Male clown fish hurt bad

[ReefLab]

Got home and saw my male clown fish on the sand bred breathing hard and the female clown fish taking runs at him

They’ve been together for at least 2 years so not sure what happened...

I netted her and put her in a large acclimation box in the same tank. He is swimming around in a small area but keeps watching her and is not accepting food.

what is the best course of action?
i have a quarantine I can set up and cycled media in the sump ready to go if need be. I’d like to avoid that if possible

please any ideas? I want to be proactive to make sure his condition doesn’t get worse

 

[CMMorgan]

Set it up. Either she needs to go in time out (or sump jail) or he needs to go in the QT for medical observation. Either way.... I'd say that they just went through a Clown divorce.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

...they just went through a Clown divorce.

I always thought it would be much funnier than this.

 

[ReefLab]

Set it up. Either she needs to go in time out (or sump jail) or he needs to go in the QT for medical observation. Either way.... I'd say that they just went through a Clown divorce.

Thank you for the advice
My concern about separating them in different tanks (unless he needs treatment) is that reintroducing him or her will be difficult/impossible later on

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Thank you for the advice
My concern about separating them in different tanks (unless he needs treatment) is that reintroducing him or her will be difficult/impossible later on

Sounds like he will get his own nano. I had the same situation happen about 5 years ago (admittedly not as bad as this) Female clown decided to wreck the little guy. She lived in the sump for a few days while I got a hospital tank set up. Once my guy was healthy he went to a new IM 14 peninsula. He is now a she and is besties with a watchman goby.

 

[ReefLab]

Sounds like he will get his own nano. I had the same situation happen about 5 years ago (admittedly not as bad as this) Female clown decided to wreck the little guy. She lived in the sump for a few days while I got a hospital tank set up. Once my guy was healthy he went to a new IM 14 peninsula. He is now a she and is besties with a watchman goby.

Wow I hope that’s not what I’m going to have to do... don’t really want to keep two tanks

short term I’m keeping her in the box and trying to overfeed so maybe that will curb any aggression..
Really unsure what the right thing to do is

 

[dedragon]

the whitish color over the eye as well as the pale color of the fish is concerning, could be velvet or maybe brooklynella, best to qt just in case so it doesnt spread. Anything new added to the tank recently?

 

[ReefLab]

the whitish color over the eye as well as the pale color of the fish is concerning, could be velvet or maybe brooklynella, best to qt just in case so it doesnt spread. Anything new added to the tank recently?

I rigorously quarantine everything from fish to snails.
not saying it isn’t possible but Nothing new added in 6 months.
in person you can see all of those white marks look like bite marks and some loose scales

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

the whitish color over the eye as well as the pale color of the fish is concerning, could be velvet or maybe brooklynella, best to qt just in case so it doesnt spread. Anything new added to the tank recently?

I was thinking the same thing.....
Jay

 

[ReefLab]

I was thinking the same thing.....
Jay

Thank you for your input I really appreciate it
I put everything through a 45 day fallow and use copper to treat all fish...
haven’t added fish in a year at this point and haven’t added new coral for about 6 months..
I just feel it’s highly unlikely.

assuming that it’s not a parasite, what would you do?

 

[CMMorgan]

Assuming everyone is healthy on te other side of this.... I see two choices....
Two Tanks
New Home for One of Them

 

[KrisReef]

He is not the victim of a rough mating ritual but a vicious rejection by the mate. He wasn't up to par so I think if he lives he will not want to spend any more time with her.

 

[ReefLab]

Thanks everyone for the advice. He’s just hanging out in a corner but seems like he’ll pull through. I think I’ll keep them separated for 2 weeks, alternating who’s in the box and hopefully be able to reintroduce them..
If not, hopefully I can find some other way to make it work before turning a QT into a second tank..

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you for your input I really appreciate it
I put everything through a 45 day fallow and use copper to treat all fish...
haven’t added fish in a year at this point and haven’t added new coral for about 6 months..
I just feel it’s highly unlikely.

assuming that it’s not a parasite, what would you do?

Certainly separate the two fish. The rapid breathing troubles me - it can be a sign of a systemic infection. It sure looks grossly like a protozoan issue, but it could also be a secondary bacterial infection. The typical treatment for that would be to move the fish to a treatment tank and dose with a broad spectrum gram negative antibiotic such as Neoplex, furan2 or Maracyn 2.
Jay

 

[Sharkbait19]

I agree that this doesn’t look like it’s hurt, it sounds like brooklynella. Not sure how that got into your system, though...

You’ll need to act fast or both clowns, and any other fish, will die too.

 

[Aqua Man]

The rapid breathing troubles me

Could the cause of rapid breathing be from the fight?

Do fish need more oxygen like us when they are stressed from exercise?

what about the cloudy eye? Fighting cause this?

 

[iMi]

Could the cause of rapid breathing be from the fight?

Do fish need more oxygen like us when they are stressed from exercise?

what about the cloudy eye? Fighting cause this?

Injuries from fighting can easily become infected. The stress of the situation alone could also cause underlying problems to surface. Treating with an antibiotic should not be a problem and doing so proactively could help save the fish. I personally think he's just beat up and needs time to recover.

 

[Sharkbait19]

This still looks too much like brooklynella. Especially if the clowns have been together for this long, it seems unlikely (not impossible) that such a fight and injury would occur. Everything you described, and what the picture shows, seems like brooklynella, and not an injury. Including the cloudy eye, which is a common secondary infection for brook.

 

[Mikosreef]

Following along.

Any updates on how the clowns are doing. Definitely looks a bit like brooklynella. Hopefully it isnt given tank has no changes in 6 months.

 

[Mikosreef]

If its brook

5 minute freshwater dip in RO/DI water (try to match PH using baking soda, 5 gal water = 1 teaspoon baking soda... if you dont, thats ok as well)

Quarantine tank with newly mixed saltwater and good flow with SG of 1.01

I would treat both clowns and keep them separated in the QT tank