I need some help on what to do next..

[BigBlueTang]

Hey guys,
I bought a clownfish from an LFS on 9/27/15 so it has been about a week in my care. It ate great in the store and ate within hours in my 10 gallon QT. However, it almost completely stopped eating last Friday 10/2 . I saw white stringy poop so I immediately thought flukes and dosed hikari prazipro on Saturday 10/3 evening. The fish used to be extremely active and would get excited when I walked by the QT but now he is huddled in the corner, and breathing hard. I added an airstone when I dosed prazi, since I saw that prazi can reduce dissolved oxygen levels, and can reduce appetite. I try feeding every day with little to no feeding response and no food eaten as I can see. I am trying nls pellets and hikari+pe mysis... Obviously netting all the uneaten food after an hour or two.
Just trying to see if I am missing something, as I really do like this clownfish.

 

[Dmorty217]

Have you done a water change? I would imagine that in a 10g tank that water quality will start to slip quickly and easily

 

[BigBlueTang]

Have you done a water change? I would imagine that in a 10g tank that water quality will start to slip quickly and easily

Yup, doing a water change every three days, forgot to add that. Also have an ammonia badge on the tank and it is safe.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Try some brine shrimp. Not very nutritious but they like em and eating anything at this point would be good. Most fish don't eat much if at all when on Prazi that is why I always say get them eating well first, so run the cycle of Prazi and then get it back in some clean water. His appetite should return once the Prazi is out of the system.

 

[BigBlueTang]

Try some brine shrimp. Not very nutritious but they like em and eating anything at this point would be good. Most fish don't eat much if at all when on Prazi that is why I always say get them eating well first, so run the cycle of Prazi and then get it back in some clean water. His appetite should return once the Prazi is out of the system.

Good to know..
Just making sure you only need to dose prazi once correct? That's what it said on the bottle.
I have over 30 gallons of saltwater made to 1.020(tanks salinity currently, going to raise it after prazi)
He was eating well, but not amazing. Once I saw the stringy poop I just went ahead and added prazi since he was becoming more and more lethargic.

EDIT:
I added way too much mysis during feeding today, and the clown actually ate a tiny bit, wasn't worried about overfeeding as today is wc day.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

One treatment should do it if not you can repeat in 3-5 days. Make sure you turn off your skimmer, LOL I used Prazi once and didn't DOHHHHH I found out pretty fast LOL

 

[BigBlueTang]

One treatment should do it if not you can repeat in 3-5 days. Make sure you turn off your skimmer, LOL I used Prazi once and didn't DOHHHHH I found out pretty fast LOL

Lol.
Just a qt tank so no skimmer..
Did most of the fish you put through prazi stay lethargic and hide? My guy is hanging out in a corner currently

 

[Deinonych]

Lol.
Just a qt tank so no skimmer..
Did most of the fish you put through prazi stay lethargic and hide? My guy is hanging out in a corner currently

I've never seen that kind of reaction from prazi dosing, especially in clownfish. Clownfish are pretty bullet-proof, so I suspect something else is affecting the fish. Do you see any unusual coloration?

 

[BigBlueTang]

I've never seen that kind of reaction from prazi dosing, especially in clownfish. Clownfish are pretty bullet-proof, so I suspect something else is affecting the fish. Do you see any unusual coloration?

No, nothing unusual than breathing hard. Even though my lfs swore that he was captive bred, im beginning to second guess it. What brand would you recommend for formalin for brook?

 

[Deinonych]

Even captive-bred clowns can get Brooklynella, so I wouldn't be too hard on your LFS. If you are dealing with Brook (and it's not conclusive that you are), Formalin-MS by FishVet is a good brand to use.

 

[BigBlueTang]

Even captive-bred clowns can get Brooklynella, so I wouldn't be too hard on your LFS. If you are dealing with Brook (and it's not conclusive that you are), Formalin-MS by FishVet is a good brand to use.

Okay, just ordered the small bottle. I'll continue to update this thread, how worried should I be?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

If it's brook your clown probably won't live long enough for the formalin to arrive.

 

[BigBlueTang]

If it's brook your clown probably won't live long enough for the formalin to arrive.

Well crap...
He freakin died.
I came home from school and he was on his side... Not sure how. Anybody have anything? I'm really debating whether quarantining is a good idea in the future. this time I was less stressed, and the tank was cycled, so I'm really not sure what happened.. Quick death too, not even 2 weeks. Anybody? :headwalls:

 

[Deinonych]

Sorry for your loss. Sometimes fish just die regardless of our efforts, although I suspect some sort of parasite was at play in your case. Better that he died in QT than infecting your display resulting in more losses.

 

[BigBlueTang]

Sorry for your loss. Sometimes fish just die regardless of our efforts, although I suspect some sort of parasite was at play in your case. Better that he died in QT than infecting your display resulting in more losses.

I suspect a parasite too.. Maybe I noticed the internal parasites too late and the prazi killed him?

 

[Deinonych]

I suspect a parasite too.. Maybe I noticed the internal parasites too late and the prazi killed him?

I would be extremely surprised if the prazi killed him. Prazi is one of the safest, gentlest meds we have at our disposal.

 

[bat21]

This exact thing happened to me. Got a pair of clowns, captive bred, both ate immediately. Couple days later, one of them stopped eating, had white stringy poop. Tried prazi, he started eating again. Thought he was in the clear. And then he just died anyway. The other clown was fine and is still great 8 months later. So the moral of the story is sometimes there's just nothing you can do.