i work in a small fish store and every once in a while the clowns we bring in will slime up and die within a few days of receiving them. Some species seem more prone then others but it seems general across the family that every once in a while we will get shipments that will do this. Anyone have any experience with this or solutions to it?
Prevention from clownfish sliming up?
- Thread starter philc21
- Start date
dragonette
Yes, its LIVE rock.
sounds like the clowns are coming in with a pre-existing bacterial infection that is probably worsened by the stress of shipping.
Maybe you could set up a QT tank for the sick looking ones and dose the tank with something (Im not a fish person, more coral, but I think you could use maybe a copper based med or a fungal med like furan to help combat any disease when the fish come in) but dont use this medication in any reef or invert environment.
Its really hard to diagnose whats wrong with the fish.
Good Luck though, maybe try posting this in the disease forum for fish and see what the experts there can come up with!
Jess
Maybe you could set up a QT tank for the sick looking ones and dose the tank with something (Im not a fish person, more coral, but I think you could use maybe a copper based med or a fungal med like furan to help combat any disease when the fish come in) but dont use this medication in any reef or invert environment.
Its really hard to diagnose whats wrong with the fish.
Good Luck though, maybe try posting this in the disease forum for fish and see what the experts there can come up with!
Jess
ocellaris123
Active member
I used to work in an lfs before i went to college and there would be almost a 100% mortality rate in the wild caught ocellaris clowns due to brook infestation. These ime seem to be the worst/most prone to shipping mortality. The best long term solution is to look into captive bred stock as they tend to ship better/spend less time getting to the store. Freshwater/formalin dips may help.
Last edited:
chrisstie
Premium Member
Brook is a really common and fast spreading problem once a fish has it.
When I worked at my LFS we'd do a ~2 (usually less than this on delicate fish) min FW dip in a solution of water with methyl blue and formalin mixed in. Then a 30 min soak in saltwater with methyl blue and formalin. It helped a lot but if we had to we'd QT fish with more severe problems but usually the wholesaler woudln't ship them to us if they appeared sick. Just sometimes shipping stresses them out (imagine being in a dark box being flung about for 24- 48 hours.
When I worked at my LFS we'd do a ~2 (usually less than this on delicate fish) min FW dip in a solution of water with methyl blue and formalin mixed in. Then a 30 min soak in saltwater with methyl blue and formalin. It helped a lot but if we had to we'd QT fish with more severe problems but usually the wholesaler woudln't ship them to us if they appeared sick. Just sometimes shipping stresses them out (imagine being in a dark box being flung about for 24- 48 hours.
It sounds to me like brooklynella. The store I used to work at treated wild clowns for it whether they had symptoms or not. Usually by the time they show the heavy slime coat it has progressed far enough that they are very difficult to save. We did formalin dips for it.
