Frantic ocellaris clownfish...trouble?

[xmai77]

I've had my ocellaris in the QT for a week now. He started out eating very little but has been eating quite a bit the last few days. I've been feeding him flake food cause he ignores the frozen mysis shrimp I purchased. I came home today with some small pellet food I was going to try to feed him.

I noticed he was incredibly active during lunch time. I turned off the powerhead and dropped a couple of pellets in, which he ignored. I then hand fed him (he likes to swim up to the water during mealtime and eat from my hand) one pellet. I think he spat the pellet out, I can't be sure cause he swam behind a piece of rock. He continued to swim around like a maniac. I went back to feeding him the flake food that he loves so much but he ignored my fingers in the water and didn't eat anymore. He just kept swimming around the tank frantically.

Last night I measured the parameters of the tank. The ammonia was fine <0.25ppm but the nitrites seemed a bit high ~1-2ppm. I bought some Prime conditioner today hoping to use it to detoxify some of that nitrite. I put a few drops of the Prime in the tank. I also did a ~15% water change with some Prime treated water. I measured the nitrites again after the water change and it looked a little lower, it's hard to tell sometimes with the API color matching system. I'm back at work now but when I last saw him, he was still swimming around quite frantically!

:S I didn't notice anything weird growing on him...he looked as healthy as he was the night before. This does not seem like normal behaviour for him. Should I change some more of the water? Is there anything I should look out for? I hope he's still alright when I get off work later

 

[bellis31]

You didn't say how big your QT is but I have 2 clowns in an un-cycled QT right now also, realistically any ammonia is bad, water change as much as you can to keep it down even if that means 50%. Make sure to clean out any un eaten foods to help keep the ammonia down also.

I hope this helps!

 

[b0bab0ey]

IME if you have high nitrites then you had high ammonia at some point. There's just no other way a la The Nitrogen Cycle. So, it's very possible your clownfish has/had ammonia poisoning. How is your QT setup? What kind of filter(s) are you using?

Also, I'm guessing you didn't see any visible signs of disease on him like little white dots or a white slime? Was he breathing hard at all?

 

[greech]

I don't want to make light of your situation as you know your fish better than anyone but I can tell you that once my clowns got comfortable with me and associated me with food they do this every time I walk in the room. Still do. If I leave the room and peak around the corner they are back to their lazy ways . If you are having spikes in parmeters it certainly could be the cause too. Even short lived ammonia spikes can irritate gills. Also, do you have decent flow in the QT?

 

[MrTuskfish]

You didn't say how big your QT is but I have 2 clowns in an un-cycled QT right now also, realistically any ammonia is bad, water change as much as you can to keep it down even if that means 50%. Make sure to clean out any un eaten foods to help keep the ammonia down also.

I hope this helps!

True, good advice but Oc. Clowns are very tolerant of ammonia/nitrite. They're still, needlessly, used as "cycle' fish. Ammonia and nitrite will cause many problems with most fish that won't bother clowns. I'd use as much prime as the directions allow and do as many WCs as you can stand. Are you using any meds? How was the fish acclimated? There is often a big difference in SG between a QT and a LFS. BTW, glad to see you're using a QT!

 

[xmai77]

You didn't say how big your QT is but I have 2 clowns in an un-cycled QT right now also, realistically any ammonia is bad, water change as much as you can to keep it down even if that means 50%. Make sure to clean out any un eaten foods to help keep the ammonia down also.

I hope this helps!

My QT is 10 gallons, I have it filled to about 8 gallons. I'll make a larger water change tonight, as soon as I can prepare more saltwater.

IME if you have high nitrites then you had high ammonia at some point. There's just no other way a la The Nitrogen Cycle. So, it's very possible your clownfish has/had ammonia poisoning. How is your QT setup? What kind of filter(s) are you using?

Also, I'm guessing you didn't see any visible signs of disease on him like little white dots or a white slime? Was he breathing hard at all?

I've been checking the system every 2-3 days and the ammonia has always been less than 0.5ppm. Again, it is a bit hard to tell precisely what level the ammonia is with the color matching. I have a simple HOB with carbon which I run for a few hours a day, a powerhead, a couple of small pieces of live rock from my cycled tank, a couple of pieces of pvc, a heater, and a thermometer.

I didn't see any white dots or white slime last night when he was calmer. I couldn't get a good look during lunch today but now that I think about it, he did swim across the bottom sideways as if to rub its side...or it could just be me overthinking/analyzing it. I will try to examine him more closely after work. I was in a bit of a rush as I was already late since I went to buy him new food and the Prime water conditioner.

I don't want to make light of your situation as you know your fish better than anyone but I can tell you that once my clowns got comfortable with me and associated me with food they do this every time I walk in the room. Still do. If I leave the room and peak around the corner they are back to their lazy ways . If you are having spikes in parmeters it certainly could be the cause too. Even short lived ammonia spikes can irritate gills. Also, do you have decent flow in the QT?

My clown definitely gets a bit hyper when it sees me around lunch/dinner time. But it was much much more frantic at lunch today and it didn't even eat..it ignored what I was trying to feed it.

True, good advice but Oc. Clowns are very tolerant of ammonia/nitrite. They're still, needlessly, used as "cycle' fish. Ammonia and nitrite will cause many problems with most fish that won't bother clowns. I'd use as much prime as the directions allow and do as many WCs as you can stand. Are you using any meds? How was the fish acclimated? There is often a big difference in SG between a QT and a LFS. BTW, glad to see you're using a QT!

The fish was acclimated using the procedure sticked in the Beginners forum. I floated, filled bag with tank water, removed some, refilled, removed, checked salinity (but not pH...cause I didn't have my pH meter yet..). Once the salinity matched, I used a colander to transfer it to some clean saltwater for a few seconds then to the tank. I didn't do a freshwater dip.

It's not being medicated.

 

[xmai77]

I did a ~80%-90% water change when I got home. The nitrates were rather high... I feel awful for letting that get so high. My ammonia was never over 0.25ppm at any point so I figured there isn't much nitrites/nitrates. It turns out there was...the two pieces of live rock in there was just turning the ammonia around fast enough that I couldn't catch any of it.

My clown is still very very active but it's not quite as frantic as earlier today. It has been extremely active all day, I'm afraid it might exhaust itself to death. I hope he gets some sleep tonight . I'm going to stick with making 50% water changes everyday or every other day.

 

[bellis31]

I did a ~80%-90% water change when I got home. The nitrates were rather high... I feel awful for letting that get so high. My ammonia was never over 0.25ppm at any point so I figured there isn't much nitrites/nitrates. It turns out there was...the two pieces of live rock in there was just turning the ammonia around fast enough that I couldn't catch any of it.

My clown is still very very active but it's not quite as frantic as earlier today. It has been extremely active all day, I'm afraid it might exhaust itself to death. I hope he gets some sleep tonight . I'm going to stick with making 50% water changes everyday or every other day.

For all it's worth my B&W Clowns in QT never seem to slow down until I go lights out, then they drop to a bottom corner and huddle together in a low flow area but continue swimming.

 

[jimmy frag]

put him in you DS tank.

 

[xmai77]

For all it's worth my B&W Clowns in QT never seem to slow down until I go lights out, then they drop to a bottom corner and huddle together in a low flow area but continue swimming.

He used to go to his little low flow corner whenever it was bed time but now he keeps swimming back and forth in the same pattern. He had one bite last night when I tried to feed him...that's a start. I checked on him this morning and he was pacing back and forth across the tank slowly but as the lights came on he got more frantic. When I left he was zipping back and forth I hope he is ok.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I did a ~80%-90% water change when I got home. The nitrates were rather high... I feel awful for letting that get so high. My ammonia was never over 0.25ppm at any point so I figured there isn't much nitrites/nitrates. It turns out there was...the two pieces of live rock in there was just turning the ammonia around fast enough that I couldn't catch any of it.

My clown is still very very active but it's not quite as frantic as earlier today. It has been extremely active all day, I'm afraid it might exhaust itself to death. I hope he gets some sleep tonight . I'm going to stick with making 50% water changes everyday or every other day.

Nitrate isn't harmful to fish at any level normally seen by hobbyists. Say, under 100ppm.

 

[bellis31]

He used to go to his little low flow corner whenever it was bed time but now he keeps swimming back and forth in the same pattern. He had one bite last night when I tried to feed him...that's a start. I checked on him this morning and he was pacing back and forth across the tank slowly but as the lights came on he got more frantic. When I left he was zipping back and forth I hope he is ok.

If he's more calm with lights out then leave the lights off...

 

[xmai77]

If he's more calm with lights out then leave the lights off...

I don't leave any lights on. The only light he gets is regular daylight and, even then, it's not very much. Maybe I'll block some more out.

 

[xmai77]

Nitrate isn't harmful to fish at any level normally seen by hobbyists. Say, under 100ppm.

Hmm...it was definitely under 100ppm. My nitrites were probably around 1ppm :S. Will that burn his gills?

He didn't eat this morning either. I'm thinking of getting him a friend.

 

[b0bab0ey]

Hmm...it was definitely under 100ppm. My nitrites were probably around 1ppm :S. Will that burn his gills?

He didn't eat this morning either. I'm thinking of getting him a friend.

If you're having ammonia/nitrite problems, the last thing you want to do is get him a friend.

 

[bellis31]

Hmm...it was definitely under 100ppm. My nitrites were probably around 1ppm :S. Will that burn his gills?

He didn't eat this morning either. I'm thinking of getting him a friend.

Yes ammonia and nitrites can be harmful, do your best to fix that situation first, clean up any food left over from feeding (I use a turkey baster)and use amquel or prime to clean up the water in between water changes.

Natural daylight is fine..

 

[MrTuskfish]

A healthy, cycled tank should never have any ammonia or nitrite.

 

[xmai77]

If you're having ammonia/nitrite problems, the last thing you want to do is get him a friend.

I was having water quality problems but it was pointed out by another member that levels of <100ppm isn't too harmful to the fish. I did not have ammonia problems. My nitrites were at around 1-2ppm when I did a large water change. This all leads me to believe water quality was actually not the issue.

Regardless, all the parameters are fine now after the water change. I check ammonia daily and I plan on adding nitrite/nitrate testing either daily or every other day to my maintenance.

Yes ammonia and nitrites can be harmful, do your best to fix that situation first, clean up any food left over from feeding (I use a turkey baster)and use amquel or prime to clean up the water in between water changes.

Natural daylight is fine..

I think I will start using a few drops of Prime between water changes too

A healthy, cycled tank should never have any ammonia or nitrite.

I did not have any ammonia. The API kit records <0.25ppm every time I check. Nitrites were a bit high at 1-2ppm but I did a water change as soon as I discovered it.

 

[sandwi54]

you may be confused with the term "cycled." a tank that is cycled means it does not have detectable ammonia and nitrite at any time. if you read ammonia and nitrite at all, that is not cycled. doing water change is the correct way to battle with ammonia/nitrite so continue on doing that until the test kit read absolutely zero for both of them.

do not buy another fish until the tank is cycled for a few days. adding another fish means adding more waste, which drives up ammonia/nitrite even more. plus, the new fish may harass the old one and stresses him out more.

be patient. trust me it'll save you a lot of headache and heartache in the long run.