Sick Clowns

Miracle Farm · Jul 25, 2013

Ive been doing lots of reading. About my clowns.
I have had my tank running for a month. Biocube 29g.
I used live rock and live sand to cycle the tank. I've had hermit crabs in the tank for two weeks. So far so good.
5 days ago I added 2 clown fish, (black clown and your common orange and whit clown). Also added a pajama cardinal.
Last night notice a whit film on the clowns. I started my research.
All water levels are good. Salinity is Good temp is good.
This morning orange clown was not moving. Sitting on the bottom bearly breathing. Like not getting enough air. I adjusted the pump inlet to create more movement on top of the water. To give more air bubbles. I took both clowns out and dipped them in fresh water.
Both lost color. I also lowered my salinity to .022. Was at .025
I also found 2 dead crabs. Ammonia is still zero. It's been 4 hours. Black clown looks to be breathing hard. Orange seems normal. All color has returned.

When I first got the tank I was running lights about 10 hours. 3 days ago I changed the lights to 8 hours and also cut down on the natural light coming from windows. Red or maroon algae is growing but seems to have slowed. Same with small patch of cactus algae.
Also, my protein skimmer just started working correctly.
So, what do you think.

glb · Jul 25, 2013

Hi there! Glad to see you joined the forum. (This is your cousin btw). I still can't figure out what's going on. Hopefully someone will be able to add to the discussion.

reefwatcher · Jul 25, 2013

Salinity is to low and might not have let your tank cycle long enough.

A fool knows you can't touch the stars, but a wise man still reaches.

Trex · Jul 25, 2013

Did you QT the clowns?

The white film and the heavy breathing sounds like it could be brook.

Miracle Farm · Jul 25, 2013

Did not know I needed to Qt the clowns.
The orange clown is doing well right now. Black clown still breathing hard.

glb · Jul 25, 2013

There's only three fish in the tank and no coral, so is a quarantine necessary? Just curious.

reefwatcher · Jul 25, 2013

Yes highly require a qt for everything new to a tank.

A fool knows you can't touch the stars, but a wise man still reaches.

Trex · Jul 25, 2013

glb said:
There's only three fish in the tank and no coral, so is a quarantine necessary? Just curious.

Yes, one doesn't know what (( if any )) diseases that the fish from the LFS may be infected with --- treatments for some can cause serious issues for the bacteria on/in the rocks. Plus, certain ones can (( copper comes to mind )) be next to impossible to fully remove from a tank, and would prevent keeping of most inverts in the future.

reefwatcher · Jul 25, 2013

Trex said:
Yes, one doesn't know what (( if any )) diseases that the fish from the LFS may be infected with --- treatments for some can cause serious issues for the bacteria on/in the rocks. Plus, certain ones can (( copper comes to mind )) be next to impossible to fully remove from a tank, and would prevent keeping of most inverts in the future.

Good post

A fool knows you can't touch the stars, but a wise man still reaches.

Mike&Terry · Jul 25, 2013

From your description (and without pics to verify) it sounds like your fish may be infected with Brooklynella. A freshwater bath can give the fish some relief, but will not cure the infection. You need to move the fish to a hospital/QT tank and treat with formalin. You will also want to use an air stone while treating with formalin.

Here's a link to a good article on treatment:

Brooklynellosis