Help! Clownfish dying!

gabbybk · Dec 14, 2022

Clownfish I’ve had for years has a white growth on his face. He is laying in a net and breathing heavily now, not moving. I’ve been at uni for the past month and my parents haven’t noticed anything unusual. He was fine yesterday when I got home too.
I’ve tested the water parameters and they are perfect. No new fish or changes to the system in over a year. Other clownfish and goby acting fine. I’ve looked up pictures and believe it to be a bacteria infection.
all the fish stores are closed now so I can’t get any antibiotics or get help there. Is there anything I can do right now to help? I afraid he won’t make it the night

vetteguy53081 · Dec 14, 2022

gabbybk said:
Clownfish I’ve had for years has a white growth on his face. He is laying in a net and breathing heavily now, not moving. I’ve been at uni for the past month and my parents haven’t noticed anything unusual. He was fine yesterday when I got home too.
I’ve tested the water parameters and they are perfect. No new fish or changes to the system in over a year. Other clownfish and goby acting fine. I’ve looked up pictures and believe it to be a bacteria infection.
all the fish stores are closed now so I can’t get any antibiotics or get help there. Is there anything I can do right now to help? I afraid he won’t make it the night

S freshwater dip for 5 minutes in tap water the same temperature as display tank offers temporary relief
Further assessment will be helpful-
With fish lethargic and breathing rapidly white buildup on face suggests brooklynella but pics under white lighting can help confirm

gabbybk · Dec 14, 2022

He’s now lying on the ground. He tried to swim into a crack in a rock and he flipped upside down so my female clown started nudging him and pushed him onto the sand. Not sure if she’s hurting him or trying to get him to move… they’ve been buds this whole time but she’s been known to be protective and has caused multiple fish jump out of the tank from her aggression
He’s fully on his side on the bottom. I’m worried a freshwater dip will cause him a lot of stress and kill him since he seems pretty much dead already…

Jay Hemdal · Dec 15, 2022

gabbybk said:
He’s now lying on the ground. He tried to swim into a crack in a rock and he flipped upside down so my female clown started nudging him and pushed him onto the sand. Not sure if she’s hurting him or trying to get him to move… they’ve been buds this whole time but she’s been known to be protective and has caused multiple fish jump out of the tank from her aggression
He’s fully on his side on the bottom. I’m worried a freshwater dip will cause him a lot of stress and kill him since he seems pretty much dead already…

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Indeed, it may be too late to do much for this fish. How old is this fish? Are there any tears in its fins? It may be a combination of age and the other clown bullying it.

If you haven't added any new animals to the tank in the past two months or so, it is unlikely to be a disease.

Jay