Did cyanobacteria make my clownfish sick?

[LucidGoblin]

I cleaned a little bit of "red slime" off of some of my live rock. Bits of the stuff floated about the tank before being filtered out. That night, my black clownfish wouldn't eat. It's been two days, and he still won't take his favorite food (brine shrimp). I have a feeling he may have accidentally nibbled at a piece of the cyanobacteria, thinking it was food (he's normally a voracious eater), and it made him sick. Does this sound reasonable? Will he get better? :sad2:

 

[nemmy]

How long have you had the clown? I doubt it made him sick. Did you test your water to make sure it was okay? Did you try other foods like mysis or high quality pellets?
Frozen brine is pretty much has no nutritional value. Unless it was live or gut backed brine.

 

[LucidGoblin]

Sick clownfish

Sick clownfish

Thanks for replying. I have had the clownfish for about 8 months. I tested the water (in a BioCube 14) that night, and have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrates, and a pH of 8.0. I have been feeding him either frozen brine shrimp or chopped whole frozen shrimp, and he usually gobbles them up. I will try some different food as you suggested.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Anything is possible... it is almost impossible to tell what might have sickened your fish. You should make an active effort to remove any and all traces of red slime from your tank, because it is toxic to tank dwellers (it is the cause of the red color in "red tides" which kill so much marine life in the wild). It is normally a symptom of poor water quality; if your tank isn't going through cycling, it often indicates depressed oxygen levels.

 

[LucidGoblin]

The clownfish is eating again! I tried some Formula One frozen cubes from Ocean Nutrition, and he went right for it. I will feed him a more varied diet from now on. The red slime still worries me though. There is only a little bit left, but I will try to get rid of it. As far as depressed oxygen levels, are there any suggestions? Should I add an air stone? My water parameters are spot on, with a 10% water change every other week. (I may be overfeeding, however, another thing I will change.)

 

[BonsaiNut]

Do you have a protein skimmer?