Clownfish tail seems to be deteriorating...

[OrangeHunter458]

Just got these 2 clowns for 5 days now. Left them alone after observing them for about an hour, when I came back down I noticed the smaller one on the floor almost dried out! I immediately dropped him in the tank near an area with lots of flow, I thought he was dead because he was as stiff as a board floating around the tank. Noticed his mouth and gills moving and then he swam erratically around the tank, bumping into the rocks and the sandbed, I'm assuming due to the shock of almost dying. He was acting normally the next morning, a small bruise appeared but was gone as the 2nd day went by.

Fast forward to now, clowns are eating well, appears to be swimming normally, all seems fine (I hope). Except I noticed the smaller one's tail fin is almost gone, the black coloration on the tail has faded too. Is this fin rot? Could it be an infection due to him almost drying out because he jumped? Maybe stressed because the larger one sometimes rushes him? Do I treat it or leave it alone?

First vid; you can see the difference between their tails

2nd vid; I caught some of the rushing I mentioned earlier. Sometimes the male is shimmying next to the female, I'm assuming he's trying to pair up?

 

[OrangeHunter458]

Forgot to post my parameters:

Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: API reads .25ppm and Seachem Badge is yellow (Safe according to badge) so I'm assuming it's 0?
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm (around this range; I test almost everyday for nitrates, stays the same color ever since I put the clowns in)
pH: 8.2 to 8.4 (I can't tell the difference in the color )
Temp: 28C

Tank is a month old, 4x2ft 120 gallon. These clowns are the only inhabitants.

 

[eecummins]

purely anecdotal, but i like to use methylene blue to deal with problems like this

6ppm for 30 minutes; if the fish is distressed cut the dosage in half

if that doesn’t work abx is probably next

 

[Bpones]

I’d assume the thin tissue on the fin became necrotic. Likely fully drying out caused some tissue death. I’d keep a close eye on it. Hopefully it will regrow. I’ve seen young fish “repair” themselves from injuries sustained at a small size.

 

[Uncle99]

Seems they are both doing well after one carpet surfed. That usually turns out very bad.

I can’t see much in the tail.

The dance is quite normal.

Keep close watch though.

 

[OrangeHunter458]

purely anecdotal, but i like to use methylene blue to deal with problems like this

6ppm for 30 minutes; if the fish is distressed cut the dosage in half

if that doesn’t work abx is probably next

I see. I'll try to get a bottle tomorrow then just in case, all the stores are closed now.

 

[eecummins]

btw both api and seachem badge are not reliable

i would pickup a better ammonia test kit like salifert

 

[vetteguy53081]

Just got these 2 clowns for 5 days now. Left them alone after observing them for about an hour, when I came back down I noticed the smaller one on the floor almost dried out! I immediately dropped him in the tank near an area with lots of flow, I thought he was dead because he was as stiff as a board floating around the tank. Noticed his mouth and gills moving and then he swam erratically around the tank, bumping into the rocks and the sandbed, I'm assuming due to the shock of almost dying. He was acting normally the next morning, a small bruise appeared but was gone as the 2nd day went by.

Fast forward to now, clowns are eating well, appears to be swimming normally, all seems fine (I hope). Except I noticed the smaller one's tail fin is almost gone, the black coloration on the tail has faded too. Is this fin rot? Could it be an infection due to him almost drying out because he jumped? Maybe stressed because the larger one sometimes rushes him? Do I treat it or leave it alone?

First vid; you can see the difference between their tails

2nd vid; I caught some of the rushing I mentioned earlier. Sometimes the male is shimmying next to the female, I'm assuming he's trying to pair up?

Images fuzzy but appears to be aggression damage

 

[OrangeHunter458]

Seems they are both doing well after one carpet surfed. That usually turns out very bad.

I can’t see much in the tail.

The dance is quite normal.

Keep close watch though.

I was surprised myself. I thought he was done for all seems normal except for the male's tail. Strong swimmers, sometimes they like to be in front of the return nozzle. They love to eat too, pellets and flakes.

 

[OrangeHunter458]

btw both api and seachem badge are not reliable

i would pickup a better ammonia test kit like salifert

Saving up for salifert kits too haha read all about the problems with api's accuracy. Only good for knowing if a cycle is happening, they say.

 

[OrangeHunter458]

Images fuzzy but appears to be aggression damage

Will try to observe from far away, hopefully they establish a hierarchy soon. I haven't seen any lip locking or tail pulling, but who knows what they're up to when I'm not watching.

I feel like I should still buy medication just in case.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Will try to observe from far away, hopefully they establish a hierarchy soon. I haven't seen any lip locking or tail pulling, but who knows what they're up to when I'm not watching.

I feel like I should still buy medication just in case.

No reason to medicate but universal and safe is ruby rally pro if you wish to. You dont want a hierarchy but rather bond. With hierarchy, female will be dominant, fog all the food, beat on the male and even take over an area of tank

 

[exnisstech]

hopefully they establish a hierarchy soon.

They don't always establish a hierarchy. Often people are left with one dead clown.

If it's aggression you may end up with a single clown unless the one being damaged submits. I wish people would realize that it isn't always as easy as dropping two clowns in a tank and having and instapair. Lfs are partly to blame but there are plenty of why are my clown fish fighting threads on here where it doesn't always work out for people to read. IME it's much better to introduce a single and allow it to transition to female then add a male. It seems most people don't have the patience for that tho.

 

[OrangeHunter458]

No reason to medicate but universal and safe is ruby rally pro if you wish to. You dont want a hierarchy but rather bond. With hierarchy, female will be dominant, fog all the food, beat on the male and even take over an area of tank

Good point, bond is a much better word

 

[OrangeHunter458]

They don't always establish a hierarchy. Often people are left with one dead clown.

If it's aggression you may end up with a single clown unless the one being damaged submits. I wish people would realize that it isn't always as easy as dropping two clowns in a tank and having and instapair. Lfs are partly to blame but there are plenty of why are my clown fish fighting threads on here where it doesn't always work out for people to read. IME it's much better to introduce a single and allow it to transition to female then add a male. It seems most people don't have the patience for that tho.

I'm tucked in near the couch where they (hopefully) can't see me. Been observing since posting this thread, they sometimes separate exploring the tank then when they run into each other again they like to swim side by side, no aggression so far. Some grandstanding from the bigger one, then the smaller one does this seizure dance near the bigger clown.

If I see some extreme aggression, I'll pull one of them out. Which one should I go for if ever it happens?

 

[exnisstech]

The fact that the smaller one is doing the submission dance is a good sign. Once he does that it's pretty much up to the other if they want to accept. Kind of like us lol.


EDIT : if you have to I would pull the smaller if it were me since it sounds like the other may being transitioning are at least wants to. Sometimes placing the male or smaller one in an acclimation box in the same tank can help out.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I'm tucked in near the couch where they (hopefully) can't see me. Been observing since posting this thread, they sometimes separate exploring the tank then when they run into each other again they like to swim side by side, no aggression so far. Some grandstanding from the bigger one, then the smaller one does this seizure dance near the bigger clown.

If I see some extreme aggression, I'll pull one of them out. Which one should I go for if ever it happens?

In the video I saw, they are definitely bickering, with one doing the most aggression. They may not pair up, so you need to prepare to separate them if it doesn't settle down.

 

[OrangeHunter458]

Thanks guys bought methylene blue just in case, and an acclimation box if the bickering turns for the worst.