What's wrong with my clownfish/blue chromis

[Jmann020]

I just recently bought two clownfish. Both were fine for 24hours. One of them started breathing heavy and swimming upside. It didn't make it. The store said it could of been stress. The other one seems fine,swimming actively, and eats. I noticed there white spots on the clown fish. They have only been in the tank for coming up on 4 days.

I have 5 blue chromis. Yellow watchmen goby 1 fire shrimp.

I've noticed these white spots on the clown. The fire shrimp keeps trying to jump on the clown fish to clean. Not all the time but I've noticed it.

Now for the chromis. I have 5. The little one of the group swims in the corner because once it comes out it gets attached by one of the other chromis. He eats fine when being feed just gets attached so goes into the corner. (Just some FYI and back story)

I've noticed one of the chromis to be hiding in the rocks more frequently and I see dis color when he's hiding in the rocks under the shadows. There are some times he looks fine and others where he looks sick. It still eats and when it does it looks normal in he color

Please see pictures below

I've had the take for 7 months. All the parameters are good. I even had the store test my water.

 

[Oscar47f]

You either have ich or marine velvet, probably ich, its a parasite that burrows into the fish and thats the visible white spot.. it'll use the fish has a host then when spawning it'll swim to the sand bed and spawn and the cycles go on and on... it does kill fish, and fish are susceptible to it when they are stressed and or have a poor diet... best chance to beat it is to take out all the fish and quarantine them and treat the quarantine with copper and feed them with selcon soaked food and keep the DT fallow for 76 days...

 

[Brew12]

It does look like ich on the clownfish. I think it could also be Brooklynella. Take a look at this thread and see if you notice any symptoms that look familiar.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brooklynella.247938/

As for the chromis, whatever is impacting the clown could also be impacting it. The chromis could also be a stress issue. It isn't uncommon for a small school of chromis to attack the weakest member until they are down to 1 or 2 in a tank. Some people have great luck keeping a school, others find it very difficult.

 

[Sabellafella]

Deffonit

I just recently bought two clownfish. Both were fine for 24hours. One of them started breathing heavy and swimming upside. It didn't make it. The store said it could of been stress. The other one seems fine,swimming actively, and eats. I noticed there white spots on the clown fish. They have only been in the tank for coming up on 4 days.

I have 5 blue chromis. Yellow watchmen goby 1 fire shrimp.

I've noticed these white spots on the clown. The fire shrimp keeps trying to jump on the clown fish to clean. Not all the time but I've noticed it.

Now for the chromis. I have 5. The little one of the group swims in the corner because once it comes out it gets attached by one of the other chromis. He eats fine when being feed just gets attached so goes into the corner. (Just some FYI and back story)

I've noticed one of the chromis to be hiding in the rocks more frequently and I see dis color when he's hiding in the rocks under the shadows. There are some times he looks fine and others where he looks sick. It still eats and when it does it looks normal in he color

Please see pictures below

I've had the take for 7 months. All the parameters are good. I even had the store test my water.

Deffinitly ich or velvet. Maybe some brook #reefsquad lets get more eyes

 

[Diesel]

That's just plain old Ick.
Nothing you can do now they are in your tank.
Need them out and put them in a QT to be treated against.
TTM or Hypo is what I would do.
Keep the DT fallow for at least 76 days before you release any other fish in there.
Tomorrow @Humblefish or @melypr1985 will chime in if they survived the food feast from today and didn't run some kind of weird stomach Ick them self

 

[Jmann020]

Is a link where there is a step by step guide on how to cure this. (What stuff to buy) This will be the first time it happened to me so it's all new. Can I put all the fish in a separate tank, how big of a tank. Then what would I use to treat the fish. And also what would I use to treat my tank. Thank you all for your help. I plan on getting started in the morning.

The clown and the other chromis I believe are the only ones to looks dis colored or have spots. Should I put those two in one tank and the rest in another?

Once again thanks for your advice and time

That's just plain old Ick.
Nothing you can do now they are in your tank.
Need them out and put them in a QT to be treated against.
TTM or Hypo is what I would do.
Keep the DT fallow for at least 76 days before you release any other fish in there.
Tomorrow @Humblefish or @melypr1985 will chime in if they survived the food feast from today and didn't run some kind of weird stomach Ick them self

 

[Diesel]

Is a link where there is a step by step guide on how to cure this. (What stuff to buy) This will be the first time it happened to me so it's all new. Can I put all the fish in a separate tank, how big of a tank. Then what would I use to treat the fish. And also what would I use to treat my tank. Thank you all for your help. I plan on getting started in the morning.

The clown and the other chromis I believe are the only ones to looks dis colored or have spots. Should I put those two in one tank and the rest in another?

Once again thanks for your advice and time

Here you go........
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-index.247573/

 

[Diesel]

Is a link where there is a step by step guide on how to cure this. (What stuff to buy) This will be the first time it happened to me so it's all new. Can I put all the fish in a separate tank, how big of a tank. Then what would I use to treat the fish. And also what would I use to treat my tank. Thank you all for your help. I plan on getting started in the morning.

The clown and the other chromis I believe are the only ones to looks dis colored or have spots. Should I put those two in one tank and the rest in another?

Once again thanks for your advice and time

Double post

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-index.247573/

 

[Joey waid]

Is a link where there is a step by step guide on how to cure this. (What stuff to buy) This will be the first time it happened to me so it's all new. Can I put all the fish in a separate tank, how big of a tank. Then what would I use to treat the fish. And also what would I use to treat my tank. Thank you all for your help. I plan on getting started in the morning.

The clown and the other chromis I believe are the only ones to looks dis colored or have spots. Should I put those two in one tank and the rest in another?

Once again thanks for your advice and time

You are going to need to treat them all. If it's velvet ( which to me that's what it looks like ) you need to hurry. If I was you I would get any tank or bucket to get them ready to move. I would get prazipro to dip them first then move to a tank with copper and then let the main tank go fallow.

 

[Joey waid]

Or a fresh water dip then in copper.

 

[GHsaltie]

Definitely ich, here's a link that will help you understand it better. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/
Best option is to either go with copper or ttm. Hypo can be done as well but it brings up other issues that can be hard for someone who's new.

I would get prazipro to dip them first then move to a tank with copper and then let the main tank go fallow.

Prazipro in this instance is not of use as it treats for flukes and needs to be dosed directly to the QT for it to be effective. Just used as a dip the fish would not be in it long enough for it to work. If going the copper route you will need to ramp the levels up SLOWLY after the fish have been moved to QT, over a couple days time. You can add the fish to a tank already dosed with copper but it must only be a small amount, doing this is more helpful if you've got velvet, which is a fast killer.

 

[Joey waid]

Definitely ich, here's a link that will help you understand it better. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-cryptocaryon-irritans.191226/
Best option is to either go with copper or ttm. Hypo can be done as well but it brings up other issues that can be hard for someone who's new.

Prazipro in this instance is not of use as it treats for flukes and needs to be dosed directly to the QT for it to be effective. Just used as a dip the fish would not be in it long enough for it to work. If going the copper route you will need to ramp the levels up SLOWLY after the fish have been moved to QT, over a couple days time. You can add the fish to a tank already dosed with copper but it must only be a small amount, doing this is more helpful if you've got velvet, which is a fast killer.

Being that I could not edit my post thats why I added in another post to fresh water dip them. If it's velvet, he does not have much time anyways. To ramp up the copper slow if it's velvet is not much help either. If anything I would do copper at half dose the first day then in two days do the remaining.

 

[GHsaltie]

Being that none of us know how experienced the OP is or what they know as far as diseases go I was attempting to clarify things for him. For those who are unfamiliar with treatments reading that they can add the fish to a tank with copper they may think it's meant the entire dosage.
In @Humblefish's thread on velvet he recommends dosing to the minimum therapeutic level to start with, the dosage would vary depending on whether you are using Coppersafe, Cupramine, or Chloroquine phosphate. I am no expert, so not trying to get in a debate or anything, just want to help the OP out and get him the info he needs.

 

[melypr1985]

The symptoms described sounds more like velvet to me coupled with the quickness of him dying. Copper or CP in a QT would be recommended ASAP. Either way, you'll be treating for both velvet and ick so it won't matter which it is except for the quickness of getting treatment started.

 

[Jmann019]

Sorry guys something happened with my last account. But still the same guy.

I woke up this morning and the white dots were almost gone. What does that mean? Looking more and more at my chromis I don't think have anything wrong with them besides some aggression towards each other.

Please see picture attached for updated photo of clownfish.

I have a qt tank setup now from the water change I just did. It's a 10 gallon tank, heater and filter. I was told to just keep the fish in my show tank. Ich is caused by stress and moving him again could make it worse. All the fish eat fine. Water parameters are normal. Salinity 1.026.

I also read that ich, the parasite is always in the water. Is that true? Could of it just been a new fish That is stressed out from the transfer. (I used drip technique for 40 min when I put then in). So could it just be that the clownfish is not as stressed and there has been a set dominance between the fish in there?

Like I said bought two clownfish. But normal for 24 hours then one started swimming funny and breathing heavy. The other the next day developed white spots on him. The next day after that there gone.

 

[Shameless_Dood]

Ich is not caused by stress, it is a parasite, stress can make them more susceptible to being unable to cope with the infection. As has been suggested, get them in a QT sooner rather than later. I would maybe bathe them in a dip when they come out of the display to give you a jump start on any treatment.

The main thing (I found out the hard way) leave the display fallow for 90 days...that will allow for what parasites are in the display now to die off from not being able to complete their life cycle.

 

[Jmann019]

So I should take all my fish out or just the clown? I never saw white spots on 5 chromis and goby.

But as I was reading The parasite is present in all tanks? And that sense the fish was stressed do to maybe transfer? Its immune tolerance was lowered so that happened? But if you look at both photos you can clearly see it in one and not in the other.

I do have a 10g filter heater. hospital tank set up, and I did buy kordon copper aide. Water from show tank.
All fish in there or just clown?

Or should I monitor the clown for today, feed it, see how it responds.

Today I took 10g out and did a water change this morning.

 

[Shameless_Dood]

Personally I would take them all out and treat them all. If you look at the life cycle image, you have to break that cycle, the best (IMO the only) way to do it is to take away the hosts(fish) in our tanks.

I've read the same thing that it's "present in all tanks" but that just doesn't make sense to me knowing how their life cycle works. Maybe someone with more experience can convince me otherwise. I think that theory comes from the fact in the wild all fish will get it at some point in their life, but in the wild there is such water volume very few of the "free swimming" stage actually find a fish. In our tanks fish are easier targets because of the much less water volume...then ich or velvet gets to plague proportions very quickly and it just overwhelms the fish's ability to deal with the parasite.

 

[Shameless_Dood]

Also, I would use freshly made salt water and not water from your tank. You could potentially be adding water containing the free swimming stage of the parasite which will further infect the fish.

 

[Humblefish]

If I were in your shoes, this is what I would do:

1. Give each & every fish a 5 min FW dip as outlined here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/
2. Follow up with either a 90 min bath using acriflavine or 45 min bath using formalin.
3. Transfer the fish into a sterile QT, and treat with copper (for 30 days) + metronidazole (for 10 days).
4. Go fallow (fishless) in the DT for 76 days.

This protocol addresses every external parasite we are currently aware of, so it will treat your fish no matter what.