Dying Clownfish

[maxemorris]

Got a pair of naked clowns from my LFS 8 days ago, and they don’t look so good, breathing heavy and not eating.

My LFS told me the other pair they had died and were breathing heavy, possibly parasites, so I did a 1 hour paraguard dip to be safe. They looked much better when I put them back in, and the bigger one seems to be doing better, but the smaller one is not.

I have tried frozen brine, pellets (soaked and unsoaked), flakes, and live brine all to no avail. I have a lot of copepods as well but I have not seen them eat anything and they are pretty skinny, especially the smaller one.

I noticed today the smaller one lost part of his tail, possibly to my big wrasse. I put him in my 8” breeder box alone. He has a small light patch on his size I can’t tell if it’s from bumping into a rock or fungal or from the wrasse.

What do I do? I want them to eat and stop breathing so heavy. I’ll keep the little one in the box until his tail heals.

 

[maxemorris]

LFS tested my water twice and it’s perfect, salinity is stable 1.025, and my other fish and corals are very happy. I’m certain it’s not my water quality.

 

[RichardNeoOcean]

I cant help in the treatment…
But i can tell what i do … i Run UV! 24/7 .. and it kills tons tons parasites.

 

[maxemorris]

I cant help in the treatment…
But i can tell what i do … i Run UV! 24/7 .. and it kills tons tons parasites.

A UV Sterilizer? Where do I put it?

I don’t have a sump i’m running a HOB filter on a 40BR tank. I have a glass lid the lights sit on top of, could I put it there?

 

[RichardNeoOcean]

A UV Sterilizer? Where do I put it?

I don’t have a sump i’m running a HOB filter on a 40BR tank. I have a glass lid the lights sit on top of, could I put it there?

I run a Hang on ! On my tank .

 

[maxemorris]

I run a Hang on ! On my tank .

Beautiful barebottom! Funny I’m planning on getting a landen tank for my next build!

Is it the light hanging above the tank? Does that replace your coral lights?

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

#fishmedic

 

[RichardNeoOcean]

Beautiful barebottom! Funny I’m planning on getting a landen tank for my next build!

Is it the light hanging above the tank? Does that replace your coral lights?

That is just a Ecotech RadionXR30 Gen5 Pro . Hehehe..
I run my tank at 200-250 par on the floor .. and up to 400-600 par in the top

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

A UV Sterilizer? Where do I put it?

I don’t have a sump i’m running a HOB filter on a 40BR tank. I have a glass lid the lights sit on top of, could I put it there?

A UV sterilizer won’t help if the fish already have a gill disease.
The paraguard dip might give temporary relief, but dips are never 100% effective and putting the fish back into the same tank just reinfects them.
It may be that the only effective treatment would be to move the fish to a treatment tank with copper. Trouble is, all fish in the tank have been exposed. I’m thinking it may be Amyloodinium/velvet.
A short video under white light would help diagnose the issue.
Jay

 

[RichardNeoOcean]

A UV sterilizer won’t help if the fish already have a gill disease.
The paraguard dip might give temporary relief, but dips are never 100% effective and putting the fish back into the same tank just reinfects them.
It may be that the only effective treatment would be to move the fish to a treatment tank with copper. Trouble is, all fish in the tank have been exposed. I’m thinking it may be Amyloodinium/velvet.
A short video under white light would help diagnose the issue.
Jay

UV will help in the spread.. also with a purifying water .. the recovery of the sick fish will be much faster than a water without protection … i

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

UV will help in the spread.. also with a purifying water .. the recovery of the sick fish will be much faster than a water without protection … i

Sorry, I disagree. UV sterilizers are overrated in the control of protozoan diseases. Hobbyist units are almost always too small to kill larger organisms, and the dwell time is an issue. Some parasites such as Brooklynella don’t have to leave the fish, so are never contacted with the UV. These units also do not affect water quality at all, except a unit called photozone that was sold back in the 1980’s. Those were very short wavelength, 235 nm, and created ozone, which in turn helped purify the water. Curren units don’t do that and have no effect on the water itself.

Jay

 

[RichardNeoOcean]

Sorry, I disagree. UV sterilizers are overrated in the control of protozoan diseases. Hobbyist units are almost always too small to kill larger organisms, and the dwell time is an issue. Some parasites such as Brooklynella don’t have to leave the fish, so are never contacted with the UV. These units also do not affect water quality at all, except a unit called photozone that was sold back in the 1980’s. Those were very short wavelength, 235 nm, and created ozone, which in turn helped purify the water. Curren units don’t do that and have no effect on the water itself.

Jay

I understand.. but i been using UV in the last 14 years .. and it proove to “ Me and me alone” that works great …
Ps. This is a personal experience and only refer to my own experience .