URGENT! Sick Clownfish? Please help!

duncantse said:
Too bad I didn't read this thread earlier, there are bacteria that colonize your fake stuff so if you remove it, there might be a ammonia spike. FWIW, you can add fake stuff into your tank. It will not harm your fish but LR would've been better.

I would do small water changes over the next week to get your nitrite to 0.
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Ok thank you. Do you think that just water changes will lower the nitrite or should I buy something like "Nite Out II"?
 
MarineBioHSU said:
No worries, I miss stuff all the time.

In the video you jsut posted, it appears as if the fish has some lymphocystis on the caudal fin, it could also be a fungal infection. Hard to say.

At any rate, my suggestions would be as follows:

Vacumn the sand bed to remove any possible cysts if there is a parasite. Lower the salinity to 1.012, and if you do not already have it mixing, get some saltwater mixing ASAP. Also, reduce the feedings for the next while, it sounds like your tank may still be cycling, so we want to reduce any nitrogen imput as much as is feasible. Adding more live rock may well help to jumpstart this process and hopefully remove some of the nitrite.

Also make sure that the damsels are not picking on the clownfish, stress is the last thing it needs at this point. The video you posted of the fish from a few weeks ago was much clearer than the one you posted showing the sickl fish, any chance you can try and get another video of the fish as it is now, hopefully a little clearer?

And again I would suggest some Methyl blue to help ease the nitrite burn, it will also help any fungal infections. I have used it withouy to much trouble with hermit crabs, but not promises.

The ideal situation would be a QT tank, is this possible? All you would need is a 5 or 10 gallon, heater and airstone.

Keep us updated.
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I could set up a QT tank in my extra 5 Gallon. In the older video his caudal fin was getting nipped by the damsels at first. I rearranged the tank and they stopped picking on my clown. I am currently uploading a clearer, longer video of the clown and at one point he lays down on the rock. I will post video link once its done uploading. (about 7 minutes till done uploading)
 
I just looked quickly at the video. The heater in the background looks like it has a crack in it.... does it? if it is cracked get it out of the water. This could be part of the problem.
 
Ok, was that video taken after you had lowered the salinity? I suspect it was, the fish does not look as thin as in the first video you posted which to me suggests that the clown is having kidney issues and dropping the salinity is having the desired effect, allowing the fish to rehydrate. This should allow it to clear the excess nitrogen from its bloodstream, it may take a few days but it should work itself out. I am still not convinced that he does not have either a fungal infection or lymphocystis, the white cottony growths on his fins could indicate either.

Also, the diatoms on the glass indicate for sure that the tank is not fully cycled.

So at this point I would again suggest that you lower the salinity to 1.012, add some more fully cured live rock, reduce feedings for the next week or so and finally do a 20% water change after your water has mixed fully and there are no signs of nitrogen in the newly mixed water.

And of course, keep us updated. I will try and check this thread periodically through the evening, so let me kow if any changes occur, for better or worse. If he begins to get worse (Worse meaning: heavier breathing, more labored swimming, more slime coat sloughing, appearance of the fish losing weight and pigmentation etc.) then I think it will be time to put him in the 5g QT tank with some new clean water and medication. Do you have any meds on hand? If so what?

Let me know.
 
MarineBioHSU said:
Ok, was that video taken after you had lowered the salinity? I suspect it was, the fish does not look as thin as in the first video you posted which to me suggests that the clown is having kidney issues and dropping the salinity is having the desired effect, allowing the fish to rehydrate. This should allow it to clear the excess nitrogen from its bloodstream, it may take a few days but it should work itself out. I am still not convinced that he does not have either a fungal infection or lymphocystis, the white cottony growths on his fins could indicate either.

Also, the diatoms on the glass indicate for sure that the tank is not fully cycled.

So at this point I would again suggest that you lower the salinity to 1.012, add some more fully cured live rock, reduce feedings for the next week or so and finally do a 20% water change after your water has mixed fully and there are no signs of nitrogen in the newly mixed water.

And of course, keep us updated. I will try and check this thread periodically through the evening, so let me kow if any changes occur, for better or worse. If he begins to get worse (Worse meaning: heavier breathing, more labored swimming, more slime coat sloughing, appearance of the fish losing weight and pigmentation etc.) then I think it will be time to put him in the 5g QT tank with some new clean water and medication. Do you have any meds on hand? If so what?

Let me know.
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Thank you for all your help! It has been very helpful. I do not have any meds at the moment. I am going to the store to pick up some more fully cured live rock tomarow. What meds should i pick up while I am out? I will check this thread first thing in the morning because I have school tomarow and need to get some sleep. Thanks once again for all your help I will keep posting updates.
P.s. I found my hd flip camera so tomarow i will post a better video so you can get a better look at him.
 
sjwitt said:
I just looked quickly at the video. The heater in the background looks like it has a crack in it.... does it? if it is cracked get it out of the water. This could be part of the problem.
Click to expand...

I think it is only a scratch because if i look at it from above i cannot see any cracks on the inside of the glass. (In other words the "crack" is only visable from the outside, not the inside.) I do not know what caused this as it is a new heater. Hmm...
 
You are more than welcome for the help!

Well, I don't want to make you spend all your money on meds, but if you are able...I would suggest trying to get:

Methyl Blue
Formalin/malachite green (I think Rid-ich may be one of them..but check the bottles)
Copper
Antibiotic like Maracyn

Now, that is a pretty tall order and I don't expect you to be able to get it all, but those are some good meds to try and keep on hand.

In this case, for now, I would suggest getting the formalin/malachite green based medicine and methyl blue. Both of those should be fairly cheap, but keep in mind they will stain the silicone in your tank, so if the fish is not looking significantly better in the morning I think it may be prudent to set up the 5g QT tank and start medicating. But before you medicate, give me an update and if at all possible an updated pic/vid so I can help you decide what medicine to go with.

Good luck.
 
didnt mean to be negative nancy, but just advice in a blunt way. please listen to marinebio. whatever you are doing now is helping. fish looks better. i still think there wasnt enough oxygen, and while you have the right things, i dont think that skimmer does much. (friend had it) and once he makes it. please then remove the plant background (again just my opinion) if you like it then fine. my last bit of advice is that this hobby is great, but i would suggest you get a 20 gallon at least to have a bit easier time with everything.
 
Thank you pnavarro for your advice i was thinking about setting up a 30 gallon tank and transferring everything to it in the near future.
Thanks MarineBio I think he is doing much better today. I will post another video around 6 pm (in HD) for an update. i will still pick up the formalin and the methyl blue meds today when I get my LR
 
GOOD Deal, glad hes doing better, i try to keep my temp from 76-78, salinity about 1.o25 for corals, but you would be better off at 19-20. but yeah all this would be easier to maintain with a 20-30 gallon. thanks for the updates and videos. others dont always do that.
 
Update: So hes been swimming around a lot and been eating very well. Every once in a while I see him lay down and breathe fast, but then he will swim around and up to the glass if I walk near the tank.
My friend had a possible idea. My aquariums lights are on from about 6 am to 9 pm. Is this too long and he is just tired? I only see my clown start to lay down later in the day. I am not home from 7 am to 2 pm so I do not get to observe him, but from 2 pm to 6 pm he swims around and eats healthy.
I have recorded 2 videos (different cameras), here are the links.
Link 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0wArjKCT9E
Link 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPW4Kl6IL9Y
 
No, the lighting is fine. I suspect the reason he lays down every now and then is due to the capillary damage to his kidneys and swim bladder from the pH/nitrogen schock, this should go away after a while. Just keep the water quality and feeding up and he should be good to go!

Glad to hear things are doing better.
 
that is way too long, id say the temp is rising with that long of a time period ???? get a $10 timer or dont turn lights on till your home. keep us updated.
 
i agree that that is too long, you might want to have it on a 12 hour time period, and if youre wanting to see your fish, i would invest in a light with blue moon LEDs... theres also light fixtures with integrated timers!
 
again way too much light time, even the sun is only directly above for like 6 hrs. if you aint home why would you leave them on. the lid looks tight and on a small tank im guessing the temp would rise significantly for that long.
 
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