Help quick!!

Parasite1971 · Apr 10, 2020

So my clown fish is showing signs of something wrong. Breathing rapidly, gills are "extended" just hanging out in the back corner facing downward or on the sand bed. I have had him for 1 month and he was very healthy when I got him from a LFS that I trust. I did not QT ( last time I do that, have everything on order for the QT tank). My other clown and Watchman seem fine.
Salinity 1.023
temp 77.8
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
PH 8.2

Bbfishb81 · Apr 10, 2020

Did he get beat up by the other clown maybe?

Parasite1971 · Apr 10, 2020

Bbfishb81 said:
Did he get beat up by the other clown maybe?

No, he has been the most dominate in the tank.

Gernader · Apr 10, 2020

Does the clownfish have white stuff on the body?

Reef Box · Apr 10, 2020

photos?

vetteguy53081 · Apr 10, 2020

Pics would help greatly. Salt a little low. . . bring up to 1.024=1.025
begin with a freshwater dip as they respond well to that.
If it has white slime all over its' skin, it had common Brooklynella clown disease and will need formalin dips IF this is the case

Parasite1971 · Apr 10, 2020

This is the best I could get.

Parasite1971 · Apr 10, 2020

I just did about a 2 min fresh water dip. No real signs of skin issues that I can see.

Big G · Apr 10, 2020

Parasite1971 said:
I just did about a 2 min fresh water dip. No real signs of skin issues that I can see.

Any sesame seed sized white things fall off during/after the dip? Did the dip help the fish's breathing?

Parasite1971 · Apr 10, 2020

I'm setting up a QT tank as we speak. What should I treat him with? Copper?

Big G · Apr 10, 2020

Sorry but I can't see anything external that's really wrong other than the somewhat fast breathing. Sure looks like a stressed fish though. Has it been swimming into a flow?

What happens if you shut off the lights for a bit?

Parasite1971 · Apr 10, 2020

Big G said:
Sorry but I can't see anything external that's really wrong other than the somewhat fast breathing. Sure looks like a stressed fish though. Has it been swimming into a flow?

What happens if you shut off the lights for a bit?

No not really swimming into flow, Has been in the back corner which is not rare for him, I shut the lights off and he came out front and swam around a bit when I shut off the lights. I feed at the normal time and he was not that interested. The thing that stands out to me the most is the flared out gills.

Big G · Apr 10, 2020

The freshwater dip may not have been long enough to get results that you could see. Usually a 3-5 minute FW dip starts to see parasites like flukes coming off around the 3 minute mark. Might want to try again later or tomorrow.

Parasite1971 · Apr 10, 2020

Thank you all! I will keep an eye on him, but right now he is as active as he has ever been.

The only thing I have changed is how I'm running my wave pumps. Could that have been enough to stress him out?

Parasite1971 · Apr 10, 2020

Big G said:
Sorry but I can't see anything external that's really wrong other than the somewhat fast breathing. Sure looks like a stressed fish though. Has it been swimming into a flow?

What happens if you shut off the lights for a bit?

So what would it mean if he was swimming into flow?

Big G · Apr 10, 2020

One of the possible problems when a fish is breathing hard is marine velvet. Symptoms are: breathing hard (parasites on the gills making it hard to breathe), hiding from light, lethargy, swimming into a flow (same issue the fish can't get enough O2), etc. Sometimes we never see the tell tale white spots, as the parasites are within the gills attacking the fish.

Parasite1971 · Apr 11, 2020

Well he survived the night. Breathing seems much better. Swimming well. Will see if he eats a bit later, may pick up some food with garlic. Only odd thing is where as he usually hangs out in a pretty small area of the tank, he is all over now.

Big G · Apr 11, 2020

Awesome news!

Parasite1971 · Apr 12, 2020

So my clown seems to be doing much better. He is not really eating at all though. He will take flake food but spits it back out pretty quickly. I have tried the flake food I usually feed, Myasis shrimp and pellet food. and also all of the above with garlic. He seems hungry just not for what I have. Any ideas I can try?

Thank you all!

Parasite1971 · Apr 16, 2020

Well after just about 1 week the clown seems to be fine. Still not sure exactly what was wrong, but thankful he is ok. I thought for sure he was a goner! Only lingering effects is that he is now hanging out more towards the front of the tank rather than the usual back and that is perfectly fine with me!

Thanks all for the help!