Am I crazy to QT my clownfish?

[ReefSlice]

I have 2 occelaris clowns, the female for 4+ years and the male for 1 1/2 years. The male was always smaller than the female, however I figured he would eventually fatten up a bit. At one point shortly after adding the new male, the clowns became very skittish, always hiding behind the rocks and bolting away if I came close to the tank, sometimes not even eating because of it. This has gotten a little better, but they still don't venture very far from their spot. My main concern is the male is always skinny, even though he eats plenty of LRS once a day (They are the only fish in a 40 gallon). This leads me to believe that he may have some internal parasite. I am moving to a 150 and plan on adding a lot more fish, so I thought maybe I would just QT the clowns for 2 weeks in the process and feed them focus/GC to take care of any possible issues before adding them to the new tank. Am I crazy to do this even though the fish have been alive and well for years?
Also I have never noticed any white stringy poo, just the general panicky personality and thin look. There's also no aggression between the two ever. Will add pictures shortly.

 

[ReefSlice]

They did JUST eat so they have a full stomach but you can see the male is pretty slim. Don't mind the vermetids! Completely restarting on the new tank due to those evil things.

 

[RMS18]

I have 2 occelaris clowns, the female for 4+ years and the male for 1 1/2 years. The male was always smaller than the female, however I figured he would eventually fatten up a bit. At one point shortly after adding the new male, the clowns became very skittish, always hiding behind the rocks and bolting away if I came close to the tank, sometimes not even eating because of it. This has gotten a little better, but they still don't venture very far from their spot. My main concern is the male is always skinny, even though he eats plenty of LRS once a day (They are the only fish in a 40 gallon). This leads me to believe that he may have some internal parasite. I am moving to a 150 and plan on adding a lot more fish, so I thought maybe I would just QT the clowns for 2 weeks in the process and feed them focus/GC to take care of any possible issues before adding them to the new tank. Am I crazy to do this even though the fish have been alive and well for years?
Also I have never noticed any white stringy poo, just the general panicky personality and thin look. There's also no aggression between the two ever. Will add pictures shortly.

I personally wouldn't move them to QT without some visible sign. You can treat the food and feed the DT if it would make you feel better to rule it out.

FYI my clown does not venture to far from her spot as well. They usually tend to stay close to where they are hosting. Unless i didn't feed the tank for a day and she is starving will she swim to the other side chasing food, but normally she stays 10-12 inches from her spot.

EDIT: They both look very healthy, i do not think the male is skinny for his size.

 

[homer1475]

Doesn't look "slim" to me at all. It's a male, so in clownfish world this means he will always be the submissive. It also means he will be smaller and likely skinnier then the female.

Although a QT wouldn't hurt, I wouldn't bother now after all this time.

 

[ReefSlice]

That's what I figured, I just want to be safe going into this new tank, I've had far too many things slip by in this tank! Thanks for the help. Hopefully I have them for many years to come in their new home.

 

[Big G]

I am moving to a 150 and plan on adding a lot more fish, so I thought maybe I would just QT the clowns for 2 weeks in the process and feed them focus/GC to take care of any possible issues before adding them to the new tank. Am I crazy to do this even though the fish have been alive and well for years?

Are you planning on QTing and treating prophylactically all the new incoming fish that are going into the 150?

 

[ReefSlice]

Are you planning on QTing and treating prophylactically all the new incoming fish that are going into the 150?

Yes, using @HotRocks method! The clowns will be first into the 150, then probably a trio of cardinals or something similar will be the first to go through my 20g qt. Want to start easy as it will be my first QT attempt.

 

[Big G]

I'd treat the clowns. I remember Humblefish telling me of a customer of his that had Brook pop up in fish that were the only fish in the tank a year or so after the fish were introduced. Clowns, because of their thick mucous coats can often be "typhoid Marys" carrying disease while they "appear" healthy.

Best of luck with your new tank. Exciting adventure. Enjoy!

 

[Salt1972]

We've used the Hotrocks QT method twice now. Use some Turbostart or Biospira to seed the QT early. Round 1, we battled ammonia and it was very stressful for all involved. Round 2, we did great until Day 15 when we did the transfer to the 2nd QT. QT1 was cycled, but QT2 was new. Ammonia again. QT is A LOT of work, but both sets of fish that went through it are doing great with no losses.