Help - Clownfish lost color overnight

[sassAwrasse]

Hello.

Yesterday my params in my clownfish breeding system were

salinity 1.020
ammonia 1.0
nitrate 10.0
nitrite 0
po4 .25

We did a 10% water change on the system.

Woke up today and all fish are fine except for my female GSM.
Ammonia is down to .25, haven't tested nitrate again yet but I imagine it's down a little as well.

She is dull in color on the top and bottom of her body, and looks like she's having trouble breathing. She is not up at the top of the surface gasping for air however.

I've read that water changes can sometimes upset the params.
I've read that high ammonia and nitrate can burn their gills also causing problems.
I've read similar things like this that have been brooklynella.

I need help diagnosing before I treat.

I have moved her into a quarantine tank for now.

Please help.

(please ignore all the white specs, those are on the glass, not on the fish)






Thanks in advance!

 

[Pastey]

Ammonia is WAY too high. That needs to be zero. You need to get a full 100% water change ready ASAP.

 

[sassAwrasse]

the ammonia is down to .25. the total volume of system is 250 gallons. is it really necessary to do a 100% water change? her mate seems unaffected as well as the other 13 fish in their own "chambers" of the system.

 

[Pastey]

There is always a chance that the maroon has something but when you have an ammonia reading that high, it's always suspect.

How does a 10% water change bring your ammonia down 75%?

What are the parameters in your QT tank? You need to keep a close eye on the ammonia there as well since there may not be any biological filter judging from the bare bottom.

 

[sassAwrasse]

there was a rock in sump with a decaying kenyan tree just removed. also used aquavitro prime yesterday to help with ammonia. after removing her, I siphoned out another 5 gallons directly from the gsm's chamber.

 

[sassAwrasse]

clownfish died about an hour and a half after being put into quarantine. guessing ammonia was the culprit.

not sure why I had such a spike. another water change completed. keeping a close eye on the rest.

thanks for the input.

 

[Pastey]

Sorry for the loss. Something definitely caused that spike so I'd be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.