Help Diagnosing Sick Clownfish

[annsagminiature]

Hi all!

I have a tank with two clownfish that I have had for over 5 years now. The large one (the female, correct?) is laying on the bottom of the tank, pumping its gills, and has two suspicious spots on it (a pinkish one on the white part above its eyes and a whitish one above its fin). I have circled both of them. I apologize as it was impossible to get a clear pic of it.

Does anyone know what this is and how to treat it? I live in a small city and only have access to Petsmart and Pet Supplies Plus so might be limited in what medicines I can get a hold of.

Thank you in advance for your advice!

Ann

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Have you added anything new to the tank? Do you have any corals/sea urchins?

 

[annsagminiature]

Hi! Thanks for the response.

There is nothing else living in the tank. Just the two clownfish. We used to have them in a set up with live rock but tore it all down back in October and bought a new tank.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Why did you tear down the old tank? Did you use anything from it to the new tank? How did you cycle the new tank? What are your parameters?

 

[annsagminiature]

The old tank had turned nasty. My husband was the one who set it up and then did not want to maintain it. We finally just gave up on it and switched over to the other tank. Once we did that it was much easier for me to keep up with water changes (I do around around 15% every week-week and a half whereas before I am ashamed to admit it wasn't happening nearly that often!). We did not use any of the decor, sand, etc.. from the other tank, but we did use all/most of the water from it to start up the new one. The tank may have had a hard cycle, but that was 7 months ago. Wouldn't a problem have presented itself much before now? The specific gravity is 1.022 to 1.023 and the temp is usually around 75-76 (although it may have gone up above that here and there due to the warm temps that we have sometimes had these past few weeks - I don't AC my house heavily). How long do the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate test kits last for? I have one but it is several years old and am wondering if it is still good or not. Last time I ran those they were all fine, but who knows if that was accurate or not.

The fish ended up dying about a half an hour or so ago. Do I need to worry about my remaining healthy one?

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Sorry for your loss. How is the other one acting? What are you using for aeration/water movement? Do you have a skimmer? The test kits are supposed to be good for a year. I would check ammonia. Although it should have leveled out by now.

 

[annsagminiature]

The other one is totally normal and has no signs of illness or distress at all. Perfectly healthy. I am just using a corner filter and did recently hook up a small power head to increase the surface tension. A few weeks ago I noticed that both the fish were breathing from the top of the tank. I had just changed the water the night before and noticed that I had filled it up more than usual. I added that so I could get some extra oxygen in the water and ended up just leaving it in there. The corner filter alone seems to provide plenty as long as I don't overfill it!

No, I do not have a skimmer. I remember my husband had one on a past set up years ago. Not sure what happened to it (maybe it broke?) but I thought that was more of a necessity for corals and live rock. Should I look into getting one?

Will try and buy a fresh test kit tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks for your response!

Ann

 

[ThRoewer]

With clownfish my first suspicion is always Brooklynella and my second a bacterial infection. Uronema is also always a possibility.
While even after 5 years Brooklynella is still a possibility it is rather unlikely and the appearance doesn't fit well either.

My bet would be on bacterial, especially since the male isn't affected so far.

It's a bit tough to tell from the picture but she looks a bit undernourished.
Did she eat well?
How old are these clowns?

 

[annsagminiature]

I bought the clowns back in March of 2010 so they are about 5 1/2 years old I would say. Aren't they usually pretty young when you buy them? She seemed to be eating very well until just recently. Do you think they were underfed? I have always been careful to avoid overfeeding as I know that causes major water quality issues. I do think I need to feed things like brine shrimp more often for variety. She may have lost a bit at the end but she always looked rather plump to me, especially compared to the male.

Thank you for your input. Do I need to worry about my other clown if it is in fact bacterial?

 

[ThRoewer]

Ocellaris can get at least 21 years old - that's how old mine were when they got killed by a stuck heater. They were still fit then and still spawning so they likely can get much older, 25 to 30 years would be my guess.

As for bacterial infections - it is hard to say without knowing which bacterium it is and what caused the infection. If the male is still doing fine and not showing any symptoms or abnormal behavior I would not treat him. I would just make sure the water is OK and he gets fed well.
But keep an eye on him.

 

[annsagminiature]

Thank you for your response! Will continue to keep an eye on the male and the tank conditions. I may eventually get him a "friend" but will wait at least a month or two before I do that just to be safe.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

I bought the clowns back in March of 2010 so they are about 5 1/2 years old I would say. Aren't they usually pretty young when you buy them? She seemed to be eating very well until just recently. Do you think they were underfed? I have always been careful to avoid overfeeding as I know that causes major water quality issues. I do think I need to feed things like brine shrimp more often for variety. She may have lost a bit at the end but she always looked rather plump to me, especially compared to the male.

Thank you for your input. Do I need to worry about my other clown if it is in fact bacterial?

Feed something more nutritious than brine...they are equivalent to potato chips. Do you use vitamins like Selcon in their food?
A skimmer is not a must have in a FO tank if you are doing regular water changes but it does keep the water cleaner and aerates it.

 

[annsagminiature]

I will look into the vitamins for the food. I had no idea such a thing existed to be honest with you! What is the best brand of flake food? I know Omega One used to be highly recommended so I have been buying that one (plus it is one of the only brands I see at my stores!). Not sure if things have changed in recent years though. If brine shrimp is junky is there something else I could offer that would be good? I just feel like I should be offering something other than flake food every day. Thank you for your response!

 

[Newsmyrna80]

I don't feed flake food so I can not answer to that. I use mysis shrimp, Rod's, oyster caviar and occasionally NLS pellets.

 

[hotelbravo]

I also do not use flake food but to feed my clowns and other tank inhabitants I make a mixture of finely chopped squid, chopped scallop. chopped oyster, Mysis, a product called "LRS Fish Frenzy", and arcticpods. this combo gives them a rich variety of healthy foods and they love them.

 

[ThRoewer]

Best food is Cyclops and other forms of frozen zooplankton - that's the kind of food clownfish feed on in the wild. Live copepods (Tigger pods) are even better.
But clownfish also need some percentage of algae. I've seen mine actually grazing them like you would expect it from algae eaters. In the wild they graze around their anemone.

 

[annsagminiature]

Great! I believe Petsmart still sells frozen zooplankton and things like that. Are you sourcing the squid, oyster, and scallops from your grocery store? Do you serve them raw? I have dried squid right now for my land hermit crabs but not sure if the fish would be able to eat that. Very tough and rubbery!

 

[ThRoewer]

In the past I used squid from the grocery store and my fish would slurp it down like crazy.
Now I tried the Hikkari squid but my fish don't like it. I'm not sure but I feel it's cooked and that may be the reason for the dislike.
I also fed oysters from the grocery store but mostly to problem fish like Chelmon and Pygoplites during acclimatization.
Never fed table shrimp and scallops - back then I was catching my own feeder shrimp and Mysis, enough to never have to buy any.

 

[hotelbravo]

The only thing I buy is scallops. I catch all my squid, shrimp, oyster, etc. Every once in a while I'll go to Panama and go looking for scallops but for the most part I buy the scallops.

 

[annsagminiature]

Wow, those of you who can catch their own sea critters are so lucky! I don't think I'd have much luck catching any of those in our local lakes here in Ohio. Will have to try and get everything from either the grocery or the pet store.

Thanks again for the advice. Will upgrade the diet soon!