Disoriented Clownfish: Treatment Advice?

[roguemonk]

I have two ocellaris, happy inhabitants of my 110 G. reef for a year and a couple of months. Mind you, I've neglected the water changes lately (lazy, planning to integrate with my fully automated basement system, not getting it done on schedule, you know the drill), nutrients may be building up more than they should.

In the meantime, other than some rhodactis that look a little less perky than usual (lights may be needing replacement), nothing else is giving any indications of a problem, but my female ocellaris (ca. 3") is swimming along the glass side of the tank amost exactly as though it were the bottom (I was tempted to think she's trying to see if it will work as a spawning location, since I don't have a good spot for them in the tank and they always seem to be trying to clear a good spot), and at one point drifted up to the surface and seemed very alarmed when she broke the surface of the water right around a powerhead. She did not eat today for the first time ever, seemed not to notice or care about the mysis. I haven't seen any symptoms until this, and still can't see any sign of physical infection (spots, marks, lesions, streaks--anything), but my son was worried the other morning while I was in the shower that both clowns were swimming head up in the tank (he remembers a freshwater fish that died that way)--but this is their usual behavior when the tank is dark, so I told him this was no sign of a problem. Perhaps I should have looked closer, but she seemed normal yesterday.

I've removed her to a bucket to try to contain any outbreak and to treat her if I can discover a likely cause. She's got heat and aeration, but less space than she's used to.

I will either break down the tank on an expedited schedule or do some water changes to improve conditions, since this is enough to kick me in the butt.

In the meantime, has anyone seen a similar symptom, and what treatment worked? I can't find anything that really reminds me of this described anywhere, but if I have to guess I would think it was likely a bacterial infection. Anyone have a favorite treatment? (I've dosed the tank already with garlic extract, which I have on hand and I know works wonders for fish that aren't already too far gone.)

Thanks!

Brad

 

[Hattie B]

Hi Brad,

So your female clown is swimming near the top and putting there face out of the water?

Probbaly something is off with the water. I would do a water change. water changes can go a long way. =)

There could be an oxygen problem. lots of surface movement?

Is your tank grounded?

why do you think its bacterial? is she showing any different looking physical signs?

 

[roguemonk]

I got a response to a similar post in a different forum from a man who had a similar experience with a fish that turned out to be blind. I have since checked and I do believe she is mostly blind. She does not respond to movement but she responds to touch. Her disorientation stems, I think, from her blindness. She wanders a bit because she can't see where she is, and when she runs into something or hits the water surface it startles her. She was swimming along the side of the glass because she could stay in contact with the continuous smooth surface and there were not many obstacles to confound her. She ran into the surface by accident (clearly that was not her goal).

I think the blindness and disorientation has finally progressed to a point (assuming it did not just happen overnight) that she is stressed by the condition, and thus not feeling very hungry. I hope that she will settle down as she adjusts to the condition.

I originally suspected a bacterial infection as the proximate cause of some organ problem that would explain her apparent disorientation. I am still thinking of treating her in case there is some involvement of an ongoing infection in the development of her blindness.

Otherwise I will just try to help her adjust to her blindness and figure out a way to make sure she can eat and live comfortably.

I will be glad to hear any suggestions or similar experiences, or advice on whether anyone thinks it's worth while at this point to give her antibiotics at all.

Thanks,

Brad

 

[Hattie B]

Do you have a pic of the clown?

Do you think she is blind because of her eyes are cloudy? (could be if they are cloudy she has a bacterial infection; secondary to something else??? or water quality?)

Its only been 1 day too since she is not eating if it was a week or two then there would be more concern

But, if you think she is blind, I can tell you she will most likly do fine. Here is my fish; not only blind, no eyes.. (pink skunk clown) and I have never had a problem with her. She eats like a champ, and really likes her anem. =)

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[roguemonk]

That's encouraging! Her eyes do not show any signs of damage or cloudiness. I never would have suspected she was blind based on her appearance, and it took some prodding to notice the pattern with her movements and lack of responsiveness to visual stimuli. I look forward to working with her to see if I can help her find some normalcy. I imagine that she will follow much the same pattern as a blind person would: a period of denial and struggle, followed by a period of accommodation while she learns to compensate for her loss of vision by using her other senses. Since she has only just crossed the threshold, apparently, I am not all that concerned. After a few days, if she isn't adjusting, I will become more concerned, obviously. I'll be watching closely!

Thanks for your help!

Brad