Hi all!
I have a paired set of Clownfish that I've had for approximately the last two years. About 2 months ago I moved them over to an established Biocube 29 and all has been well since then. As of this Tuesday (4 days ago), the female clownfish has decided to quit eating and hasn't been traveling far from her [new] host.
I'm hoping someone can give me advice. Here's some additional details:
Water Params (all Salifert, Ca, KH, Mg tested daily since 1/1 :: Ammo, Trites, Trates, Phos once a week since 1/1):
Ammonia: 0 to <0.15 (colorblind so hard to tell sometimes since trace is so light to show up)
Nitrites: <0.1
Nitrates: between 5 and 10
Phosphates: 0
Alkalinity: 9.3 - 9.6
Calcium: 440
Magnesium: 1350
PH: 8.28 constant
Salt mix: Instant Ocean (regular) and dosing
Recent additions:
Brain coral approx 4 weeks ago (2/20)
Dwarf feather duster approx 4 weeks ago (2/20)
Zoa colony approx 4 weeks ago (2/20)
Reverse stem Hammer Coral approx 4 weeks ago (2/20)
All recent additions were run through multiple dips but not placed in QT: Seachem reef dip, concentrated flatworm exit, and the zoa colony got a Furan 2 dip for precaution. The zoa colony has had a bit of die off but the remaining polyps are going strong.
Total fish stock:
2 clownfish
1 firefish
The female clown has historically had quite a ferocious appetite. As soon as I walk by the tank, she'll swim out and scare off the firefish in an attempt to get food. When actually feeding, she'll eat directly out of the turkey baster I used to feed with.
My feeding schedule is twice a day, with her generally eating a medium amount of food four hours after lights (10:00AM) on and eating until not hungry 1 hour before lights off (5:00PM). For food, the noon schedule is rotated daily between small mysis shrimp, cut up krill, reef frenzy, and Rod's food (standard version). For the evening feeding, they get Hikari spirulina brine shrimp.
On Monday she was fed Rod's food. There was a chunk of something pink that looked a bit larger than what she would normally eat so I tried to siphon it out before it sunk to the bottom to rot. She ended up eating the chunk and surprisingly did not spit it back out. She ate the brine shrimp later that evening but did not eat as much as normal. The following day she quit eating altogether and hasn't left her little cave much unless her male companion leaves for a bit of time. When food comes near her, she simply ignores it and swims away.
Additionally, on Sunday (5 days ago) I did relocate the zoa to where my toadstool leather is, and moved the toadstool leather near where the clownfish had been camping out effectively changing their home a bit. As of last night I noticed that the female has actually started hosting the toadstool leather and was staying in all of its polyps as if it were an anemone. Eventually that toadstool is going to have to be moved to a larger tank but that's a problem for another day.
My initial thoughts are that she's constipated with whatever she swallowed from the Rod's food; however, historically she has not eaten mashed pea and now she's refusing to eat anything. I'm not sure how I would help her with passing the object though and would appreciate details on this if others agree.
The other option that I can see are that she's stressed from the changes in her tank layout with the addition of the leather coral being in her space.
The last option that I can think of is that it's an internal parasite but I have no seen any indications of it. There's been no strings hanging out of her anus and no lopsided overly-done swelling or anything of that nature. I do have an unopened bottle of Prazipro and a spare 5 gallon ready to set up if necessary, but I'm trying to avoid stressing her at the moment.
In case it's helpful, I've included a video I took of her yesterday evening in case there's any physical traits I'm overlooking. The only noticeable change in her appearance is she's a little less fat than normal (usually she gets a belly bulge after eating).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPgyOOsoaM8
Appreciate your help!
I have a paired set of Clownfish that I've had for approximately the last two years. About 2 months ago I moved them over to an established Biocube 29 and all has been well since then. As of this Tuesday (4 days ago), the female clownfish has decided to quit eating and hasn't been traveling far from her [new] host.
I'm hoping someone can give me advice. Here's some additional details:
Water Params (all Salifert, Ca, KH, Mg tested daily since 1/1 :: Ammo, Trites, Trates, Phos once a week since 1/1):
Ammonia: 0 to <0.15 (colorblind so hard to tell sometimes since trace is so light to show up)
Nitrites: <0.1
Nitrates: between 5 and 10
Phosphates: 0
Alkalinity: 9.3 - 9.6
Calcium: 440
Magnesium: 1350
PH: 8.28 constant
Salt mix: Instant Ocean (regular) and dosing
Recent additions:
Brain coral approx 4 weeks ago (2/20)
Dwarf feather duster approx 4 weeks ago (2/20)
Zoa colony approx 4 weeks ago (2/20)
Reverse stem Hammer Coral approx 4 weeks ago (2/20)
All recent additions were run through multiple dips but not placed in QT: Seachem reef dip, concentrated flatworm exit, and the zoa colony got a Furan 2 dip for precaution. The zoa colony has had a bit of die off but the remaining polyps are going strong.
Total fish stock:
2 clownfish
1 firefish
The female clown has historically had quite a ferocious appetite. As soon as I walk by the tank, she'll swim out and scare off the firefish in an attempt to get food. When actually feeding, she'll eat directly out of the turkey baster I used to feed with.
My feeding schedule is twice a day, with her generally eating a medium amount of food four hours after lights (10:00AM) on and eating until not hungry 1 hour before lights off (5:00PM). For food, the noon schedule is rotated daily between small mysis shrimp, cut up krill, reef frenzy, and Rod's food (standard version). For the evening feeding, they get Hikari spirulina brine shrimp.
On Monday she was fed Rod's food. There was a chunk of something pink that looked a bit larger than what she would normally eat so I tried to siphon it out before it sunk to the bottom to rot. She ended up eating the chunk and surprisingly did not spit it back out. She ate the brine shrimp later that evening but did not eat as much as normal. The following day she quit eating altogether and hasn't left her little cave much unless her male companion leaves for a bit of time. When food comes near her, she simply ignores it and swims away.
Additionally, on Sunday (5 days ago) I did relocate the zoa to where my toadstool leather is, and moved the toadstool leather near where the clownfish had been camping out effectively changing their home a bit. As of last night I noticed that the female has actually started hosting the toadstool leather and was staying in all of its polyps as if it were an anemone. Eventually that toadstool is going to have to be moved to a larger tank but that's a problem for another day.
My initial thoughts are that she's constipated with whatever she swallowed from the Rod's food; however, historically she has not eaten mashed pea and now she's refusing to eat anything. I'm not sure how I would help her with passing the object though and would appreciate details on this if others agree.
The other option that I can see are that she's stressed from the changes in her tank layout with the addition of the leather coral being in her space.
The last option that I can think of is that it's an internal parasite but I have no seen any indications of it. There's been no strings hanging out of her anus and no lopsided overly-done swelling or anything of that nature. I do have an unopened bottle of Prazipro and a spare 5 gallon ready to set up if necessary, but I'm trying to avoid stressing her at the moment.
In case it's helpful, I've included a video I took of her yesterday evening in case there's any physical traits I'm overlooking. The only noticeable change in her appearance is she's a little less fat than normal (usually she gets a belly bulge after eating).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPgyOOsoaM8
Appreciate your help!
