Clown help

[Mmsetta]

I had a pair of clowns living with one damsel for about a month now. They were all very happy together and the clowns very active. Both clowns became less active, breathing heavy and staying near the top of the tank. My lfs said the damsel is likely stressing them out and I should get rid of him. I have now lost one of the clowns. The other is struggling but the damsel does not bother him at all. Could it be just stress from the damsel? Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Water is fine with no ammonia, nitrites. .025 salinity, skimmer working fine. 38 gallon tank and I've done consistent 10% water changes weekly.

 

[Small triggers]

It sounds like not enough oxygen mix in the tank...and I'm hoping your salinity 1.025?
Also...no glass top in the tank and that you have a powerhead or something else agitating the surface of the water?

 

[Reefing Madness]

Whats the PH in the tank? Temp?
Doubtful its the Damsel, as Clownfish are much more aggresive than Damsels.

 

[ReefKeeper09]

Please post your parameters. That would help us limit what the possibilities are. It could be ammonia. Ammonia burns the fishes lungs and makes them "Pant" as if they aren't getting oxygen. That is also why they hang out at the top. That is often times where the highest amount of oxygen exchange is. It's a natural response by the fish.

 

[Mmsetta]

Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, ph is good according to lfs test. Salinity at 1.025. The oxygen thing may be true. I have one powerhead but is is old and just pushes a jet of air into the tank in one direction. Then I have a hot magnum that does provide surface trickle and flow in the opposite direction. But, I only run the hot magnum periodically during the day- not uniformly, just whenever I think to turn it on to provide some variance in flow. I also have a hob skimmer that provides a little surface movement too.

Is there a test to check for oxygen levels?

 

[Mmsetta]

Also, I have a plastic top with one glass pane where my light sits. Should I take the top off for more oxygen?

 

[ReefKeeper09]

What kind of tank is this? Is it got a running skimmer & or a Sump? If so, It shouldn't be oxygen. Both of them help keep the oxygen levels in check.

 

[Mmsetta]

No sump. 38g bowfront. Hang on back skimmer.

 

[ReefKeeper09]

I would recommend pointing all the powerheads & circulation at the surface to agitate the surface and increase oxygen exchange.

 

[Mmsetta]

My other clown is no where to be found bummer. Going to remove the damsel and try again. If the new clowns look stressed even without the damsel in there I can discount the damsel as the problem. Will take back the clowns if issues.

I use a little rubbing alcohol on a rag to clean the outside of my glass, maybe that is an issue- though I am sure not to come close to the inside of the tank with it. Going to switch to just water for the outside

I also just used a paste on some aphasia too. I assume that stuff is not dangerous to fish per the lfs guy.

I have added a good fluval powerhead now and am running Magnum full time. I have a ton of flow now and more surface agitation than I need.

Any other things to look at? I appreciate all feedback.

 

[Eienna]

What's your tank temperature?

I don't know why Reefing Madness said clowns are more aggressive than damsels (I usually trust his judgement). First, clowns are in the damsel family. Second, not all clown species are particularly aggressive. Ocellaris and percula seem mild (by comparison to some, anyway.) Maroons and tomatoes do come to mind as damsel-mean, though.

Do be careful not to get your flow too high. You may find your clowns getting blown around by the current.

 

[Reefing Madness]

What's your tank temperature?

I don't know why Reefing Madness said clowns are more aggressive than damsels (I usually trust his judgement). First, clowns are in the damsel family. Second, not all clown species are particularly aggressive. Ocellaris and percula seem mild (by comparison to some, anyway.) Maroons and tomatoes do come to mind as damsel-mean, though.

Do be careful not to get your flow too high. You may find your clowns getting blown around by the current.

Only reason I say they are mean, is because they are very territorial, and they are mean. They can tear a damsel to shreds, especially if you have 2 clowns, and only one damsel, the female of the bunch if she feels threatened can tear up pretty much a very large fish. From your everyday Ocellaris Clown to the Maroons, just a varying degree of meaness.

 

[Eienna]

Only reason I say they are mean, is because they are very territorial, and they are mean. They can tear a damsel to shreds, especially if you have 2 clowns, and only one damsel, the female of the bunch if she feels threatened can tear up pretty much a very large fish. From your everyday Ocellaris Clown to the Maroons, just a varying degree of meaness.

I guess it comes down to allowing them some space to keep to themselves

 

[Reefing Madness]

I know they didn't like me cleaning the glass. I kept getting jumped myself. They would chew me up, even on the other side of the tank. But then again, its all in the demeanor of the fish too.

 

[Eienna]

Hmm. My follows my hand around in the tank, but she doesn't nip at it, so maybe she's hoping I'll drop food XD the male comes up a little bit but stays much further back than she does.

My first occy girl, a black and white about the same size my female is now, did tend to bite my hand but I could just kinda shoo her away.

 

[Mmsetta]

My temp is 79-80. One other thought. I have two pieces of live rock That had aptasia's on them. Not sure I trust the lfs I got them from. But they've been in my tank since November. I noticed now some small white growths on the rock. (I'll try to add pict in a second). Could these be worms?

I thought I Saw my clowns nibbling on the rock. Could they have picked up a worm or parasite from the rock? I am totally uneducated on parasites and worms and such. I think the "alcohol" theory is far fetched. Anyone give me the 411 on common parasites / worms

 

[Eienna]

Usually if a fish picks up an internal parasite it will lose some weight before it dies. That does not appear to be the issue here, unless they had gill flukes. If you want to nuke any possible chance of that, you could hit them with prazipro in a separate tank, but that may be too much for your remaining clown right now.

I would lower the temp about 1 degree f every two hours or so until it's down to 76 or so. 80 is close to the tolerance boundary, and warmer water holds less oxygen.

 

[Mmsetta]

Good call on the temp. Unfortunately I lost my second clown today.

 

[Eienna]

Good call on the temp. Unfortunately I lost my second clown today.

Aww! That stinks.
I would let the tank go fishless for about 6 weeks to let any introduced parasites die off...then qt any new fish. A round of prazipro before intro to your DT can be a good measure in case they're carrying parasites, though there is some debate on whether prophylactic measures should be used.

 

[J062682l]

Whats the PH in the tank? Temp?
Doubtful its the Damsel, as Clownfish are much more aggresive than Damsels.

What if its a yellow tail or those are mean