Clownfish help

Bubs2 · Sep 20, 2016

I hope this helps

Bubs2 · Sep 20, 2016

Humblefish said:
How long have you had these clownfish? When was the last fish/coral/invert added to your tank? Have you noticed any scratching, flashing or heavy breathing from any of your fish?

Yes she breathes heavy ALL THE time. She sometimes scratches her side face on the sand. I've had her for a month

Bubs2 · Sep 20, 2016

Humblefish said:
How long have you had these clownfish? When was the last fish/coral/invert added to your tank? Have you noticed any scratching, flashing or heavy breathing from any of your fish?

Last corals were SPS but she's been this way for 2 weeks

jsker · Sep 20, 2016

Let's call in the #reefsquad

Sabellafella · Sep 21, 2016

Bubs2 said:
I hope this helps

I dont know about you, but she looks fine to me. She looks just very calm, has she ben breathing very heavily? I see her gills expanded a little, maybe something is bothering her....flukes? Has she ben iching herself lately? Sorry if i passed this up somewhere but how long has she went without food?

Humblefish · Sep 21, 2016

Bubs2 said:
Yes she breathes heavy ALL THE time. She sometimes scratches her side face on the sand. I've had her for a month

Could be flukes. You can perform a FW dip (see in red below) to check for flukes. If flukes show, treat the entire DT with Prazipro.

If no flukes show, you need to immediately move both of the clownfish into a QT for further observation. Do you have any other fish or just these two?

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”.

Bubs2 · Sep 21, 2016

Humblefish said:
Could be flukes. You can perform a FW dip (see in red below) to check for flukes. If flukes show, treat the entire DT with Prazipro.

If no flukes show, you need to immediately move both of the clownfish into a QT for further observation. Do you have any other fish or just these two?

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”.

We freshwater dipped her. We think we saw little stuff come off her but we were using a white container. Should we treat with prazi?

Bubs2 · Sep 21, 2016

Sabellafella said:
I dont know about you, but she looks fine to me. She looks just very calm, has she ben breathing very heavily? I see her gills expanded a little, maybe something is bothering her....flukes? Has she ben iching herself lately? Sorry if i passed this up somewhere but how long has she went without food?

Yes she's been breathing very heavy almost since we got her. Should we treat with prazi pro?

Bubs2 · Sep 21, 2016

Bubs2 said:
Yes she's been breathing very heavy almost since we got her. Should we treat with prazi pro?

And for the itching sometimes I see her spazz quickly on the sand with her mate. A couple times 2 weeks ago we saw her hit her head on the sand. And she's been a couple days without food but to begin with she wasn't eating much

Sabellafella · Sep 21, 2016

Bubs2 said:
And for the itching sometimes I see her spazz quickly on the sand with her mate. A couple times 2 weeks ago we saw her hit her head on the sand. And she's been a couple days without food but to begin with she wasn't eating much

Shes twitching? Just work on getting her fed, she looks fine too me. But yes you could treat her with prazi. Its late, so hopefully in the morning the squad will have the right eyes and protocol for you. I wouldnt be workedup over it. Try feeding the tank and walk away from it, she could just be shy or uncomfortable. Look into flukes, when they twitch, is usually a sign of them present, freshwater dip is up to you. Clowns are notorious for getting people bent out of shape, because they indeed do act very very wierd sometimes lol. I would get her eating first before any treatment

Joey waid · Sep 21, 2016

Maybe try different food, maybe with garlic. They all go through weird spells and some just like to eat what they like to eat, kinda like my kids.. I do hope she's fine. She does look fine....

Brew12 · Sep 21, 2016

If it is flukes, you shouldn't have to be in too much of a rush, so relax. Plenty of time to do things correctly.

Also, I realize that this is a clownfish, but any time you have a sick fish I would recommend posting it in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis forum. @Humblefish and @melypr1985 try to keep a close eye on that section.

Humblefish · Sep 21, 2016

Bubs2 said:
We freshwater dipped her. We think we saw little stuff come off her but we were using a white container. Should we treat with prazi?

If it was little white specks dropping out of her gills, then I would treat the entire DT with Prazipro.

Humblefish · Sep 21, 2016

Merged into one thread and moved to fish disease forum.

Bubs2 · Sep 22, 2016

Started acting normal then the next day went back to staring at the wall and breathing

Bubs2 · Sep 24, 2016

We got prazipro. She is getting really skinny now

. I haven't seen her spazz but she still doesn't eat. Should we still treat with prazi pro. And when dosing prazi pro should I keep dosing alk and calc.