URGENT: Possible sick clown...

[traveller7]

Eating is crucial now, shutting down the filter or if it is adjustable cutting it back a bit is fine, but:

1. You have no idea how many little fish have croaked because a filter was not restarted. Many of us, including myself are already in that club and prefer not to add new members ;>)

Clowns will also pick at the food laying on the bottom a bit, especially if they are a bit on the skinny side. See if you can get a close up of the fish and post the pics.

Breathing rate will be higher now with potential parasites, all the changes in surroundings, and activity.

Take your time, keep the water in check, and feed them.

Cheers.

 

[Slakker]

Thanks again, Scott.


Can you describe more in-depth the swimming head up or head down? I see my female every once in a while swim almost straight up for maybe an inch or so, and just for ~two seconds, and then go back to swimming along on the bottom. Is this something to worry about?

I will for sure be heading to an LFS to have the accuracy of my hydrometer checked. I may bite the bullet and pick up a refractometer if I find one...It'll come in handy in the future anyways.

I saw them nibbling at a few bits that were on the bottom earlier, so that makes me feel a little bit better. The thing that still makes me nervous though is the fact that they kind of tilt to one side, and that they spend so much time against the glass on the bottom of the tank.

Also, what should I do in case of a drop in pH? Is there a preferable additive or should I just mix up some hypo-level saltwater and do a water change?

Of course, it's night time and I'm going to worry myself sick again...I guess I just don't have the confidence that I'll be able to pull this off, I'm worried that I'm going to screw something up like I did to get them into this mess.

 

[traveller7]

It is not unusual for them to swim in all directions, but if they park in a corner or quiet area and point up or down, fins clamped tight, swimming in exagerated fashion but not moving forward or backward, for more then 30 seconds....then additional action may be necessary.

Refractometer is handy, very handy. Hit up some of the sponsors to see if you can find one cheaper.

Nibbling is good.

Tilting is not that unusual in a bare bottom high flow environment, may not be anything at all.

Best case, small frequent water changes, and siphoning left over food and waste will prevent pH crashes.

If the pH drifts down below 7.9: Disolve 1tsp baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) in a quart fresh water and add an ounce or less of this liquid at a time. pH needs to change gradually or the fish get burns, go into shock, etc.

Again, patience is your friend and only bad things happen fast. Try to stick to the water changes as your pH support

 

[Slakker]

Thanks I think I'll have to do a WC earlier than anticipated, as the water is a little on the cloudy side this morning.

Ammonia tests zero and pH is 8.0, but the scale on my test goes from 8.0 to 7.7.

The male seems to be going downhill slightly...I'll see him lay entirely on his side on the bottom of the tank, but after a few seconds the female will come up and nudge him a bit until he starts swimming again. On the plus side, though, I did see him wolf down a whole pellet of ORA-Glo.

I've really gotta get some clean water in there.

 

[Slakker]

I siphoned out a bit over a gallon of water, including a bunch of food pieces that the little buggers had hidden on me, and added 2 or 3 gallons of saltwater with matching SG and temp, and the water is still pretty cloudy.

What should I do?

 

[traveller7]

Expect a bit of a bacterial bloom to show up as cloudy water. As long as there is no ammonia, the pH stays stable, and S.G is going in the direction you plan; water should be right.

How do the clowns look and act today?
Anyone come up with some frozen cyclopeze? or Brine shrimp?

 

[Slakker]

They look clear of infection, but the male will sit on the bottom of the tank, list a bit to the side, and breath heavily until the female comes along and nudges him to get him moving. I'm afraid he might not make it too much longer, but I don't seen an overabundance of the slime coat, white spots, or anything else unusual.

I haven't gotten much of a response at all from my local reefers, aside from "Go buy your own stuff." After class this afternoon I am going to make some phone calls to some stores to see if they even carry what I need.

 

[traveller7]

Breathing heavily is not good. Nothing visible is good.

Eating 4 times a day, until they looked like they swallowed a marble would be great.

What level is the SG down to according to the hydrometer you have?

 

[Slakker]

It's at 1.018 still, I have some RO water circulating and heating to be added gradually over the rest of the day.

I really have to go get that frozen food. A friend of mine has some frozen plankton that might get them eating, as well. I'll be picking up a bottle of Selcon and Garlic to supplement after my class ends at 5:00.

 

[traveller7]

If it is not bite size, it is not likely to be helpful. IME, stressed fish tend to go toward an easier meal or not at all.

I have yet to see Selcon or Garlic do anything, but some folks swear by it.

 

[Slakker]

I've heard a lot of people say that Garlic will get a feeding response out of fish that aren't eating much, so it's worth a shot at this point.

 

[Slakker]

Just called one of the local stores, and they carry both frozen cyclopeeze and spirulina enriched brine. I can honestly say I didn't expect a positive answer on either of them, but it sounds like the kids will be getting a good meal tonight!

 

[traveller7]

Yeehaw!! There is merit in "support your local fish store" after all ;>)

Good luck and may they feast.

 

[Slakker]

And feast they have!

By the time I got it home it was no longer frozen completely solid, but still frozen, so I took a few small clumps of it on the end of a plastic fork and swished it in the water until it was all off of the fork.

They started going for it immediately, and it stays in the water column for plenty of time for them to chow it down!

This gives me a LOT of renewed hope...I think this will help them both get their energy back up and definitely help to get them healthy.

Unfortunately, despite me calling ahead of time the store didn't have any Spirulina enriched brine left.

Also, the guy who works the fish room gave me some great information on how Clown's are all born female and then turn male, and it's much better to have either three or one....lol. Oh well, they had what I needed, and they're eating, so I'm happy!

Edit: And after a good meal, my little male was doing a lot more swimming normally than he was hanging out on the bottom. He's gone back to stopping for a few moments, but I think he'll start regaining his strength with good feedings.

Ammonia still reads undetectable, and PH is ~8.0

 

[traveller7]

Good news, may each day improve

 

[redvipe2010]

Great News! Keep up the good work!

 

[Slakker]

Thanks

I just wish I had been more prepared to begin with. Not a mistake I'll make again.

Should I be expecting the water to clear up in the near future, or will it stay a little cloudy?

 

[Slakker]

Ammonia and pH were a little off today, but a waterchange with some same-SG water fixed that.

Although, unfortunately, the one contingency I'm not really prepared for is a high possibility. The power has been flickering for the past 30 minutes, but hasn't dropped entirely off yet. I do have a battery powered air pump, but only one of them, so my display is just going to have to hang in there I guess.

I've just fed them with another little bit of cyclop-eeze that I thawed in a few drops of tank water and the male doesn't seem to have eaten much.

He's also starting laying on the bottom and breathing heavily much more often...but I still can't see any signs of anything obvious.

I got a close-up-ish photo of both of them today, too. The male is currently just sitting on the bottom and breathing, moving just a little bit every few moments, and the female is fully capable of swimming, looks and acts healthy, but is hanging out by the male anyways, like she's concerned about him.


Edit: I've just noticed the female doing a bit of it herself, but not nearly as bad as the male.

 

[Slakker]

And a video:

 

[Slakker]

Anyone?

I'm sorry for being a little impatient, but things seem to be declining and I'm not sure what to do. I fear at this point that there's little hope for them.

Another small feeding got them up and moving around chasing food down...once again, the female is obviously much heathier than the male, but they both are definitely making an effort to eat.

Is there ANYTHING more I can do to help these two? I still don't see any signs of parasites...I wouldn't think there was anything wrong with them at all if they would swim instead of laying on the bottom and breathing heavily.