Clownfish very sick, how do I save it

[Tom-nanoreef]

Yesterday, I noticed my clownfish staying at the bottom of the tank which was very abnormal, she also was not coming to eat her food which she usually gets very excited about. That day I did a water change as I thought it could be related to water issues. There was no visible signs of sickness other than this. This morning I woke up and the clownfish was worse. It seems to be having a hard time swimming as it was doing flips in the water and what looked like a seizure. I checked water and ammonia/nitrite is zero, I added some water conditioner just in case as she seems to be having a hard time breathing.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Sorry to see! The fish seems to be moribund (close to death). This is sometimes crudely called a "death spiral". It looks fairly thin to me, so it may have had an issue going on for some time.

How long have you had this fish?
What other fish are in with it?
Are there any invertebrates in the tank? Are they o.k.?

The tank has a lot of algae. Sometimes, if you do not have good aeration, the algae pulls out all of the oxygen from the water at night, causing the fish a lot of distress. If you have an air stone or protein skimmer, that is less likely to be the issue.

Jay

 

[Tom-nanoreef]

I came back after an hour and the fish was dead unfortunately. I knew it was very close to death but I was hoping I could potentially save it. I had no other fish in there, 2 snails which seem to be good, some hermits that like to hide, but thats it. I think this was some sort of long-term issue I failed to spot. I have had really bad algae for months, been trying to remove it with little luck. I have had this fish since March so it was sad to see the little guy go.