Juvenile Clownfish Problem

[Tidepowder]

Hello, I need assistance

My tank had just finished cycling, parameters are all good. So I added my first fish.
3 juvenile ocellaris Clownfish (I ordered medium and large originally, but the online fish store shipped me these instead) ,
a Yellow Watchman goby and
a Pistol shrimp.
They're all getting along well.

My tank is 50 gallons with a 20 gallon sump. No fancy gadgets, just medias.

After a few days, one of my clownfish developed a white spot on both of his dorsal fins. The fish seems happy, eating plenty of food.

Am I dealing with ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) ?
What should I do?

Your assistance will be highly appreciated

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Good morning and Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Your pictures are not clear or close enough for me to really see what's going on. A short video of the fish would help. Sometimes, linking the video to Youtube is easiest. We also need water quality information. This post explains all that:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[Cell]

3 clowns is a recipe for failure. Eventually 2 will pair up and there is a good chance they will kill the 3rd.

 

[Tidepowder]

Good morning and Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Your pictures are not clear or close enough for me to really see what's going on. A short video of the fish would help. Sometimes, linking the video to Youtube is easiest. We also need water quality information. This post explains all that:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

Hello Jay, sorry for the late update. I already moved them to another tank, since they are too small for my 50 gallon tank, they look like bugs floating around. I replaced them with a larger pair.

The second white dot disappeared, while the first hasn't moved and is now slowly disappearing.

I have a new problem with my blue tang. I'll give the details when you reply. Thank you.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello Jay, sorry for the late update. I already moved them to another tank, since they are too small for my 50 gallon tank, they look like bugs floating around. I replaced them with a larger pair.

The second white dot disappeared, while the first hasn't moved and is now slowly disappearing.

I have a new problem with my blue tang. I'll give the details when you reply. Thank you.

Can you post pics/video of the blue tang?
Jay

 

[Tidepowder]

I recently acquired a blue tang, just about a week ago. Initially, it appeared a bit stressed, staying in one corner and repeatedly swimming up and down. On the second day, it developed white spots around its mouth and fins, but those disappeared completely by the following day. It seemed quite active and healthy after that.

However, yesterday brought a sudden change. The tang started displaying some lethargy, spending a lot of time resting under the rocks and sleeping. I also noticed that it's only using one of its gills to breathe, while the other remains tightly shut. Interestingly, the rabbitfish seem to be waking it up, prompting short bursts of swimming before it goes back to resting. Currently, it doesn't show any interest in food.

He also had these beard-like filaments around it's chin. I'm thinking these are skin scrapes from scratching.

 

[Tidepowder]

Can you post pics/video of the blue tang?
Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

The tang is pretty far off in the videos. It looks skinny though. What are you feeding it and how often? The white line down its side and around the face looks like head and lateral line erosion.
Jay

 

[Tidepowder]

I'll try to get better photos. He keeps swimming at the back of the tank.

What are the symptoms and causes of hlle? I think my camera just makes his colors different. His mouth is pale white, it didn't look like that when I got him.

I feed him ocean nutrition flakes and seaweed extreme 2-3x a day. But he hasn't been eating for two days now.
At first I thought he's just constipated, because his belly looked bloated. And keeps rubbing it on the rocks.

Is it possible that the rabbitfish is bullying him and got stressed?

How's his swimming, does it look weak?

What steps should I take to treat his condition?

Thank you

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I'll try to get better photos. He keeps swimming at the back of the tank.

What are the symptoms and causes of hlle? I think my camera just makes his colors different. His mouth is pale white, it didn't look like that when I got him.

I feed him ocean nutrition flakes and seaweed extreme 2-3x a day. But he hasn't been eating for two days now.
At first I thought he's just constipated, because his belly looked bloated. And keeps rubbing it on the rocks.

Is it possible that the rabbitfish is bullying him and got stressed?

How's his swimming, does it look weak?

What steps should I take to treat his condition?

Thank you

Not eating for two days is a serious symptom in a small tang like this. Trouble is, I don't have enough to go on to make a good diagnosis as to what the problem might be. Is it breathing faster than the rabbit fish?

The rabbitfish could be bullying it, but you would see ripped fins and other signs of that, and it would not cause the fish to suddenly stop feeding.

HLLE is complicated, and it is not the cause of the other symptoms. Here is an article I wrote about it for future reference:

Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE)

This article discusses studies performed regarding head and lateral line erosion in captive fishes. Specifically, carbon use and nutrition as they relate to this syndrome.

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[Tidepowder]

Not eating for two days is a serious symptom in a small tang like this. Trouble is, I don't have enough to go on to make a good diagnosis as to what the problem might be. Is it breathing faster than the rabbit fish?

The rabbitfish could be bullying it, but you would see ripped fins and other signs of that, and it would not cause the fish to suddenly stop feeding.

HLLE is complicated, and it is not the cause of the other symptoms. Here is an article I wrote about it for future reference:

Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE)

This article discusses studies performed regarding head and lateral line erosion in captive fishes. Specifically, carbon use and nutrition as they relate to this syndrome.

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

Yes, it's breathing faster than the rabbitfish.

I also asked other groups on what they think about the situation. Sir Bob Miller (Humblefish) thinks that I should isolate the tang, to get it away from the foxface.

What I've done for now is remove the carbon, as your study stated, and temporarily put the foxface in my sump.

What other steps should I take to ensure the my tangs well-being? It's currently laying down in the sand. I've just turned the lights off.

Thank you

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yes, it's breathing faster than the rabbitfish.

I also asked other groups on what they think about the situation. Sir Bob Miller (Humblefish) thinks that I should isolate the tang, to get it away from the foxface.

What I've done for now is remove the carbon, as your study stated, and temporarily put the foxface in my sump.

What other steps should I take to ensure the my tangs well-being? It's currently laying down in the sand. I've just turned the lights off.

Thank you

Isolate it if you think the foxface is going after the tang, otherwise, it would be pointless do do that as both fish have now been exposed to the same potential disease issues. Trouble is, I don't have any clues here to try and diagnose if it is a disease issue or not.

Jay

 

[Tidepowder]

Isolate it if you think the foxface is going after the tang, otherwise, it would be pointless do do that as both fish have now been exposed to the same potential disease issues. Trouble is, I don't have any clues here to try and diagnose if it is a disease issue or not.

Jay

With a heavy heart, I share the news that my blue tang has recently passed away.

 

[Birdman Broham]

Hello, I need assistance

My tank had just finished cycling, parameters are all good. So I added my first fish.
3 juvenile ocellaris Clownfish (I ordered medium and large originally, but the online fish store shipped me these instead) ,
a Yellow Watchman goby and
a Pistol shrimp.
They're all getting along well.

My tank is 50 gallons with a 20 gallon sump. No fancy gadgets, just medias.

After a few days, one of my clownfish developed a white spot on both of his dorsal fins. The fish seems happy, eating plenty of food.

Am I dealing with ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) ?
What should I do?

Your assistance will be highly appreciated

Some closer photos of the spots would be great, also 3 clowns are not idea for a 50 gallon. 2 may eventually pair up potentially causing them to kill the 3rd one.

 

[Tidepowder]

Isolate it if you think the foxface is going after the tang, otherwise, it would be pointless do do that as both fish have now been exposed to the same potential disease issues. Trouble is, I don't have any clues here to try and diagnose if it is a disease issue or not.

Jay

Hello again, the fish store agreed to replace the tang. Even though I didn't think it was their fault that the it died.

But after 4 days the tang suddenly died. No signs of disease. No scratching and absolutely no white spots.

When the tang arrived, I acclimated it slowly from 1.017 to 1.022. It took about an hour. He was still active while acclimating. The lights were off before I put him to minimize stress.

For 2 days he swam up and down a corner. On the next day, he swimmed actively throughout the tank and responded very well to feeding.

On his last day, I noticed that he was breathing fast and heavily. And his mouth was slightly opened. After a few hours, he suddenly swam very listlessly. He was so weak. Putting himself to crevices and getting sucked into the overflow.

What could be the problem, there were no bullies, and I even did a water change before it arrived. All the other fish and inverts are fine

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello again, the fish store agreed to replace the tang. Even though I didn't think it was their fault that the it died.

But after 4 days the tang suddenly died. No signs of disease. No scratching and absolutely no white spots.

When the tang arrived, I acclimated it slowly from 1.017 to 1.022. It took about an hour. He was still active while acclimating. The lights were off before I put him to minimize stress.

For 2 days he swam up and down a corner. On the next day, he swimmed actively throughout the tank and responded very well to feeding.

On his last day, I noticed that he was breathing fast and heavily. And his mouth was slightly opened. After a few hours, he suddenly swam very listlessly. He was so weak. Putting himself to crevices and getting sucked into the overflow.

What could be the problem, there were no bullies, and I even did a water change before it arrived. All the other fish and inverts are fine

That it did well at first in your tank tends to rule out any acute acclimation issue caused by the rise in specific gravity from 1.017 to 1.022.
The rapid breathing and listlessness has all the hallmark of a gill disease like velvet, but the foxface in the tank with is still not affected, right?
That just doesn’t leave much to go on here….
Jay