New clowns in qt, one is laying down occasionally

[rd62rdstr]

I have a new pair of clowns in qt. Picked them up yesterday from LFS. They are swimming and eating berry well. One of them however will occasionally lay on his side. Tank at 78, salinity 1.025, ph 8.0. Tanks been up 24 hours so there isn’t really any ammo, nitrites or nitrates yet. Seeded media in the filter. Running a bubbler to oxygenate water. Look healthy and eating well.

 

[Rmckoy]

Have you tested ammonia ?
With 2 fish in a tank of water there has to be ammonia
Whether it’s toxic ammonia which they produce or nitrate which is the end result of nitrogen cycle .
have you added anything to the qt besides the fish and water ?

nitrifying bacteria , anything ?

 

[Sean Clark]

Do you know what the LFS water's salinity was? Could be osmotic shock.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I would add some hiding places for them. I use little bits of PVC pipe strung together on a bit of nylon cord. It may be the fish is just uncomfortable in a totally bare tank.

Keep a REAL close eye on the ammonia, it can spike pretty quickly in a bare tank, what sort of bio filter do you have? Did you use solid seed material?

I think I can see some issue with the banded clowns tail fin - like some diffuse mucus?

Are you going to run them through a quarantine cycle? Here is a link to our current process:

Current Quarantine Protocol

2024 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed, proactive quarantine process can effectively eliminate these...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[rd62rdstr]

So I use this qt tank with all my incoming fish. I change out the water and clean the filter in between them. If a fish is healthy I keep the same filter media and all has worked well. If a fish shows to be sick or dies I completely disinfect everything and start from new. Last couple of fish did well with no issues and are very healthy. Water was changed, filter media rinsed in old tank water. Ammo shows 0, nitrites 0 and I just measured nitrates at .8 using hanna checkers. I added yesterday first round of API general cure. I see no spots, patches, discoloration. I just rechecked the banded one up close with a bright light, no mucus or anything on him. They are eating very well. I first noticed him doing this out of the bag when I was preparing to acclimate them. Did a 20 minute acclimation adding a bit of water every 5 min while floating them in an open hang on container.

 

[rd62rdstr]

I am supposed to add second dose of general cure tomorrow. Although I don’t see any ich or velvet, I am wondering if it’d be better to start the copper power instead. Looking for suggestions. Thank you

 

[rd62rdstr]

Do you know what the LFS water's salinity was? Could be osmotic shock.

I just called LFS to inquire, he confirmed they run at 1.025 as well. He said their temp is 76 but after floating and acclimating I don’t think temp would be the issue. He reports previous tank mates at his place are fine.

 

[Sean Clark]

I just called LFS to inquire, he confirmed they run at 1.025 as well. He said their temp is 76 but after floating and acclimating I don’t think temp would be the issue. He reports previous tank mates at his place are fine.

I would go with trust but verify here. Stop by the LFS and confirm the salinity in the system the fish came out of. Lots of them run very low salinity for various reasons. Their display tank's might run at 1.025 while their stock tanks run lower.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a new pair of clowns in qt. Picked them up yesterday from LFS. They are swimming and eating berry well. One of them however will occasionally lay on his side. Tank at 78, salinity 1.025, ph 8.0. Tanks been up 24 hours so there isn’t really any ammo, nitrites or nitrates yet. Seeded media in the filter. Running a bubbler to oxygenate water. Look healthy and eating well.

how were fish acclimated and for how long?
The fish does not look overly distressed and may be more spunky in the morning.
How is breathing - Normal or rapid (could not tell in video)
I would lower lights a little and allow them to acclimate to the tank

 

[rd62rdstr]

how were fish acclimated and for how long?
The fish does not look overly distressed and may be more spunky in the morning.
How is breathing - Normal or rapid (could not tell in video)
I would lower lights a little and allow them to acclimate to the tank

I transferred bag contents in to a hang on little plastic container like they use at the LFS’s. Floated for 20 minutes while adding a little water from the tank every 5 minutes. Afterwards netted out and placed in tank and disposed of water in container. They’ve been in the tank 24 hours now, happily swim around and eat. This fish just lays down a bit then swims around again. I have a pair of maroon lightnings in another tank but have never seen them lay around unless in their anemones.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I transferred bag contents in to a hang on little plastic container like they use at the LFS’s. Floated for 20 minutes while adding a little water from the tank every 5 minutes. Afterwards netted out and placed in tank and disposed of water in container. They’ve been in the tank 24 hours now, happily swim around and eat. This fish just lays down a bit then swims around again. I have a pair of maroon lightnings in another tank but have never seen them lay around unless in their anemones.

I believe it will perk up in the morning. Acclimation could be longeer also assuring the container salinity matches that of the tank

 

[rd62rdstr]

Yeah gut feeling is he’ll be ok. Just didn’t want to take it for granted if there’s something I’m missing or have forgotten. Thanks!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I just called LFS to inquire, he confirmed they run at 1.025 as well. He said their temp is 76 but after floating and acclimating I don’t think temp would be the issue. He reports previous tank mates at his place are fine.

Osmotic shock is an acute problem. I don’t think that is the issue here based on your report the fish were feeding well. If they were in acclimation shock, they wouldn’t be feeding.
Jay

 

[rd62rdstr]

Ran some API Gen Cure and now into their second day in copper. White banded clown is now swimming happily and acting normal. Not sure what it was but I appreciate the help and hope this helps someone going forward.