New to the forum Help...API General questions...sick clowns

[clhardy5]

Hi! This is my first post .

I have a 32 gallon bio cube currently stocked with 2 clowns, 1 fire shrimp, cuc, 3 zoas and a BTA. Last week I lost a Bangai cardinal, and a fire fish....which was my first sign of trouble.

The last 3 days, my clowns have refused to eat and have been hiding under a rock, and appear to be breathing rapidly. I did a 15% water change yesterday - and they perked up a little...but still refuse to eat. I tried soaking food in garlic (which the shrimp LOVED) but they still wouldn't even try to eat it. I also added an air stone yesterday to help my little clowns breath.

I saw white (thick) poop briefly in my female last night just before I went to bed. Other than the poop....the clowns look normal - no spots...or damaged fins. Fire shrimp, BTA and zoas are still looking great.

So....Doing a search on the internets - it may be my fish have parasites??? I do not have a QT tank, so I'm wondering if I could/should dose the tank with API general?

What else could I try?

 

[dwest]

Welcome to r2r!

Honestly, if it were me, I would not put and chemicals in your display. I would get a quarantine tank. I will link a quarantine article and how I now pretreat all my fish. It has been a game changer for me.

How to Quarantine

How to Quarantine The purpose of this article is to present an argument for quarantining saltwater fish, and then show the reader how to setup a Quarantine Tank (QT) and discuss quarantine protocols. Why quarantine? Setting up a QT does not...

www.reef2reef.com

My Current QT Process

UPDATE, 10/9/22: For those looking for quarantine information, our current process is kept updated on the first page of this thread (post any questions at the end of the thread). https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/ Thanks, Jay Hemdal I am frequently...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Big G]

The rapid breathing is a concern. Could be parasites within the gills or water quality issues like ammonia build up.
Setting up a small, temporary QT is a solid investment in the health of your fish as @dwest posted above.
It doesn't have to be fancy: tank (10 gal. is good), heater, HOB Filter, bubble filter, ammonia alert badge and a small powerhead.

 

[clhardy5]

Update....May have panicked too soon....

Tested Ammonia again....still at zero
Clowns seem to be a bit more active than they were yesterday. Larger clown still has stringy poop...I've attached a video below - I think shows the stringy poop.

The better news is that when I accidentally tapped the lit, they got excited and started begging for food. I dropped a couple of pellets in and they ate them.

I still think they are breathing rapidly. I uploaded this to YouTube: Clown Fish breathing fast? Are they still breathing fast in your opinion? Ps... they like to host by the back wall....

On another note.....I've wanted them to host the anemone since I put it in the tank....this morning, one of them was - but the anemone wasn't having it....and moved under the rock - now they are back to hosting the back wall. Are some anemones anti clown hosting? My daughter has this same variety in her 75 gallon, and her clowns do just fine with it?
:

 

[Big G]

Clowns look fine. The bit of white poo just needs watching. Usually the "string" is real long. White and stringy can get our attention, but we also look for more symptoms like eating like crazy but the fish's stomach is sunken in too.