Clown laying on side and breathing very fast. Help!!

Tristan · Nov 23, 2016

Got a pair of clowns over the weekend. Female is active and eating. Male is lethargic, not eating, on his side, and rapidly breathing. I don't know what to do.

Antics · Nov 23, 2016

Water parameters?

Any other fish in the aquarium?

@Humblefish
@melypr1985

Tristan · Nov 23, 2016

Antics said:
Water parameters?

Any other fish in the aquarium?

@Humblefish
@melypr1985

No ammonia or nitrites
Nitrates: 8 ppm

The female clown, fire fish, and a pinkbar goby

Tristan · Nov 23, 2016

It's a 25g

melypr1985 · Nov 23, 2016

That's not good. How long as he been doing this? I assume he wasn't do this at the LFS. Any spots or a dusty/dirty appearance? Did you QT or can you?

Tristan · Nov 23, 2016

melypr1985 said:
That's not good. How long as he been doing this? I assume he wasn't do this at the LFS. Any spots or a dusty/dirty appearance? Did you QT or can you?

Just noticed this more today. No signs of velvet. Not able to QT. Got the pair at reefapalooza from marine depot. Bred by sea and reef aquaculture.

Tyreef2016 · Nov 23, 2016

I know you have posted a few time's about this. Any pictures? what day did you receive the clowns?

fishyfishyfishy · Nov 23, 2016

If your parameters are good I would turn out lights to relieve some stress. How soon after he arrived did this happen and were they in separate bags?

fishyfishyfishy · Nov 23, 2016

If you have an air stone or powerhead that will add oxygen to water I would do that.

melypr1985 · Nov 23, 2016

Tristan said:
Just noticed this more today. No signs of velvet. Not able to QT. Got the pair at reefapalooza from marine depot. Bred by sea and reef aquaculture.

I would be concerned about Brook especially. The problem is, that there arn't any cures that can be done in the display. They arn't reef safe. Can you do a freshwater dip on him? It should help flush out the gills and help him breath better.... at least for a short time. It could buy you time to get what you need to treat him. I would also look for flukes during the dip.

Freshwater Dip: Provides temporary relief for Brooklynella, Flukes & "Black Ich", Marine Velvet disease (Amyloodinium); possibly even Ich & Uronema marinum (both unproven). Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes.

How To Treat - Fill a bucket with RODI water, and use a heater to match the temperature to the water the fish is coming from. Aerate the water heavily for at least 30 minutes prior to doing the dip, then discontinue aeration while performing the dip. Fish aren’t overly pH sensitive for short durations like this, but you can squirt a little tank water into the dip just before the fish goes in to help bring it up.

Place the fish in the freshwater (FW) dip and observe closely. It is not unusual for them to freak out a little at first. Also, tangs are notorious for “playing dead” during a FW dip. The important thing is to watch their gills; they should be breathing heavily at all times during the dip. If breathing slows, it’s time to exit the dip. Dip the fish for no longer than 5 minutes. Multiple dips may be done, but it’s important to give your fish a day to recuperate in-between dips.

For flukes, use a dark (preferably black) bucket so you can see if tiny white worms fall out of the fish (especially out of the gills) at around the 3-4 minute mark. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well.

Pros - Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases in a chemical free environment. Can “buy you more time” until a proper treatment can be done.

Cons/Side Effects - Not a permanent “fix” for any disease, as FW dips are not potent enough to eradicate all of the parasites/worms afflicting the fish. Some fish can have an adverse reaction to a FW dip by appearing unable to maintain their equilibrium once returned to the aquarium. If this happens, hold the fish upright (using latex, nitrile or rubber gloves), and gently glide him through the water (to get saltwater flowing through the gills again). It is also a good idea to place the fish in an acclimation box until he appears “normal”.

Tristan · Nov 23, 2016

Tyreef2016 said:
I know you have posted a few time's about this. Any pictures? what day did you receive the clowns?

Sunday

Tristan · Nov 23, 2016

fishyfishyfishy said:
If your parameters are good I would turn out lights to relieve some stress. How soon after he arrived did this happen and were they in separate bags?

Same bag. Noticed lethargy in the male around yesterday but was mild. Today it is more noticeable

Tristan · Nov 23, 2016

fishyfishyfishy said:
If you have an air stone or powerhead that will add oxygen to water I would do that.

There is already a lot of surface agitation and I have a skimmer

fishyfishyfishy · Nov 23, 2016

Could have been a sweeping tentacle from one of the corals. I have never had this problem but that's only thing I can think of since they came together and only one is having problems. If that is the case all you can do is reduce stress. I'm so sorry he is having problems I hope it turns out for the best

Tristan · Nov 23, 2016

Still on his side and breathing is still rapid even with lights off

melypr1985 · Nov 24, 2016

Tristan said:
Still on his side and breathing is still rapid even with lights off

melypr1985 said:
I would be concerned about Brook especially. The problem is, that there arn't any cures that can be done in the display. They arn't reef safe. Can you do a freshwater dip on him? It should help flush out the gills and help him breath better.... at least for a short time. It could buy you time to get what you need to treat him. I would also look for flukes during the dip.

Freshwater Dip: Provides temporary relief for Brooklynella, Flukes & "Black Ich", Marine Velvet disease (Amyloodinium); possibly even Ich & Uronema marinum (both unproven). Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes.

How To Treat - Fill a bucket with RODI water, and use a heater to match the temperature to the water the fish is coming from. Aerate the water heavily for at least 30 minutes prior to doing the dip, then discontinue aeration while performing the dip. Fish aren’t overly pH sensitive for short durations like this, but you can squirt a little tank water into the dip just before the fish goes in to help bring it up.

Place the fish in the freshwater (FW) dip and observe closely. It is not unusual for them to freak out a little at first. Also, tangs are notorious for “playing dead” during a FW dip. The important thing is to watch their gills; they should be breathing heavily at all times during the dip. If breathing slows, it’s time to exit the dip. Dip the fish for no longer than 5 minutes. Multiple dips may be done, but it’s important to give your fish a day to recuperate in-between dips.

For flukes, use a dark (preferably black) bucket so you can see if tiny white worms fall out of the fish (especially out of the gills) at around the 3-4 minute mark. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well.

Pros - Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases in a chemical free environment. Can “buy you more time” until a proper treatment can be done.

Cons/Side Effects - Not a permanent “fix” for any disease, as FW dips are not potent enough to eradicate all of the parasites/worms afflicting the fish. Some fish can have an adverse reaction to a FW dip by appearing unable to maintain their equilibrium once returned to the aquarium. If this happens, hold the fish upright (using latex, nitrile or rubber gloves), and gently glide him through the water (to get saltwater flowing through the gills again). It is also a good idea to place the fish in an acclimation box until he appears “normal”.

Did you see my reply? Brook doesn't always show the symptoms we are expecting and can cause the heavy breathing you are seeing. so can Flukes, ick and velvet. A freshwater dip will help with all of these, and maybe buy you some time till morning to get what you need to treat. If you don't try to treat, then he will most likely die and the FW dip is the first step in diagnosing. I'm sorry

Tristan · Nov 24, 2016

melypr1985 said:
Did you see my reply? Brook doesn't always show the symptoms we are expecting and can cause the heavy breathing you are seeing. so can Flukes, ick and velvet. A freshwater dip will help with all of these, and maybe buy you some time till morning to get what you need to treat. If you don't try to treat, then he will most likely die and the FW dip is the first step in diagnosing. I'm sorry

Oh. I didn't see it. I'll do a fw dip first thing tomorrow

melypr1985 · Nov 24, 2016

Tristan said:
Oh. I didn't see it. I'll do a fw dip first thing tomorrow

He might not have until tomorrow. If you can, do it now, otherwise do it as soon as you can. Good luck sweetie.

Tristan · Nov 24, 2016

melypr1985 said:
I would be concerned about Brook especially. The problem is, that there arn't any cures that can be done in the display. They arn't reef safe. Can you do a freshwater dip on him? It should help flush out the gills and help him breath better.... at least for a short time. It could buy you time to get what you need to treat him. I would also look for flukes during the dip.

Freshwater Dip: Provides temporary relief for Brooklynella, Flukes & "Black Ich", Marine Velvet disease (Amyloodinium); possibly even Ich & Uronema marinum (both unproven). Can be used to confirm the presence of Flukes.

How To Treat - Fill a bucket with RODI water, and use a heater to match the temperature to the water the fish is coming from. Aerate the water heavily for at least 30 minutes prior to doing the dip, then discontinue aeration while performing the dip. Fish aren’t overly pH sensitive for short durations like this, but you can squirt a little tank water into the dip just before the fish goes in to help bring it up.

Place the fish in the freshwater (FW) dip and observe closely. It is not unusual for them to freak out a little at first. Also, tangs are notorious for “playing dead” during a FW dip. The important thing is to watch their gills; they should be breathing heavily at all times during the dip. If breathing slows, it’s time to exit the dip. Dip the fish for no longer than 5 minutes. Multiple dips may be done, but it’s important to give your fish a day to recuperate in-between dips.

For flukes, use a dark (preferably black) bucket so you can see if tiny white worms fall out of the fish (especially out of the gills) at around the 3-4 minute mark. The worms will settle to the bottom, so you can use a flashlight to look for them there as well.

Pros - Provides temporary relief for a wide range of diseases in a chemical free environment. Can “buy you more time” until a proper treatment can be done.

Cons/Side Effects - Not a permanent “fix” for any disease, as FW dips are not potent enough to eradicate all of the parasites/worms afflicting the fish. Some fish can have an adverse reaction to a FW dip by appearing unable to maintain their equilibrium once returned to the aquarium. If this happens, hold the fish upright (using latex, nitrile or rubber gloves), and gently glide him through the water (to get saltwater flowing through the gills again). It is also a good idea to place the fish in an acclimation box until he appears “normal”.

I just did a 2 minute fw dip and he seems better now. Swimming around and not laying on his side anymore. He's still breathing a little heavy though

drawman · Nov 24, 2016

Tristan said:
I just did a 2 minute fw dip and he seems better now. Swimming around and not laying on his side anymore. He's still breathing a little heavy though

Were you able to see any flukes come off? I believe you need to go a little longer to get the flukes to dislodge a 5 min freshwater dip would've been better. You may want to give him some time (if he looks okay maybe wait a day) before attempting to do another one, however. If you don't see any physical symptoms it may help to get your hands on some acriflavine or formalin as well as copper. Acriflavine would take care of brook and copper will handle ich/velvet. Good luck!