Clownfish swimming problem

[crannon]

I've had this clownfish about 2 weeks. He went through a week in qt when I noticed he was struggling to stay afloat and would sink easily, like maybe an issue with it's swim bladder. He would breathe heavily and his gills looked puffed out and wouldn't eat much. Now he just lays on the bottom of the tank breathing heavily. Someone mentioned it might be flukes so I freshwater dipped him and put him back in the qt tank with fresh saltwater and treated with copper. Anything else I should do?

 

[MnFish1]

Can't see the videos - would you be able to post them to youtube

 

[fishguy242]

Welcome to the reef, best wishes
#fishmedic

 

[MnFish1]

PS - what was your QT protocol - I do not think you were following the protocol here. Swim bladder issues are usually stress/chemical/bacterial related - and an antibiotic may be in order. What is the respiratory rate, etc - any other fish ?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've had this clownfish about 2 weeks. He went through a week in qt when I noticed he was struggling to stay afloat and would sink easily, like maybe an issue with it's swim bladder. He would breathe heavily and his gills looked puffed out and wouldn't eat much. Now he just lays on the bottom of the tank breathing heavily. Someone mentioned it might be flukes so I freshwater dipped him and put him back in the qt tank with fresh saltwater and treated with copper. Anything else I should do?

While there is a possibility of buoyancy issue and I also see what looks like excess current/flow
The image is distant and cant see anything on fish that sticks out. As for gills, opposed to puffed gills, I see pinched head which is often hereditary or result of poor diet as the fish seems somewhat thin.
What foods are you offering it and how has it eaten recently ?.
Dont see behaviors of flukes which would be sudden darting, lethargic/listless behavior.
I would recommend a 5 min freshwater dip but with heavy breathing becomes a risk but lessened if water is aerated with air stone to see if changes behavior.

 

[crannon]

While there is a possibility of buoyancy issue and I also see what looks like excess current/flow
The image is distant and cant see anything on fish that sticks out. As for gills, opposed to puffed gills, I see pinched head which is often hereditary or result of poor diet as the fish seems somewhat thin.
What foods are you offering it and how has it eaten recently ?.
Dont see behaviors of flukes which would be sudden darting, lethargic/listless behavior.
I would recommend a 5 min freshwater dip but with heavy breathing becomes a risk but lessened if water is aerated with air stone to see if changes behavior.

At first I offered flake and frozen food and it ate both. I haven’t seen it eat recently though. I did a freshwater dip but only about 4 mins. I can longer with an air stone.

 

[crannon]

PS - what was your QT protocol - I do not think you were following the protocol here. Swim bladder issues are usually stress/chemical/bacterial related - and an antibiotic may be in order. What is the respiratory rate, etc - any other fish ?

I’m new to r2r but I was following the brs video on qt. Basically 1 week in copper treatment. But I don’t have a copper tester so the levels may have been too low. I’m looking to get one now though. He’s breathing quite rapidly. I don’t have any antibiotics except maracyn will that work?

 

[vetteguy53081]

At first I offered flake and frozen food and it ate both. I haven’t seen it eat recently though. I did a freshwater dip but only about 4 mins. I can longer with an air stone.

4 should be sufficient. See if you noticed a change in behavior and/or feeding in the next couple of hours

 

[crannon]

Can't see the videos - would you be able to post them to youtube

Try this and this

 

[vetteguy53081]

Try this and this

Yes- fish is thin and breathing very rapidly. I still dont think flukes.
What filters are you using for this tank and what is age of tank? This points to water

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I've had this clownfish about 2 weeks. He went through a week in qt when I noticed he was struggling to stay afloat and would sink easily, like maybe an issue with it's swim bladder. He would breathe heavily and his gills looked puffed out and wouldn't eat much. Now he just lays on the bottom of the tank breathing heavily. Someone mentioned it might be flukes so I freshwater dipped him and put him back in the qt tank with fresh saltwater and treated with copper. Anything else I should do?

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

That isn't a swim bladder issue, it is either a water quality issue or a gill disease. The little clown is breathing VERY fast, it most likely will not survive. I couldn't get a long enough look at the other clown to see how it is breathing. It looks like there is a guppy in the tank also?

This post helps explain the background information we need to try and solve fish health problems:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

The most important thing we need is your water chemistry numbers, especially ammonia.

Jay

 

[MnFish1]

I’m new to r2r but I was following the brs video on qt. Basically 1 week in copper treatment. But I don’t have a copper tester so the levels may have been too low. I’m looking to get one now though. He’s breathing quite rapidly. I don’t have any antibiotics except maracyn will that work?

This is not the protocol recommended here - without criticizing the protocol you used - it's not what's recommended here. If he is breathing fast - I would guess a gill disease - flukes vs velvet - but it's a total guess. Could be another parasite. I would isolate it in a hospital tank with copper. You could consider a freshwater dip.

 

[crannon]

Hi everyone, thanks for your help. I did try the freshwater dip and QT with copper but I think it was too far gone and he sadly passed away in qt. My other fish are doing ok so I don't think it was water parameters. My tank is cycled and I'm getting 0 ammonia, 0 nitrate and around 5-10ppm nitrate. I try to keep the water at 1.025 salinity but I don't have an ato yet so the levels crept up a bit, but no more than 0.002 which I've resolved and will stay on top of better. I don't have a super accurate way to test kh and ph but both showed to be within safe levels. I did a water change and will monitor the rest of the tank inhabitants. And moving forward I will use the qt process recommended here on any new fish.