New clownfish distressed

[Djmac]

Hi all,
I'm kinda a beginner with reefing, have had my tank for a few months now and have successfully been keeping some easy corals and a few fish. I got a pair of clownfish a few days ago, initially they were doing very well, quite active but over last 12-24hour period they have slowed considerably. The larger one seems to be struggling more than the male.

Both are breathing harder than their tankmates. I've added an airstone to help increase oxygen but I'm not sure if I should do anything else.

They also appear to have some small white spots on them which maybe Ich?

Nitrates are low/zero (between 0-1). Phosphates are low. Ph is 8.3. Salinity is 1.027.

djmac's My Aquarium

djmac's saltwater aquarium: My Aquarium. 902 days old. 243 Liters. AquaOne Minireef 215.

www.aquaticlog.com

I was reading on another thread regarding aclimation that salinity change can be a problem. I hadnt checked the salinity of the water that they came in, but I still had it around (lucky for me that I didnt clean up , and it was around 1.024. Could the jump in salinity from LFS to DT like this cause them distress? (Also its likely the LFS salinity was lower than 1.024 because the water I tested was after I drip acclimated them).

Any suggestions?

NB its also worth noting I got a cleaner wrasse from the same shop and he is doing great!

 

[Sebastiancrab]

#fishmedic

Need pictures taken in white light. Be prepared to set up hospital tank. I would lower salinity to 1.025 or 1.026. What medicines do you have? You may have velvet but need to see pictures. If so, meds will need to be administered asap.

 

[Djmac]

Its a bit hard to get a photo of them, hopefully video is ok. Breathing seems a little better after adding airstone in sump.

There was a bit of vertical swimming earlier today which I only have under blue light.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Have you checked ammonia?

 

[Djmac]

I got into contact with fish shop over facebook and it looks like they are running their fish only tanks at 1.020. (I am double checking its not a typo).

Should I look at dropping the salinity? How slowly should I aim to do it? Is there a risk to the other livestock? I dont have a quarantine tank but might be able to pull something together... (is doign this without cycling it a risk)?

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Hard to tell from picture. It looks a bit like ich but is there some mucus too? If so, it's probably broolynella.

 

[Djmac]

Have you checked ammonia?

Not recently, but I havent had any last check (and phosphates/nitrates are very low, I was hoping to increase by adding more livestock). I'll check now, I only have API test kit for ammonia.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

API will always show .025. Need better test kit.

 

[Djmac]

Do you think the salinity change from 1.020 (LFS) to 1.027 (my tank) could be the cause?

 

[Sebastiancrab]

I am convinced you have a parasite. Can you get hold of Rally Pro? You need an instant bacteria starter and media for your hospital tank. Also, something for them to hide in like PVC pipe.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

It's late tonight, I am pretty sure Rally Pro can be used in your DT. I prefer hospital tank because it irritated my corals.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Suggest you also order Copper Power and Prazipro. I keep all these in my medicine cabinet.

 

[Djmac]

I tested ammonia on the API test kit and it came back at 0. I've also lowered the salinity over a few hours to 1.025. Hestitant to go lower than that without advice.

I do have some generic praziquantel tablets but that is it on the medication front. There are no marine LFS in my area so I'm unable to get anything quickly.

The fish do seem a little better, but still labouring a bit. The male was on the sand for a brief period but is up and about again.

 

[Sharkbait19]

You mentioned white spots - that would be an indicator of a parasite. With the symptoms brook is a possibility. A qt tank would be ideal to properly eradicate brook.
I really wouldn’t be looking at acclimation at this point, especially with clowns who are one of the tougher species. It is a possibility, but I am leaning towards brook as well.
I can only see the one pic on my end, could you try to get some more on white light?

 

[threebuoys]

The salinity issue likely added unnecessary stress to the fish when you got them and could have weakened their immune system, but as @Sharkbait19 said that isn't the issue at this point.

Does the fish have considerable mucus and slime? Those are indicators for brook while the white spots I see in the one photo are indicators for ich. Problem is the treatment differs for these two parasites. Ich requires copper treatment while brook is best treated with formalin.

Better picture with white light will make diagnosis easier. Either treatment will require a qt for all fish and a fallow period for dt.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

If you think you need formalin and can't get it, or are not sure whether you have ich or brooklynella, I would order Rally Pro. It should treat all parasites. It can also be used as a dip which gives the fish a good low stress relief. You would still need to do the long term treatment.

 

[Djmac]

I've discovered its very difficult to get good pics of the fish with a camera . There was a bit of suspended food in the water column when I took these (I fed them frozen mysis but they werent interested in it, the other fish cleaned it up).

If you look in the two photos on the female you can see the small white spots. The male had them as well but not as visible now.

Is it likely that they had Ich but the stress of transport and tank move has caused it to flare up?

I cant see much (or any) mucus or slime on them at all, the white spots are very distinct on the female.

 

[threebuoys]

I think ich is likely. You will need to qt and treat with copper per the instructions in the link below.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Definitely looks like ich in these pics. I agree with the above treatment.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Agree with others; it is ich and best to treat with copper and take your tank fallow.