Sick clown, probably internal parasite

[MadSkillzMan]

hi guys. i have an ocelaris clown here, whos been doing pretty good up until early last week. Lately hes been pretty weak. hes eating, but his appetite gets lower every day. He pretty much mopes around on the bottom or near the bottom, swims, then lays on the sand, then repeat.

I thought it was possibly old age, but when i talked to the guys in the clowns& anenome forums, they said it sounded alot like internal parasite. After some googling, this is pretty darn hard to fight, only because you cant figure out what it is

the food i feed is flakes, and mysis shrimp. the flakes claim to have garlic in them, so i hear thats a plus..also what about garlic itself? i have garlic powder, any hope there?

what can i get my little guy asap? He's my first marine fish, so i m hoping to save him!

btw, he lives with a tomato clown, 20g tank, protein skimmer, HOB fuge, tons of LR, LS, some snails and a hermit crab

QT tank is not much of an option..all i have available is a 2.5gal and a 1.5gal hex..not to mention im allergic to the salt (yes, i get hives EVERYWHERE when i touch the water, and its atleast 3 brands ive tried)

thanks in advance.

 

[kevin2000]

Heres a link that may help

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/internalinfections.html

 

[MadSkillzMan]

thanks kevin

i dont have a 10gal avalable to me at this time, but i do have some smaller tanks. im atleast going to get him into one of those with fresh mixed water and treat with some meds i picked up today. got some clout, that says itll do Protozoan parasites/infections Hexamita, anchor worms, ick..etc..Guy in the store said its worked wonders (and this store has for me in the past)

Question, i have some of that Jungle Anti Internal Parasite food. It doesnt say FW or SW. it works on FW (gf had a sick gourami) and it was good, but it doesnt say anything about sw/fw or what...could that stuff help?

 

[MadSkillzMan]

Ok guys more problem. I noticed some stringy things hanging off of the fish. One on his top dorsil fin, one on his side. Im GUESSING theyre a worm of some sort, but the gf thinks its slimecoat, since its white and really uneven. Theyre alittle longer than 1/4"

umm..yea, any ideas?

 

[kevin2000]

A picture would help.

Might be an external parasite ... excess mucus ... or both -- maybe none of the above. Fish tend to excrete extra mucus when they have external parasites which many think is their attempt to shed the parasites.

You might do a google search for pictures of fish with Brooklynella (aka Clownfish disease) ... it is pretty common for fish with Brooklynella to generate excess mucus which sometimes looks like a thick film developing on the fish .. or in some cases looks like skin/mucus hanging off the fish. Brooklynella is usually treated by giving the fish a series of formalin baths.

Here's a link which discusses various fish diseases as well as brooklynella.

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/fishdiseases.html

Under the treatment section on the above link will be a section describing how to give a formalin bath.

Here's a link with some good pictures of fish with brooklynella as well as other problems .. might be helpful

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=127010

Good luck.

 

[MadSkillzMan]

Well guys, im sorry to say i dont think hes gonna make it much longer Hes breathing more rapidly before and has almost no strength. Couldnt get him to eat anything other than flakes today. i would say its brooklynella, but the patches are nowhere near as bad. though the gills arent bleeding/inflamed. It does look a bit like ich now. Im trying to get a pic. I hate digital cameras, none are good enough to capture the details

Im quite bugged by this. Though i think i found the source of the stress. First off, i wasnt flatouot told i shouldnt mix a tomato and ocelaris clown, though they didnt fight/pick on each other . But, my HOB fuge died. The impeller cracked in half! but the point is, before that, the impeller was missing a blade and half of another. I went and replaced the whole filter with a brand new one, and the water current is way up. I noticed the tomato, whom i thought was showing signs, that when the HOB is off, hes normal. When its on, hes hiding for cover. And thaths been in place about 2 weeks now.So maybe its not a complete loss

 

[chocolateblnt]

Any updates?

Let her rest but don't let her tip over too much ... when mine was seeming to lose bouyancy and try to lay down I would come near the glass to get her to sit back up; it's like when you're drunk and lay down and it get's worse. Also try shortening your light cycle so she has more time to rest.

The ich could show up quite quick from the stress she's enduring so begin thinking of a container where you can quarantine her so not to infect your other inmates. Keep the container in a warm place and use water from your tank. Keep the water at a lower SG though ... I would say around 1.020. Also put in a PVC piece where she can hide in and feel safe.

I've seen tomatoes' and oscellaris' mixed however it's not advised because tomatoe's can be a bit more aggressive.

 

[MadSkillzMan]

no real updates other than what you see above. SG is at 1.021 right now, and hes just flopped breathing rapidly. I cant get him to eat anything now. it was suggested a formalin dip, but i dont think i can get ahold of that fast enough..maracyn II is another alternative im told, so im going that route. The clout/Primafix seem to be doing nothing im afraid.

I really dont think he'll make it to the weekend. The tomato on the other hand isnt sick, just upset by the stronger current due to replacement impeller on the HOB.

 

[chocolateblnt]

Good Luck man I am pulling for you and your clown!

 

[MadSkillzMan]

Well guys, sad to report he didnt even make it through the night. What a bummer. He will be missed.

The tomato is hiding now, probably knows im mad at him. Really hoping he doesnt have something too. I need to get something to keep my LR going. I think im going to take this b-tchy little tomato back where i got him for something alittle less aggressive.

Thanks for your help guys. Wish this story had a happier ending.

 

[chocolateblnt]