Worried about clowns

reefertanker · May 9, 2021

Have had these two clowns for a month now and about 2 weeks after I got them one of them (the bigger one) had a string poop that I thought was odd. Now two weeks later she is laying at the bottom of tank and does this day by day. Yesterday during feed time she didn’t eat. She was eating and now she isn’t. Please help! Sorry the white light doesn’t turn on till 2 hours from now.

reefertanker · May 9, 2021

Water parameters

ammonia 1ppm
Nitrite. 0ppm
Nitrate. 0ppm
Salinity. 1.026
Temp. 78.1
Calcium. 500
Carbon harness 11 from an overdose last week.
High ph. 8

greetl01 · May 9, 2021

Parasites. Since she’s not eating you have to dose the tank with metroplex

Cell · May 9, 2021

Stringy poop is a sign of internal parasites/infection. I believe Prazipro treatment would be recommended here and ASAP.

reefertanker · May 9, 2021

Cell said:
Stringy poop is a sign of internal parasites/infection. I believe Prazipro treatment would be recommended here and ASAP.

Thanks I’ll do what I can!

reefertanker · May 9, 2021

Will all my fish be okay if I dose that in my tank? I don’t have a QT for her.

Cell · May 9, 2021

Prazipro is reef safe, but it can cause bacterial blooms which depletes O2 in the tank, so you need to increase surface agitation/flow and it also suppresses appetite, which depending on how long the clown hasn't been eating already, might not be ideal. I'm not a treatment expert, hopefully @Jay Hemdal is around this morning to verify what I've said and maybe recommend a more optimal treatment.

reefertanker · May 9, 2021

Cell said:
Prazipro is reef safe, but it can cause bacterial blooms which depletes O2 in the tank, so you need to increase surface agitation/flow and it also suppresses appetite, which depending on how long the clown hasn't been eating already, might not be ideal. I'm not a treatment expert, hopefully @Jay Hemdal is around this morning to verify what I've said and maybe recommend a more optimal treatment.

Thanks for your reply. She hasn’t ate in just 2 days now. I already have surface agitation fairly high

Cell · May 9, 2021

Internal Issues

Internal Issues For simplicity’s sake, there are 6 basic problems a marine fish may experience on the inside: 1. Intestinal worms Symptoms: White stringy feces, pinched stomach, loss of color, fish eats voraciously but still seems to be losing weight. Treatment of choice: Praziquantel...

www.reef2reef.com

Cell · May 9, 2021

Internal parasites vs. intestinal worms – Since these can be difficult to distinguish due to near identical symptoms, it is best to always treat with praziquantel + metronidazole so both pathogens are covered. You can combine different medications (e.g. Prazipro + Seachem Metroplex), or API General Cure contains both.

reefertanker · May 9, 2021

Cell said:
Internal Issues

Internal Issues For simplicity’s sake, there are 6 basic problems a marine fish may experience on the inside: 1. Intestinal worms Symptoms: White stringy feces, pinched stomach, loss of color, fish eats voraciously but still seems to be losing weight. Treatment of choice: Praziquantel...

www.reef2reef.com

From reading on that page I think it could be a combination of swim bladder and and intestinal worm because I saw her 4 days ago swim vertically. Thanks for all this help getting me to understand what’s going on.

Jay Hemdal · May 9, 2021

reefertanker said:
From reading on that page I think it could be a combination of swim bladder and and intestinal worm because I saw her 4 days ago swim vertically. Thanks for all this help getting me to understand what’s going on.

Was that a typo - ammonia reported as 1ppm?

Jay

reefertanker · May 9, 2021

Jay Hemdal said:
Was that a typo - ammonia reported as 1ppm?

Jay

I added a cleaner shrimp and a urchin recently so hopefully that’s why it’s up to 1ppm

reefertanker · May 9, 2021

Also after adding urchin I saw a worm on the glass going towards my sand and from what I could tell I think it was a brtistleworm. That’s good hopefully

vetteguy53081 · May 9, 2021

That ammonia is high and if correct is toxic to many fish, The stringy poop can be internal worms.disease but can also derive from foods fed such as mysis or Brine shrimp or both.
IF the fish is still breathing, I would recommend an immediate water change to lower ammonia and increase oxygen with use of an airstone.
WHAT TEST KIT(s) ARE YOU USING ??

reefertanker · May 9, 2021

vetteguy53081 said:
That ammonia is high and if correct is toxic to many fish, The stringy poop can be internal worms.disease but can also derive from foods fed such as mysis or Brine shrimp or both.
IF the fish is still breathing, I would recommend an immediate water change to lower ammonia and increase oxygen with use of an airstone.
WHAT TEST KIT(s) ARE YOU USING ??

API marine reef master kit and saltwater kit. I did a 5gal water change with RO water that I bought and it didn’t help much. I feed them omega one marine flakes with garlic. I have api ammo lock that I dosed once I saw it was high. Suppose to make it not toxic to my fish right?

vetteguy53081 · May 9, 2021

reefertanker said:
API marine reef master kit and saltwater kit. I did a 5gal water change with RO water that I bought and it didn’t help much. I feed them omega one marine flakes with garlic. I have api ammo lock that I dosed once I saw it was high. Suppose to make it not toxic to my fish right?

Ammo Lock is an alternative and not a solution and best effective in freshwater tanks.
UNFORTUNATELY the API test kit is notorious for false readings hence the very low price and has disappointed Many reefers. Your readings ae likely higher than the kit is showing. In a case like this, I generally suggest to take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does NOT use API kits for testing and have them test your water for you to see what readings they come up with and for comparison with yours.
Your water change- Have you tested your RO water as of late to assure it does not contain nitrates, Phos or any toxins? I recommend to do that periodically.

Cell · May 9, 2021

I assume this tank is the same?

"I’m new to reef tanks and about 3 months in. My tank went threw its fishless cycle after two months. I added two clowns and a week after 2 fire fish goby and just recently added a cleaner shrimp. 29gallon tank with 10 gallon sump and a protein skimmer."

3 month old tank, 2 month long cycle. I doubt ammonia is the issue and more likely a false positive.

reefertanker · May 9, 2021

Cell said:
I assume this tank is the same?

"I’m new to reef tanks and about 3 months in. My tank went threw its fishless cycle after two months. I added two clowns and a week after 2 fire fish goby and just recently added a cleaner shrimp. 29gallon tank with 10 gallon sump and a protein skimmer."

3 month old tank, 2 month long cycle. I doubt ammonia is the issue and more likely a false positive.

Yes I was recommended to this thread after asking about my clowns on my first post about purple stuff in my tank. I have test my Ro water and it came up clear. I never thought my LFS would test my water. I was think about taking some distilled water and mixing salt for another 5gal change.