HELP: Sick Clownfish

[jeremyhowe]

I have 2 clownfish in a 75 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump and xp3 canister filter. They have been in for around 5 days now. One is having problems swimming. He is very skittish and has his top fin and bottom 2 fins tucked in. Front of his nose may be turning paleish with some white stuff flaking off. Also has a minute amount of green fuzz on the bottom of his chin and also his body is barely turning pale as well. He hasn't eaten in 2 days. The other one seems to be fine. I did have my water temp change from 76 up to 79 throughout the day. My salinity is 1.023/1.024. So far all I have done is turned off 2 powerheads so he can swim easier and left 2 going. PLEASE Help.
Thanks,
-Jeremy

It has been a couple of days since I last checked water, but when I did things were right on schedule.
Ammonia___0
Nitrite___0
Nitrate___0
and PH___8.1

I have also tried feeding a small amount about 2 hours later than first feeding and that still wouldn't arouse him to eat. the left side of his face seems to be getting more white flaky and pale than earlier. I don't want to lose this guy


THANKS!

 

[leebca]

Are these wild caught fish or have they been held in marine systems with wild caught fishes? The reason I ask is that the symptoms you describe are that of Brooklynellosis. It can kill the fish very quickly.

There are two kinds of treatments. One is a series of FW baths; the other is a series of Formalin baths. I favor the Formalin bath series since I believe it has proven to be the most effective.

The fish need to be moved to a quarantine tank and treated as noted above. You will need to read these posts:
A Quarantine Procedure
Fresh Water Fish Dip
and
Formalin Treatment of Marine Fishes

In the future, if you acquire any Anemonefishes, you might consider giving this treatment as a matter of your acclimation procedure:
Fish Acclimation Procedure

Good luck!

 

[jeremyhowe]

Are these wild caught fish or have they been held in marine systems with wild caught fishes? The reason I ask is that the symptoms you describe are that of Brooklynellosis. It can kill the fish very quickly.

There are two kinds of treatments. One is a series of FW baths; the other is a series of Formalin baths. I favor the Formalin bath series since I believe it has proven to be the most effective.

The fish need to be moved to a quarantine tank and treated as noted above. You will need to read these posts:
A Quarantine Procedure
Fresh Water Fish Dip
and
Formalin Treatment of Marine Fishes

In the future, if you acquire any Anemonefishes, you might consider giving this treatment as a matter of your acclimation procedure:
Fish Acclimation Procedure

Good luck!

I believe the clowns are captive breed and they may or may not have been in a tank with other wild marine caught fish. I purchased them from a local petstore. They are the only fish in my tank other than a cleanup crew consisting of 9 sand sifting snails, 7 china hat snails, and 1 larger snail. Would I be able to just stop my sump and put him in their for treatment? Then swap out the water in the sump once treatment is done. The sump is 20gallons. Should I treat the other clown as well? If so would I be able to do that just in my tank without removing them. I have no qt set up yet. I have been meaning to get on that.
Thanks for your help!

 

[leebca]

If the sump can act like a stand-alone tank, then that should work. The quarantine is so that you can easily (without extra stress) catch the fish for each bath. Don't treat them in the main display. The frequent catching and release will get them 'thinking' that their home is not secure (and that you're not to be trusted).

The major down side to using the sump is your ability to properly observe them. You're going to need to get really close up looks at the fish very frequently and they should be at eye level for that.

Both fish need to be treated. They should be dipped/bathed at the same time. This will require a larger bath.