URGENT: Possible sick clown...

[Slakker]

Another quick update. Took some photos of the pair today to compare and contrast.


Day 6 of the fish in my care, day 21 of my marine fishkeeping experience:

Day 18 for the clowns, day 33 for my hobby experience:

As you can see they're up and moving about much MUCH more. I think both fish are putting on weight, and i'm seeing the heavy breathing extremely reduced, as well as the sedentary time on the bottom being nearly gone. Surely not out of the woods entirely, but it's encouraging that visible improvements have been made

You can see that the coloration is a little brighter, as well.

 

[traveller7]

They certainly look better in that second pic ;>)

Keep up the fine work :>)

 

[RightWinger210]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9792791#post9792791 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Slakker
So...my peppermint shrimp just molted in my MT...I should probably be removing the old shell, right?

You should leave em in, I'm not sure about peppermints, but most inverts eat them to get the nutrients and stuff like that to make their new shell (prolly contains a lot of chitin, which will give em the new hard shell material) ill go find out if peppermints eat their shell from people who breed them and such... but, IMO, leave em in

 

[RightWinger210]

Sorry to mention before, but the clowns are looking better, Slakker, good job!

 

[Slakker]

Thanks, all. I appreciate the support!

Yeah, from now on i'll just leave the molt in the tank. I was just worried about it decomposing and causing problems, but that doesn't seem to be possible.

 

[traveller7]

We are lucky to have Dr. Roy as an RC member and there is a good shrimp molt post in the Mantis Forum:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=8464558#post8464558

Its a good read.

 

[Slakker]

IMO We're lucky to have most of our members around...this is probably the most helpful place on earth.

 

[Slakker]

Kay...small update.

Again, both fish are eating really well, not really spending any time just flopping on the bottom of the tank, and all but one thing seems well. (the gray spots on my female have already disappeared, so I'm not sure what that was...possibly just spooked her or something.)

My male still continually swims with his dorsal fin down. I've heard conflicting opinions on this...some say it's a sign of illness or stress, others that it's not a big deal. Which is it, and what could I possibly be doing differently at this point to make it easier/better for him???

 

[traveller7]

If it is eating well, breathing normally, and not swimming in an exaggerated manner, ignore it for now but:

- keep an eye out for sliming up, white or red edges to fins, erosion or pits behind the eyes in the first stripe, visible cysts on fins, etc.

 

[Slakker]

I'm not too worried about it as of yet, as his fin has been basically the same for the past couple of weeks and he seems to be getting healthier all the time. I was wondering if maybe it was an indicator of something that I might need to treat later on.

 

[Slakker]

I had to.

I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a gooseneck clip-on desk lamp and some 26 watt 6500k screw-in fluorescent bulbs. Lucky me, the bulb extends past the reflector of the lamp so any time I look directly at it my eyes get very angry with me. My quarantine has brighter lighting than my main tank...hehe.

They're a bit shy from it (hiding in the PVC) for now, but I think overall they'll be happier when their photoperiod doesn't rely on my sleep schedule being normal, which it usually is not.

Here's a photo:

 

[traveller7]

Just resist the urge to start shopping for corals, anemones, etc. to add to the treatment tank

 

[Slakker]

Hehe...I haven't even started looking at corals for the main tank (I'll admit, I do start to salivate a bit at the thought of a nice Euphyllia in there)
I think this light was a great buy...they both seem a bit perkier with their own lighting, and it makes it much MUCH easier for me to watch for any signs of infection. Plus their colors look much better than under the Prison bulbs my dorm room offers.

Plus those PVC polyps look great under the 6500k bulb

 

[traveller7]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9840173#post9840173 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Slakker
Plus those PVC polyps look great under the 6500k bulb

/waiting for folks to say the polyps are bleached

By the way, how is the main tank running these days? Zip on ammonia, nitrites, and a bit of nitrates?

 

[Slakker]

Yeah, all is well on the display. I haven't been testing it much, but since all the inverts are still doing well I can't imagine things are too far out of whack. A bit of red algae on the sand, but nothin crazy. I'm adding less food in the MT and cutting the photoperiod by a lil bit to see if that helps any. I may pick up a small powerhead to see if increased flow will keep things a little cleaner.

I haven't been testing much in the QT as the routine I developed was keeping things pretty stable, figured testing multiple times per day wasn't really necessary. Tested just now, though.

Temp: 77.6 (varies between 77-mid and 78-high depending on time of day.)
SG: 1.009
pH: ~8.0 (slightly less)
Ammonia: Undetectable.
All looks good in the QT/Treatment tank today.


However, I did just notice that the male's feces looked a little stringy, but not white. Have yet to see the return of any white or stringy feces on the female, though. Both clowns still eating normally, and breathing is pretty normal. Anything to be worried about (in addition to his reluctance to raise that fin?)

Also, I didn't really notice how bad his gill plate deformity was till I added this light...the plates are bent and so misformed that I can practically see into his head. He still finds himself on the bottom from time to time, but never tilts anymore and never sits in one spot for more than a second or two. Anything to worry about?

 

[traveller7]

Don;t know of any remedy for gill cover issues, some fish don't develop any at all and live long lives.

With the inverts you have, don't know if I would feed anything at this point. Assuming: There is some algae and you started with some live rock.

Possibly give the shrimp and crabs a piece of mysis every other day.
Possibly give the snails some nori every other day.

Target feeding is fun, and don't let anything in there rot

fwiw: again I am assuming you started with some live rock, the tank is fairly new, and hence still cycling based on the date posted in your profile.

 

[Slakker]

Yeah yeah. Started with LR and established LS. I guess probably still cycling to a point, but I don't think anywhere near what a full-blown cycle would do to the water quality. The girl I bought it from had it set up for a few months, but gave her rock to her then-boyfriend when she gave him her fish.
I will admit, even with all my research and preparation, I made the rookie mistake of trying to do too much at once...went out looking to buy more liverock, came home with a pair of clowns.

However, the main tank is developing a bit of new coralline here and there, so things can't be too bad in there.

 

[Slakker]

I'm now comfortable enough to start my four week countdown to the fish being cured. I haven't seen any of their typical illness behavior in a day or two. However, I'll have to move the fish from my dorm room to my house (luckily only about a 15 to 20 minute trip) on the 19th.

I'll be taking the main tank home ahead of time. Got that pretty much figured out, so I'm not too worried about moving the snails and hermits home.

I'm stressing a bit about my fish, though. What's the best way to get the clowns home without stressing them into a relapse of illness?

I was thinking that draining about two gallons of water into a 5 gallon bucket, putting in their PVC pieces, and lastly catching the clowns and putting them in. I have a battery operated air pump that I can use for the drive home.

Although, I could probably just drain their tank down to about 2 gallons and cover it with black paper and transport them in that, which would be a lot less stressful...

What are my best options?

 

[traveller7]

Bag them over moving them in the tank. The wave action of the longer distance proves problematic over time. For that distance, I would use the bucket to move 5 gals from the hospital tank home.

Capture the fish in a tuperware dish instead of netting them, pour them each into a separate 1qt or greater fish bag.

Premix water at home for both tanks since they are at separate specs. After the fish are back in hospital at home, add 5 gals of same stats water to the hospital over the next few hours.

Wait a few more weeks, then start topping off evaporation in the hospital tank with full strength saltwater to slowly bring the water conditions back to full strength.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Slakker]

I should be able to ask one of my LFS for some extra fish bags. I've been wanting to get a nassarius snail for my main tank anyways.
Also, I should just be able to temp acclimate them to the hospital once home since it's all the same water, right?

More good news: I've definitely seen the little guy shimmy for the larger clown. Well on their way to pairing up!