insure that water quality was up to snuff and then supplement feeding (selcon etc) and probably add something like focus which has antibiotics to the food. Perhaps others have had experience with this type of problem or have alternative suggestions?

Hope this helps.

 

[mmgm]

Thanks Kevin

I agree with your rational and will take your advise.....


Very strange behaivior and I would hate to lose this prize fish at this time. It's rare that you can have a fish for so long and they reach such a large size.....

Beautiful Fish......

 

[mmgm]

I don't expect this to be a very long thread..... But for the record I would like to update in the event someone else runs into a similar situation.....

Currently the clown is perfectly normal..... No signs of sickness or the Vertigo.....

Go figure....

 

[TerryB]

Check to see if there is a wide swing in pH or other parameters between the morning and night. Some tanks have a wide swing in the pH and this is stressful to the fish. Do you have less water circulation at night or less water surface aggitation?

Terry B

 

[mmgm]

Good suggestion.....

Thanks...

 

[mmgm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6879841#post6879841 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TerryB
Check to see if there is a wide swing in pH or other parameters between the morning and night. Some tanks have a wide swing in the pH and this is stressful to the fish. Do you have less water circulation at night or less water surface aggitation?

Terry B

Interesting suggestion..... I have a 300 gallon refugium packed with macro algae and DSB with lights running 24 x 7...... So PH does not fluctuate at all.....

But come to think of it this Vertigo occurred very soon after a 70 gallon water change (10% water volume)...... On occasion I do make water changes without letting salt mix entirely for 24 hours..... At these times I noticed PH can go from 8.3 down to 7.7 to 7.8 in a short period of time and then take 24 hours to stabalize.....

I'll make sure to note the PH before and after water change scheduled for tomorrow.....

If this happens again I'll be sure to note PH at the time of occurance......