Is something wrong with my clownfish?

smalltownuser · Mar 15, 2023

I have had two clownfish for about 2 weeks now. Everything has seemed fine and they seem to get along together for the most part. I came home today and I noticed that one of them has a cloudy texture on one of its sides. I have noticed that the other one which doesn't have any spots seems to try to bully the one with the white spots which is also making me think something may be wrong because I've heard that fish will bully sick fish. The tank is always kept at 80°. I feed them once in the morning and once in the evening. Pictures below but it's hard to get a good one with them moving all the time.

smalltownuser · Mar 16, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
5 minutes is safe with them.....4-5 for sure

Ok thank you.

vetteguy53081 said:
5 minutes is safe with them.....4-5 for sure

Can you tell me how I can prevent this in the future? I followed every single step from that 30 part series on BRStv, got two clowns from the same tank at the same time, introduced them in to the water with the drip method over the course of about 30 minutes, made sure salinity in water was good, feed them that Chroma Boost food once in the morning and once at night, because I heard juveniles should eat twice per day. Every feeding they jumped right at the food. They have never been shy with food, even now while sick still goes right for the food. I made sure to always top of with fresh water as it evaporated. Water temp is always 79-80 degrees, I scrub the glass every other day, and did a roughly 30% water change on Sunday(one week after they were in the tank). I am still going through the first cycle with just the clowns in there to help the cycle. I put live sand and live rock in the tank when I set it up, and I have no other fish or invertebrates and there is zero coral in the tank yet, so its literally just the sand, rock and 2 clowns. When I first set up the tank I added a bottle of dr tims live bacteria, and when I did my water change, I added the seachem prime to the new water going in, to mix it in that before adding it to the display tank and followed the directions but other than that I havent put any other chemicals in the tank. Everything seemed fine until last night when I came home and saw the spots on the fish. I check them every single day. When I feed them, or clean the glass, or even just when I want to go look at them, I will spend at least 10 minutes a day watching them(usually more) and there have been no signs of any issue until last night. I have been feeling so proud of myself for following all these steps but apparently I missed something

vetteguy53081 · Mar 16, 2023

smalltownuser said:
Ok thank you.

Can you tell me how I can prevent this in the future? I followed every single step from that 30 part series on BRStv, got two clowns from the same tank at the same time, introduced them in to the water with the drip method over the course of about 30 minutes, made sure salinity in water was good, feed them that Chroma Boost food once in the morning and once at night, because I heard juveniles should eat twice per day. Every feeding they jumped right at the food. They have never been shy with food, even now while sick still goes right for the food. I made sure to always top of with fresh water as it evaporated. Water temp is always 79-80 degrees, I scrub the glass every other day, and did a roughly 30% water change on Sunday(one week after they were in the tank). I am still going through the first cycle with just the clowns in there to help the cycle. I put live sand and live rock in the tank when I set it up, and I have no other fish or invertebrates and there is zero coral in the tank yet, so its literally just the sand, rock and 2 clowns. When I first set up the tank I added a bottle of dr tims live bacteria, and when I did my water change, I added the seachem prime to the new water going in, to mix it in that before adding it to the display tank and followed the directions but other than that I havent put any other chemicals in the tank. Everything seemed fine until last night when I came home and saw the spots on the fish. I check them every single day. When I feed them, or clean the glass, or even just when I want to go look at them, I will spend at least 10 minutes a day watching them(usually more) and there have been no signs of any issue until last night. I have been feeling so proud of myself for following all these steps but apparently I missed something

Often it begins at the LFS but moreso, it’s higher rate with wild caught clowns versus tank raised.
LFS owner should know source
I knew at my LFS which was which and had a local source with tank raised clowns and freshwater angels
Ruby rally pro baths also help prior to introduction- I do it with mine

smalltownuser · Mar 16, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Often it begins at the LFS but moreso, it’s higher rate with wild caught clowns versus tank raised.
LFS owner should know source
I knew at my LFS which was which and had a local source with tank raised clowns and freshwater angels
Ruby rally pro baths also help prior to introduction- I do it with mine

So I had originally been planning to get my first fish addition to the tank(a blue tang) this weekend because the cycle seems to be just about over, and I was planning on quarantining them before adding to the new tank. Do you do the ruby bath *instead* of the QT or would you do it *with* the QT? I didnt worry about QT'ing the clowns since I got them from the same tank at the same time. I figured if either had a problem, they were both contaminated since they were together at the LFS, but any new additions to the tank I was going to QT before throwing them in with the clowns.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 16, 2023

smalltownuser said:
So I had originally been planning to get my first fish addition to the tank(a blue tang) this weekend because the cycle seems to be just about over, and I was planning on quarantining them before adding to the new tank. Do you do the ruby bath *instead* of the QT or would you do it *with* the QT? I didnt worry about QT'ing the clowns since I got them from the same tank at the same time. I figured if either had a problem, they were both contaminated since they were together at the LFS, but any new additions to the tank I was going to QT before throwing them in with the clowns.

Bath is a pre-treatment and you will do your medicating in the quarantine tank. personally, I would clear clowns first before adding any fish and leaving display tank free of fish for now in the event any traces from clowns are in the display

smalltownuser · Mar 16, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Bath is a pre-treatment and you will do your medicating in the quarantine tank. personally, I would clear clowns first before adding any fish and leaving display tank free of fish for now in the event any traces from clowns are in the display

Yeah I understand that part but I was trying to get clarification on your last post. You said you give them the ruby bath before adding to the display tank. Are you saying you give a ruby bath and then just straight to the display tank, or ruby bath and then into the QT before they go in to the display tank?

vetteguy53081 · Mar 16, 2023

smalltownuser said:
Yeah I understand that part but I was trying to get clarification on your last post. You said you give them the ruby bath before adding to the display tank. Are you saying you give a ruby bath and then just straight to the display tank, or ruby bath and then into the QT before they go in to the display tank?

Bath, then quarantine

vetteguy53081 · Mar 16, 2023

smalltownuser said:
Ok thank you.

Can you tell me how I can prevent this in the future? I followed every single step from that 30 part series on BRStv, got two clowns from the same tank at the same time, introduced them in to the water with the drip method over the course of about 30 minutes, made sure salinity in water was good, feed them that Chroma Boost food once in the morning and once at night, because I heard juveniles should eat twice per day. Every feeding they jumped right at the food. They have never been shy with food, even now while sick still goes right for the food. I made sure to always top of with fresh water as it evaporated. Water temp is always 79-80 degrees, I scrub the glass every other day, and did a roughly 30% water change on Sunday(one week after they were in the tank). I am still going through the first cycle with just the clowns in there to help the cycle. I put live sand and live rock in the tank when I set it up, and I have no other fish or invertebrates and there is zero coral in the tank yet, so its literally just the sand, rock and 2 clowns. When I first set up the tank I added a bottle of dr tims live bacteria, and when I did my water change, I added the seachem prime to the new water going in, to mix it in that before adding it to the display tank and followed the directions but other than that I havent put any other chemicals in the tank. Everything seemed fine until last night when I came home and saw the spots on the fish. I check them every single day. When I feed them, or clean the glass, or even just when I want to go look at them, I will spend at least 10 minutes a day watching them(usually more) and there have been no signs of any issue until last night. I have been feeling so proud of myself for following all these steps but apparently I missed something

You mentioned adding seachem prime to the water.
Are you using RO water or tap water from the faucet?

smalltownuser · Mar 16, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Bath, then quarantine

Got it. Thank you so much for all the help!

smalltownuser · Mar 16, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
You mentioned adding seachem prime to the water.
Are you using RO water or tap water from the faucet?

Oh come on, I hope I'm not that much of a rookie lol. I bought the RODI water making system. Pure clean fresh water, with the pro reef salt, mixing to 35% or PPM salinity for salt water. I bought the salinity checker and I know its supposed to be 32-35 but Im not sure if that measurement is PPM or percentage, I just know the number I need to get to. The salt water that the clowns are in at the moment though is about 40%. My RODI system didnt arrive on time so I had to buy salt water from my LFS(not the one that I bought the clowns from, its a smaller one that has better prices, and is privately owned and the owner is who you talk to. I bought the clowns from a larger LFS that is more of just a retail store, not as much personal tough) so I have their salt water in the aquarium right now, and when I did my first water change, I used the same water I got from the LFS to make it the exact water they were already in. I didnt want to stress the fish doing a 30% water change with different water. I have a big batch of 35ppm salt water that I made myself that I was going to start using on my 10% water changes.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 16, 2023

smalltownuser said:
Oh come on, I hope I'm not that much of a rookie lol. I bought the RODI water making system. Pure clean fresh water, with the pro reef salt, mixing to 35% or PPM salinity for salt water. I bought the salinity checker and I know its supposed to be 32-35 but Im not sure if that measurement is PPM or percentage, I just know the number I need to get to. The salt water that the clowns are in at the moment though is about 40%. My RODI system didnt arrive on time so I had to buy salt water from my LFS(not the one that I bought the clowns from, its a smaller one that has better prices, and is privately owned and the owner is who you talk to. I bought the clowns from a larger LFS that is more of just a retail store, not as much personal tough) so I have their salt water in the aquarium right now, and when I did my first water change, I used the same water I got from the LFS to make it the exact water they were already in. I didnt want to stress the fish doing a 30% water change with different water. I have a big batch of 35ppm salt water that I made myself that I was going to start using on my 10% water changes.

Ok- Typically Prime is added to tap water and honestly while you can add to RO- Not necessary unless your TDS is elevated

smalltownuser · Mar 16, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Ok- Typically Prime is added to tap water and honestly while you can add to RO- Not necessary unless your TDS is elevated

So the guide I was following said to always use RODI water, for fresh or salt water additions/changes. I figure better safe than sorry. I also saw that adding the prime to the water helps the ammonia bind and not get lost, and also makes the nitrite and ammonia non toxic. I noticed it had been taking a while for the ammonia to go down, so I added it to make it better for the fish. I wasnt worried about the new water going in as much as I was worried about the cycle for the fish

vetteguy53081 · Mar 16, 2023

smalltownuser said:
So the guide I was following said to always use RODI water, for fresh or salt water additions/changes. I figure better safe than sorry. I also saw that adding the prime to the water helps the ammonia bind and not get lost, and also makes the nitrite and ammonia non toxic. I noticed it had been taking a while for the ammonia to go down, so I added it to make it better for the fish. I wasnt worried about the new water going in as much as I was worried about the cycle for the fish

Prime will not lower ammonia but rather chlorine and chloramines and I agree with binding but water change is almost certain even with prime as when binded has to go somewhere. If youre changing water and still have high ammonia, I would test purchased water and /or your RODI water and depending on kit may have false readings.

smalltownuser · Mar 16, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Ok- Typically Prime is added to tap water and honestly while you can add to RO- Not necessary unless your TDS is elevated

vetteguy53081 said:
Prime will not lower ammonia but rather chlorine and chloramines and I agree with binding but water change is almost certain even with prime as when binded has to go somewhere. If youre changing water and still have high ammonia, I would test purchased water and /or your RODI water and depending on kit may have false readings.

The kit is the API reef master kit, I got nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, phosphorous, ph, and calcium tests in it. I dont have "high" ammonia. Its under .5, verging on .25 but it just hasnt changed much. I was actually going to add more dr tims bacteria this weekend, before I knew the fish were sick because I saw that sometimes there isnt enough bacteria in the tank to fight all the ammonia in the tank, so I was going to put more in since it specifically says you cant use too much.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 16, 2023

smalltownuser said:
The kit is the API reef master kit, I got nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, phosphorous, ph, and calcium tests in it. I dont have "high" ammonia. Its under .5, verging on .25 but it just hasnt changed much. I was actually going to add more dr tims bacteria this weekend, before I knew the fish were sick because I saw that sometimes there isnt enough bacteria in the tank to fight all the ammonia in the tank, so I was going to put more in since it specifically says you cant use too much.

Hate to say but these kits are notorious for false readings and ammonia may be higher than you are seeing. I generally recommend in which many find are false readings to take a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at

smalltownuser · Mar 16, 2023

vetteguy53081 said:
Hate to say but these kits are notorious for false readings and ammonia may be higher than you are seeing. I generally recommend in which many find are false readings to take a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at

So what kit/test would you recommend? I cant take water samples in every time I need to test the water, so I would like to get the "good" one for myself. If it is digital then all the better. I am color blind so these tests are a son of a b**** for me. I have to get them ready, and then have my wife check the colors

vetteguy53081 · Mar 16, 2023

smalltownuser said:
So what kit/test would you recommend? I cant take water samples in every time I need to test the water, so I would like to get the "good" one for myself. If it is digital then all the better. I am color blind so these tests are a son of a b**** for me. I have to get them ready, and then have my wife check the colors

Hanna and salifert are user friendly and dependable