Clown fish not eating

[leo12345]

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.

 

[leo12345]

have you calibrated the refractometer with 35ppt solution like this one from brs or similar?

Refractometer Calibration Solution

Keep your refractometer readings accurate! A refractometer is easily one of the most important tools to have if you own a saltwater tank. Without a refractometer, we would be guessing at how much salt is in the water, and more than likely would not be correct! Even if you have a refractometer...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I just put fresh water in it and make sure it says zero

 

[leo12345]

Unfortunately pics are very dark why I requested white lighting for best visual assessment. Fish is breathing quite rapid and I suspect in part water as you have visible signs of dinoflagellates which release low level toxins.
What is your ammonia-nitrate-phosphate-ph and salinity levels and what kit are you testing with?

I was going to get a Hanna checker to finally figure out what’s wrong to make the cyanos go away but by the time it comes in I’m scared he’s going to die because he hasn’t eaten in so long. I’ve tried soaking food in garlic guard but he still won’t eat.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I was going to get a Hanna checker to finally figure out what’s wrong to make the cyanos go away but by the time it comes in I’m scared he’s going to die because he hasn’t eaten in so long

Looks more like dino than cyano which are two different scenarios hence the request for bright white lighting

 

[leo12345]

Looks more like dino than cyano which are two different scenarios hence the request for bright white lighting

I will try to get a brighter picture when I get home later

 

[dedragon]

I just put fresh water in it and make sure it says zero

That is the wrong way to calibrate a refractometer for saltwater tanks. A lot of them say that in the instructions but it is usually for lower salinity applications. Refractometers for saltwater aquariums must be calibrated closer to target levels so you should pick up a bottle of 35ppt calibration solution and use that to calibrate. You can also make calibration solution but you need a small scale that can measure in grams

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I just have a cleaner shrimp in my tank and he’s completely fine

That does point more to either velvet or gill flukes then. Make sure the tank has good aeration (not just circulation).

You can treat gill flukes with Prazipro with the shrimp present, but copper is needed to treat Velvet, and the shrimp can't tolerate that.

Jay

 

[dedragon]

Thinking the same jay, probably time for the dark container fluke test as an easier way to figure out which one it is

 

[dedragon]

I was going to get a Hanna checker to finally figure out what’s wrong to make the cyanos go away but by the time it comes in I’m scared he’s going to die because he hasn’t eaten in so long. I’ve tried soaking food in garlic guard but he still won’t eat.

The dinos and cyano wont effect the clownfish and arent what is causing the issues present, just another good point made by vette to improve overall tank health

 

[leo12345]

The dinos and cyano wont effect the clownfish and arent what is causing the issues present, just another good point made by vette to improve overall tank health

So what should I do to help him?

 

[dedragon]

That is what jay is getting at right now with velvet and/or flukes, I would most likely do a freshwater dip in a dark container with correct ph, temp and an airstone (this will help to check for flukes), but I havent had to do one in over 10 years so I will defer to the others for more comprehensive instructions

 

[dedragon]

The refractometer is most likely giving you a false reading as well as it isnt calibrated correctly but calibrating to 0 can give you results around what you want just not super accurate so it could be higher or lower by a few points. It probably isnt off by too much or it would effect the shrimp as well, it is just another good thing to know to dial in the aquarium parameters better

 

[leo12345]

That does point more to either velvet or gill flukes then. Make sure the tank has good aeration (not just circulation).

You can treat gill flukes with Prazipro with the shrimp present, but copper is needed to treat Velvet, and the shrimp can't tolerate that.

Jay

Do I put prazi pro directly in the water or do I feed it to them?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Do I put prazi pro directly in the water or do I feed it to them?

Directly into the water, add extra aeration and redose after 8 days. Remove carbon filtration.
Jay

 

[leo12345]

Directly into the water, add extra aeration and redose after 8 days. Remove carbon filtration.
Jay

Could internal parasites be what’s wrong with my fish?

 

[leo12345]

Directly into the water, add extra aeration and redose after 8 days. Remove carbon filtration.
Jay

Also if it’s velvet can a fresh water dip keep what’s ever wrong with the fish at bay while I get the medicine they need?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Could internal parasites be what’s wrong with my fish?

I don’t see any symptoms that would point in that direction, but fish can have multiple diseases at the same time.
Jay

 

[dedragon]

Jay, would it not be easier to single out the flukes with a freshwater dip, at least for the moment? Could be afflicted with multiple things but we could either take flukes off the list or the very least relieve some of the stress from the clown (if it is flukes) with a freshwater dip.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Also if it’s velvet can a fresh water dip keep what’s ever wrong with the fish at bay while I get the medicine they need?

No, FW dips are just a stop gap measure. If you dip the fish and move them to a new tank, that works better.
My grave concern here is that the fish have stopped feeding four days ago and you’ve already lost a fish. We still dont have definitive diagnosis, but longer delays will have a poor outcome….
Jay

 

[leo12345]

No, FW dips are just a stop gap measure. If you dip the fish and move them to a new tank, that works better.
My grave concern here is that the fish have stopped feeding four days ago and you’ve already lost a fish. We still dont have definitive diagnosis, but longer delays will have a poor outcome….
Jay

How long can a fish go without food? The medicine is coming until the day after tomorrow. Also how long does it take for prazi pro to start working?

 

[leo12345]

No, FW dips are just a stop gap measure. If you dip the fish and move them to a new tank, that works better.
My grave concern here is that the fish have stopped feeding four days ago and you’ve already lost a fish. We still dont have definitive diagnosis, but longer delays will have a poor outcome….
Jay

Never mind, he died unfortunately. I’m not going to do this before I find out what’s going on but can I get another clownfish so the one I have will have a friend or will it fight with the one I already have?