Clown fish not eating

leo12345 · Jan 15, 2023

My clown fish is just staying in his house and I don’t think he’s eaten for 4 days now and i don’t know what to do, one thing to note is I had a fish randomly die last week.

dedragon · Jan 16, 2023

No, do not get anymore fish right now.

You have to diagnose and fix the problem first. If you have to treat for velvet you need to treat the fish in another tank and then also have a 6 week fallow period (i need to check the exact time for fallow but around this)

dedragon · Jan 16, 2023

Jay can you respond on the id for flukes with freshwater dip? Im not really sure how to id for it without that rn

leo12345 · Jan 16, 2023

dedragon said:
No, do not get anymore fish right now.

You have to diagnose and fix the problem first. If you have to treat for velvet you need to treat the fish in another tank and then also have a 6 week fallow period (i need to check the exact time for fallow but around this)

I know I’m not I’m just wondering if I can get another clown fish eventually after I figure out what’s happening. Also don’t the fish get covered in a powder like substance when it’s velvet?

leo12345 · Jan 16, 2023

dedragon said:
No, do not get anymore fish right now.

You have to diagnose and fix the problem first. If you have to treat for velvet you need to treat the fish in another tank and then also have a 6 week fallow period (i need to check the exact time for fallow but around this)

And aren’t clownfish immune to velvet

dedragon · Jan 16, 2023

leo12345 said:
And aren’t clownfish immune to velvet

I think they are just resistant to it, not immune, but I am not 100% sure on this

Jay Hemdal · Jan 16, 2023

leo12345 said:
And aren’t clownfish immune to velvet

No, clownfish are actually very prone to velvet (Amyloodinium). It is unfortunate that we call it velvet, since there is a freshwater disease by that name, caused by a different parasite that looks different (dust like).
Marine velvet often just shows as rapid breathing and hovering in the water flow.
I misunderstood perhaps - I thought the two videos you posted were of your two different fish, they were the same fish? Both of those fish were breathing fast. Velvet is very contagious - if your second fish is NOT breathing fast, then this likely is not velvet.

Clownfish often fight when introduced and they don't get "lonely". I would not add a new fish for 45 days, and then, consider not getting another clown, in order to avoid fighting.

Jay

leo12345 · Jan 16, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
No, clownfish are actually very prone to velvet (Amyloodinium). It is unfortunate that we call it velvet, since there is a freshwater disease by that name, caused by a different parasite that looks different (dust like).
Marine velvet often just shows as rapid breathing and hovering in the water flow.
I misunderstood perhaps - I thought the two videos you posted were of your two different fish, they were the same fish? Both of those fish were breathing fast. Velvet is very contagious - if your second fish is NOT breathing fast, then this likely is not velvet.

Clownfish often fight when introduced and they don't get "lonely". I would not add a new fish for 45 days, and then, consider not getting another clown, in order to avoid fighting.

Jay

They were different fish, also is there any way to just kill off all the parasite that’s in my tank and what should I treat the fish that I have now so he doesn’t get anything? I got prazi pro and have metroplex.

Jay Hemdal · Jan 16, 2023

leo12345 said:
They were different fish, also is there any way to just kill off all the parasite that’s in my tank and what should I treat the fish that I have now so he doesn’t get anything? I got prazi pro and have metroplex.

There isn't any way to control velvet in a tank that won't also harm any invertebrates that are present. Copper or chloroquine are the two best treatments.

Jay

leo12345 · Jan 18, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
There isn't any way to control velvet in a tank that won't also harm any invertebrates that are present. Copper or chloroquine are the two best treatments.

Jay

Does velvet have a 100% mortality rate and is there a chance this wasn’t velvet because my other clownfish was acting weird just like the other one and not eating but all off a sudden he was back to normal with a big appetite?

Jay Hemdal · Jan 18, 2023

leo12345 said:
Does velvet have a 100% mortality rate and is there a chance this wasn’t velvet because my other clownfish was acting weird just like the other one and not eating but all off a sudden he was back to normal with a big appetite?

Correct, fish won’t recover from velvet without some intervention like a treatment. While velvet does not affect every species of fish equally, it is pretty consistent for similar species, so IMO, one clown getting better on its own without any treatment rules out velvet. I can’t tell you what the issue is though….

Jay

leo12345 · Jan 20, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Correct, fish won’t recover from velvet without some intervention like a treatment. While velvet does not affect every species of fish equally, it is pretty consistent for similar species, so IMO, one clown getting better on its own without any treatment rules out velvet. I can’t tell you what the issue is though….

Jay

How long can a fish have velvet on them before they start showing symptoms?

leo12345 · Jan 20, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
Correct, fish won’t recover from velvet without some intervention like a treatment. While velvet does not affect every species of fish equally, it is pretty consistent for similar species, so IMO, one clown getting better on its own without any treatment rules out velvet. I can’t tell you what the issue is though….

Jay

When I quarantine fish I just monitor them for two weeks and see if anything shows up so would a fish that has ich or velvet show symptoms in that amount of time?

Jay Hemdal · Jan 20, 2023

leo12345 said:
When I quarantine fish I just monitor them for two weeks and see if anything shows up so would a fish that has ich or velvet show symptoms in that amount of time?

No - that is actually just about the time that a disease will really get going in a new fish. Moving the fish into your display at that point could be disastrous.

I don't recommend observational quarantine except on some very delicate species, but if you do it, you need to isolate the fish for at least 45 days.

Jay

Jay Hemdal · Jan 20, 2023

leo12345 said:
How long can a fish have velvet on them before they start showing symptoms?

I don't think any studies have been done on that. Once symptoms show, the disease progression is rapid, with fish death happening within 72 hours in many cases.

Can fish carry a chronic case of velvet with no symptoms? I doubt it, but cannot say for certain since the only way to know would be to do routine gill biopsies on fish not showing symptoms, and that is pretty rough on the fish.

Jay

leo12345 · Jan 21, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
I don't think any studies have been done on that. Once symptoms show, the disease progression is rapid, with fish death happening within 72 hours in many cases.

Can fish carry a chronic case of velvet with no symptoms? I doubt it, but cannot say for certain since the only way to know would be to do routine gill biopsies on fish not showing symptoms, and that is pretty rough on the fish.

Jay

One last question, do you need to quarantine fish in copper for 30 days or is 14 days ok because on some threads I’ve seen they only quarantine for 14 days and also at dr reefs they only do it for 14 days?

Jay Hemdal · Jan 21, 2023

leo12345 said:
One last question, do you need to quarantine fish in copper for 30 days or is 14 days ok because on some threads I’ve seen they only quarantine for 14 days and also at dr reefs they only do it for 14 days?

30 days is much safer. Its complicated; but copper doesn't kill the resting tomont stage. 14 days of copper is short enough time that there still could be infective tomonts in the tank, and when you back off on the copper, they emerge an reinfect the fish. If your QT is stable, always go 30 days. If the fish are not stable (fighting, ammonia, etc.) and you need to get the fish out in a hurry, 21 days is pretty safe, as long as you take the fish out of the QT while they are still in a full dose of copper. 14 days is what they use for ionic copper, but that is harsher on the fish, thus the shorter time. With coppersafe and copper power, 30 days is the pick time frame (I often go 45 days).

Jay