Sick clownfish?

[Jazzyspazzy143]

Hello everyone. I’m new to the saltwater fish world and I have this clownfish who I think might be sick. He eats great and and can be very playful with my other clownfish but over the past couple of days I’ve noticed that he tends to stay close to the bottom of the tank gasping for air and looks more pale than normal. He still plays with the other clownfish only he looks more like he’s trying to hide from her than play. I checked my water parameters and everything says it’s good. I’ve googled what it could be but there are so many different possibilities I’m not sure what it is or how to even try to treat him, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Clownfish don't "play" in the sense that we mean it...but they do fight for dominance. I see a little nick out of the black clown's dorsal, nothing serious, but it tells me they may be going through some issues.

The big issue is the rapid breathing, that can indicate gill parasites or water quality issues. What is your ammonia level testing at? What elase is in the tank other than the second clownfish?

Jay

 

[Jazzyspazzy143]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Clownfish don't "play" in the sense that we mean it...but they do fight for dominance. I see a little nick out of the black clown's dorsal, nothing serious, but it tells me they may be going through some issues.

The big issue is the rapid breathing, that can indicate gill parasites or water quality issues. What is your ammonia level testing at? What elase is in the tank other than the second clownfish?

Jay

Ooh I didn’t know that thank you! The ammonia is coming up 0 when I tested it early today. I have the 2 clownfish a chromis and a Cardinalfish along with 2 yellow dwarf crabs and a Halloween crab.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So - one other thing I forgot to check: does the tank have good aeration? A protein skimmer, air stone or a water pump that breaks the surface tension? Anything that makes bubbles?

If aeration is good and the ammonia is zero, that points more to a disease. The trouble is going to be if this is a gill parasite, the effective treatment (copper) can’t be done with invertebrates in the same tank, so I’m not really sure how to advise you to proceed.

Jay

 

[Jazzyspazzy143]

I do have an air stone but none of those other things. I have a qt tank that I just moved him over to. I did a freshwater bath and moved him over to the qt tank so I can do whatever he needs done. If it is a gill infection should I just look for some medicine with copper in it? Again thank you so much for your help!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I do have an air stone but none of those other things. I have a qt tank that I just moved him over to. I did a freshwater bath and moved him over to the qt tank so I can do whatever he needs done. If it is a gill infection should I just look for some medicine with copper in it? Again thank you so much for your help!

Copper in a treatment tank would be the way I would go, but please understand this is by no means a confirmed diagnosis...
Jay

 

[Jazzyspazzy143]

I understand. Thank you for your help. I’ll try it out and see if it helps.