Help with New Clown Fishes

crashoverride

New member
Hello, I just added my 2 new black/white clown fishes on Saturday. I have a 24G nano cube, PH-8.0, AMMONIA-0, NITRITE-0, NITRATE - .10, ALKALINITY-300, SG 1.025, TEMP. 80F. I did a 5g water change on Friday before I added the fishes. I acclimated them correctly, but now I am not sure if 1 of my clowns is sick. The clown fish has a white spot or kind off velvet( I am not sure if it's ICK OR VELVET). Please check the pictures out, I tried to take the best piture I could but they move around a lot. The fish store I bought them from recommended me to buy this type of fish food- NEW LIFE SPECTRUM, MARINE FISH FORMULA. What should I do?

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garlic will definately help. But my clowns (same ones, but older, so they're all black now) get that from time to time it seems. I've seen them have it like, 3 times now since last august i think. It always worries the heck out of me for like...a day and then i go back and its gone lol. I do have 3 cleaner shrimp tho, so that might be one reason why. They help eat parasites off of it.

And i'm just gonna guess here, but is the one with the spot rubbing up against rock or swimming against the powerhead current at all?
 
When I first put them in the aquarium, they were swimming against the powerhead. Now, they both swim everywhere. I am observing them right now and both are NOT swimming against the power head. I am looking at the fish right now and the spot doesn't look as white as it did before ( a little while ago).
I think they are tank raised, but not sure, when I bought them, they were together in the same tank with an Anemone.
I will buy the Garlic tomorrow, but how do I soak the pellets with garlic? How many pellets should I feed them?
Colin - What's the name brand that has frozen mysis shrimp that has been thawed? can you get me a link so I can see a picture?
 
What's the name brand that has frozen mysis shrimp that has been thawed?

hykari? Something like that, prolly spelled it wrong lol. I just use the one thats like a sheet that has a bunch of frozen cubes of mysis shrimp. I just feed one of those to my tank a day. I dont recommend feeding that much to only clowns and a shrimp tho. I have tons of stuff that eats mysis which is the only reason i feed a whole cube a day. I really dont use flake stuff at all much anymore.
 
Hector,

Here is a link to the mysis

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Buy the little individual cubes. Take a razor and cut 1 cube into 4 equal parts. That is 4 days servings for those 2 clowns.
Get a very fine mesh strainer and rinse the mysis so it breaks down and is thawed. put the thawed mysis in a little cup or dish. The garlic will be liquid, should come with a dropper, just put 1 drop right into the thawed mysis. Feed with a turkey baster.

Another good addative to use once in a while is this:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Use it the same way you use the garlic.
 
Do I soak it with garlic before i place it in the tank? Also, if I were to soak the pellets or mysis shrimp, do I get a little bit on the aquarium water in a cup and place the pellets or mysis in there and add some garlic, then just dump it in the tank?
 
Also while your out shopping drop by a Walgreens or CVS. Go to the pharmacy department and get one of those weekly Pill Boxes, the thing with the days of the week on it that you can put medicine in. That makes a great food storage unit. I feed several different foods and once a week I cut everything up into smaller portions and put it in there so all of the things I want to feed on Monday is already cut up and ready to go.

Hope that made sense :)
 
I just take the food, let it soak in selcon (or garlic) for a while then add tank water to it and feed the tank normally with a turkey baster.
 
Cool, thanks Colin, I get everything except the part of a very fine mesh strainer and rinse the mysis so it breaks down and is thawed, do you have any pictures or something that can help? Sorry
 
Think of a strainer used to make spaghetti but a much finer mesh

Honestly I don't rinse my food but some people do rinse their frozen food. They say that the stuff that holds it all together is not good for the tank and that it casues nitrates and phosphates.
 
What is the difference if I use a Turkey Baster or just soak it and dump it in the aquarium? just wondering
With the turkey baster, do I suck it up with it and then place it in the water and release it? the fishes eat it quicker than, if I were to just dump it in?

Also, my tank light shut off at 10pm every night. Right now they just shut off and the fishes are swimming againts the powerhead, does that mean anything?
 
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I feed with a turkey baster so that my Yellow Watchman Goby gets some food. A baster is handy to use to spot feed fish and corals.

I wouldn't "dump it in" since the fish wouldn't be able to eat it all at once. Feed a little at a time with a baster to limit un eaten food left in the tank.
 
ok, thx, I will try that today.
What other variety of food do you recommend? I don't want to be feeding them the same thing everyday.
 
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Right now they just shut off and the fishes are swimming againts the powerhead, does that mean anything?

against the flow of the powerhead, or do you mean they're actually touching the powerhead? If they're just like resting on the powerhead, they are just looking for a place to live. Clowns are one fish that finds a host to live in. Usually an anemone or a big soft coral, but mine went on my powerhead as well.
 
I actually just ordered quite a variety of frozen food. I'll have to try it out when I get it on Wendsday and let everyone know.

I ordered from Premium Aquatics,
Aqua Yums
Rods Reef Food
More Mysis
A Protein packed frozen food, can't remember the name.
 
Also I feed Brine Shrimp (same as mysis but less nutritious so don't use it as often) and bloodworms once in a while.
 
Just to get back on the original topic a bit here. My black clown has the same white spots from time to time as well. Its not ick or anything else that I can determine and she does not seem to be bothered by it at all. It has appeared 3 times since I got her and her mate about 4 months ago. And its gone within 24 hours, once it was gone in just a couple hours. Her mate does not seem to get it, but he is the typical orange.
 
Ya like shnell said, i dont really see my male ever get it. Its just the female from what i can see. They're the same color tho, unlike shnells...so i dont know if that has anything to do with it or not.

colinadam, personally i dont think that bloodworms have much of a place in reef tanks. You're not gonna find bloodworms out in the ocean, so i see no reason to feed them. There have been many debates about the stuff in the newbie forum, and lots of people dont recommend using it.
 
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