Sick little clown

[mikeandjenn99]

I just got a new ocellaris clown from liveaquaria, and he's not quite acting up to snuff. He arrived on the 5th, along with a midas blenny. He is a wc, so from what I've read, he probably has some sort of internal parasite. He is just swimming very slow in the corner of the QT. He hasn't eaten since he got here, and I'd really hate to lose him.
I soak all food in garlic, and have tried mysis, prime reef flakes, saoked brine shrimp, and he won't take anything. He just looks at the food and doesn't eat it. I've never had or seen a clown just swim so slowly in the corner and not eat. Any ideas?

 

[TOURKID]

yep. maracyn 2. listlessness and no eatting is a sign of a bacterial infection. (if this is so, your going to see stringy poop either way) So go buy maracyn 2 tabs for saltwater. double the dose. (so if its a ten gal tank, use 2 tqabs the first day, 1 tab a day for the rest of treatment)
It'll turn the water very yellow.

It also has a stimulant that will get it to start eatting (although it'll take 3 days or so. but dont worry they can go awhile without eatting)

After that treatment is done and its eatting, keep an eye on its poop, if it is still white and stringy then you can start treating the internal parasites. Its an easy treatment.

I personally use gel-tek for internal parasites. Its an orange gel in a bottle. the directions are rediculas, they want the fish to eat the actual drops. Doesent happen. Instead squeeze some on all the food you give it and let it soak for a few minutes then feed it that food. It works really well

pm me if you have any questions

 

[mikeandjenn99]

Will the midas blenny in that same QT be ok if I dose it?

 

[TOURKID]

It wont hurt the midas, its basicly antibiotics. Leave it in there.

 

[snulma1]

not to steal the thread, but I think I may have a similar problem.

Do I really need to try and catch the clowns and put them in a QT? other then snails and blue legged hermits, they are the only thing in there, besides the LR?

 

[TOURKID]

snulma... yes, you need to catch them and use a qt to treat them. no medicine should be used in your reef. have u ever setup a qt before?

you need to fill it with water from your reef... and use a dirty sponge from your reef to serve as a bio filter in your hang on filter or sponge filter...

 

[snulma1]

I've never set up a quarantine, and these are the first fish in the tank, so its gonna be a pain to catch them. I don't really have anything to use as a bio filter for the QT tank

 

[TOURKID]

nothing? dirty filter floss? an aquaclear with the aquaclear sponge? anything that cleans the water (besides carbon)

How many gallons is your reef? you may need to look for a 5 gallon if filling a ten gallon would take all your water.

How old is the tank? what are your perimeters?

You are learning the lesson early... always always quarentine your fish before adding them to the tank. If it had been ick you would have to remove all fish from the tank and leave it fish free for 8 weeks to kill em off. I learned the hardway, lost all my fish and had an empty tank for 2 months !

 

[snulma1]

Its a 20H, and its been up for a little over 2 weeks, here are the parameters

pH: 8.2
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
nitrates:<5

my temp is around 80. All I have in threre is about 18 lbs of LR, 1.5" of southdown, 12 blue legged hermits, 5 astreas, and 2 A.Occelaris.

And no, I don't have any filter floss or old sponges from an aquaclear. All I have running on the tank is a coralife skimmer and a seio 620

 

[TOURKID]

20 gallons then? or...

hm.. are u sure your ammonia is at zero? you really shouldent have any fish yet...

standard timing is..

add salt and rocks

after 4 weeks, try a few hermits and snails, test all perameters and make sure they are all right

if hermits and snails live, try a fish or two.. at 6 weeks...

corals.. a few months...

your tank is cycling and it wont stop for awhile. you'll get mini cycles for a yr or more. if its breathing heavy, and not eatting, and you cant qt it... can u have the lfs take care of them for another week or so? have them test everything and make sure all is well?

 

[snulma1]

the fish have been in the tank for only one day. So its not that odd that my ammonia is 0.

but that was checked this am. I will check again tomorrow am.

The fish aren't breathing heavy, they are acting normal. they just arent eating

 

[aquaphilic]

Same symptoms for my clownish. Slow swimming in the corner and not eating.

Did you try to treat this fish mikeandjenn99?