Clownfish fast breathing…

[adamf83]

I have 2 clownfish and this evening the bigger one has been spotted breathing a lot faster than usual. There were chasing each other around the tank but the bigger one now seems confined to the lower back part of the tank., occasionally a bit on his/her side.

In the UK, it’s unusually hot today, the tank is showing 28.8 Celsius, but none of the other fish are showing what I consider unusual behaviour. Last week, I did have 2 unexplained deaths, a firefish and a goby. I test the water after that, ammonia was 0, nitrates 35, but after a water change, the nitrates have come down. I’ve just re-tested the ammonia and it’s still 0.

I’ve attached the best video I could take. Just wondering if anything stands out, whether this is simply cause of a higher tank temperature or something else.

Tank size is ~33g, it’s been established 4 years and these were the first fish.

Any advice appreciated.

 

[ReefLife_Guy]

I doubt it is the temperature of 28.8C, have you measured with another thermometer just to confirm the temperature is not higher. Any new additions to the tank? What is the salinity? How is the surface water agitation (thinking of water oxygenation)?

 

[adamf83]

I doubt it is the temperature of 28.8C, have you measured with another thermometer just to confirm the temperature is not higher. Any new additions to the tank? What is the salinity? How is the surface water agitation (thinking of water oxygenation)?

My salinity monitor also measures temperature and that reads 28.7, so I’m confident it’s accurate.

No new additions, only losses . The salinity itself is 1.0258 and there is a decent amount of agitation. If it was oxygenation problem, would it not affect my than just one fish? Or would the fish be closer to the surface rather than the bottom?

I’ve just fed them and he did eat, which is a good sign.

I could just be overthinking it due to the recent losses.

 

[ReefLife_Guy]

My salinity monitor also measures temperature and that reads 28.7, so I’m confident it’s accurate.

That rules out that.

They just seem a little stressed, of the 3 fish swimming back and forth in this video. Would you consider this normal behavior for them? I don't like to rule things in or out based on how many fish have been affected, although this can assist in determining the issue it is only a small piece of the pie. This is why sometimes people have ich in their tanks but only a couple of fish show visible signs of disease.

Back to your problem, you mentioned some chasing between the clowns. Even if they have been paired for 4 years, it is possible for one to become aggressive suddenly and attack the other clown. Have you seen any aggressive behavior towards the other 2 fish in this tank. They seem to be hiding behind the rockwork and the swimming pattern makes me think they are stressed as well. If possible, try to set up your phone to record your tank while you are not near it to see how they behave when you are not standing by the tank. The other clownfish in the background does not seem to be displaying signs of stress, which makes me think they might be the culprit.

This hashtag will bring some experts to this post as well to give you their opinions.

#fishmedic

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My salinity monitor also measures temperature and that reads 28.7, so I’m confident it’s accurate.

No new additions, only losses . The salinity itself is 1.0258 and there is a decent amount of agitation. If it was oxygenation problem, would it not affect my than just one fish? Or would the fish be closer to the surface rather than the bottom?

I’ve just fed them and he did eat, which is a good sign.

I could just be overthinking it due to the recent losses.

Recent unexplained fish loss is ALWAYS a concern. That the clown is still eating is a good sign though. With velvet, the fish breath fast, stop eating and die pretty quickly, often with no other symptoms.

29 C. won't kill the fish outright (but your corals may not be happy). I would, however not rely on surface agitation, I would add a strong air stone at the bottom of the tank. The bicolor angel also seemed to be breathing a bit fast.

Jay

 

[adamf83]

That rules out that.

They just seem a little stressed, of the 3 fish swimming back and forth in this video. Would you consider this normal behavior for them? I don't like to rule things in or out based on how many fish have been affected, although this can assist in determining the issue it is only a small piece of the pie. This is why sometimes people have ich in their tanks but only a couple of fish show visible signs of disease.

Back to your problem, you mentioned some chasing between the clowns. Even if they have been paired for 4 years, it is possible for one to become aggressive suddenly and attack the other clown. Have you seen any aggressive behavior towards the other 2 fish in this tank. They seem to be hiding behind the rockwork and the swimming pattern makes me think they are stressed as well. If possible, try to set up your phone to record your tank while you are not near it to see how they behave when you are not standing by the tank. The other clownfish in the background does not seem to be displaying signs of stress, which makes me think they might be the culprit.

This hashtag will bring some experts to this post as well to give you their opinions.

#fishmedic

Normally, the bigger clown is the more aggressive one out of the pair and I’ve seen no aggression towards the other fish. The bigger clown has periods where it stops moving, almost falls over horizontally and the rights itself. I’ll try and set my phone up to record, but it’s a difficult place to record from.

Recent unexplained fish loss is ALWAYS a concern. That the clown is still eating is a good sign though. With velvet, the fish breath fast, stop eating and die pretty quickly, often with no other symptoms.

29 C. won't kill the fish outright (but your corals may not be happy). I would, however not rely on surface agitation, I would add a strong air stone at the bottom of the tank. The bicolor angel also seemed to be breathing a bit fast.

Jay

The bicolour has moved away and is swimming around normally, the wrasse is not as fast normal and usually by this time has darted under the rocks.

I‘ll see about getting and air stone added to the tank.

Does it’s fin look a bit suspect? Not sure how easy it is to see?

 

[adamf83]

This is perhaps a better photo…

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

This is perhaps a better photo…

Sorry, which fin? The anal fin has a nip out of it, the dorsal fin looks a bit eroded as well.

Jay

 

[adamf83]

Sorry, which fin? The anal fin has a nip out of it, the dorsal fin looks a bit eroded as well.

Jay

The tail fin and dorsal. I’ve circled them.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

The tail fin and dorsal. I’ve circled them.

The other two fins are the ones that looked damaged to me. I can see distinct nicks in both of those. Sure seems like something has been tagging it....

Jay

 

[adamf83]

The other two fins are the ones that looked damaged to me. I can see distinct nicks in both of those. Sure seems like something has been tagging it....

Jay

Thanks Jay. He looks better today, swimming a bit more. I’m cooling the water down a bit and also have some medication on standby should it be needed.

Thanks for the advice!