Swim bladder or something else

[slipknotgrrl83]

My male clownfish was hovering in one spot on bottom of tank for months which I figured he just liked the spot but now the past few weeks he's near the top swimming vertical with head up and sometimes tail up as well as sideways. He's not eating either. Got him and the female 4 years ago. Any advice?

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

My male clownfish was hovering in one spot on bottom of tank for months which I figured he just liked the spot but now the past few weeks he's near the top swimming vertical with head up and sometimes tail up as well as sideways. He's not eating either. Got him and the female 4 years ago. Any advice?

 

[Maritimer]

The video is saying it's "unavailable", so not a lot to go on, but that swimming style doesn't sound good - and not eating is even less good.

Any new additions to the tank in the last few weeks? (Anything wet, not just fish . . . )

Any increased aggression from the female?

What's your water looking like? Ammonia, temperature, salinity?

~Bruce

 

[melypr1985]

What bruce said ^^^ lol

 

[ngoodermuth]

Any white stringy poop?

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

I fixed the video, should work. I added some snails and an algae reactor but he was like that before I added them. No stringy poop or any visible markings

Nitrate 40 (been battling it forever and slowly dropping)
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Ph 8.1 to 8.2
Sg 1.025
Ca 460
Mag 1350
Alk 9
Phosphates .003
Temp 78.7 to 79.5 via apex

Female has been ignoring him

 

[Maritimer]

Video works, yay! His breathing seems very rapid to me, and his gills a bit "puffy", for lack of a better term ... Have these guys ever been treated for flukes?

~Bruce

 

[4FordFamily]

Clowns behave very strangely-- towards the end of the video he turns and controls his body just fine so I think this is behavioral more than an ailment but martiner brings up a good question.

Irritation from flukes could make the fish behave strangely.

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

Video works, yay! His breathing seems very rapid to me, and his gills a bit "puffy", for lack of a better term ... Have these guys ever been treated for flukes?

~Bruce

I have not, female is perfectly fine. Should I QT? And what is the treatment?

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

Clowns behave very strangely-- towards the end of the video he turns and controls his body just fine so I think this is behavioral more than an ailment but martiner brings up a good question.

Irrigation from flukes could make the fish behave strangely.

Yeah he is very strange lol. Sometimes at night when lights are off he appears much better. Breathing doesn't appear rapid to me atleast...

 

[4FordFamily]

Yeah he is very strange lol. Sometimes at night when lights are off he appears much better. Breathing doesn't appear rapid to me atleast...

Should be slower and a little less labored, I would say. Maybe post another video? May have been temporary.

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

Should be slower and a little less labored, I would say. Maybe post another video? May have been temporary.

Will get another when I get home

 

[ourcoralreef]

Agreed doesn’t look like swimbladder problems looks like he can control himself just fine

It’s possible the female is dominating him that’s usually the main reason a clownfish would be uptop (besides food)
Do you see any aggression between the male and female

For flukes i would do a fresh water dip to see if anything falls off to confirm flukes
clownfish do very well in freshwater dips

 

[Maritimer]

A freshwater dip can confirm the presence of flukes if they're there. Melypr1985 has produced an excellent instructional video: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/video-how-to-do-a-freshwater-dip.286639/#post-3487082

If treatment is required, Prazi-Pro is _mostly_ reef-safe, but not good for worms, such as tubeworms or Christmas tree worms.

~Bruce

 

[melypr1985]

He looks totally normal to me in behavior. The freshwater dip is minimally invasive and will confirm/rule out flukes, so it's not a bad idea to go ahead and do that just in case. But he does look like a normal weird clown to me.

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

He doesn't move that area accept at night when lights go off which he then moves down a bit to mid tank. He isn't eating, female has been "ignoring" him for 6 + months, do not see any aggression.

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

I will try the fw dip in the morning

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

No change after dip. No sign of flukes...

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

I'm wondering if it is the female just being a jerk to him

 

[Humblefish]

I'm wondering if it is the female just being a jerk to him

Can you move him into a different tank (even a QT or down in your sump)? To see if his behavior changes once he's away from her.