3yo Clownfish went from fat and aggressive to floating upside down overnight, please help!

[Oceanis]

Hi All,

My 3/yo perc which I have raised along with her mate for 3 years went from fat, aggressive, and happy to floating in what I would only call a swim bladder problem type of way overnight. She was perfectly fine 24 hours ago. Her mate seems really stressed out and won't leave her side and has been trying to fend off the sailfin, but he's gotten a few hits in and she's scraped up against the rocks a bit as you can see by her scales. I haven't added any new fish for over 6 months, and the only change to the tank was a new pistol shrimp a few weeks ago to replace mine which died of old age. Can someone please help? Water params are perfect but I went ahead and did a water change and turned off pump anyway to reduce stress. I've searched through the forums but all of the requests seem to be related to new fish or new aquariums. This is a well establed waterbox 25 peninsula.

Any advice appreciated. Please see video below.

Thank you!

 

[blaxsun]

#fishmedic

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi All,

My 3/yo perc which I have raised along with her mate for 3 years went from fat, aggressive, and happy to floating in what I would only call a swim bladder problem type of way overnight. She was perfectly fine 24 hours ago. Her mate seems really stressed out and won't leave her side and has been trying to fend off the sailfin, but he's gotten a few hits in and she's scraped up against the rocks a bit as you can see by her scales. I haven't added any new fish for over 6 months, and the only change to the tank was a new pistol shrimp a few weeks ago to replace mine which died of old age. Can someone please help? Water params are perfect but I went ahead and did a water change and turned off pump anyway to reduce stress. I've searched through the forums but all of the requests seem to be related to new fish or new aquariums. This is a well establed waterbox 25 peninsula.

Any advice appreciated. Please see video below.

Thank you!

The fish has some minor fin damage and some missing scales. I do not think it has anything to do with its swim bladder, but rather, the fish is choosing to pin itself up in the corner. Some other fish is picking on it. Other than the second clown and the sailfin, what other fish are in with it?

Although it sounds like the issue is with the tang, don't discount the idea that their pair bond has broken down and that the culprit is actually the male. The "protection" it seems to be showing could well be intimidation/aggression. This happens pretty often with clownfish in captivity.

You can try turning your phone on to video the tank and then leave the room. After some time, return and view the video. You may discover the culprit that way.

You can also see what this fish is doing at night - does it stay in the same location, or does it move to a new spot?


Jay

 

[Oceanis]

Hi Jay,

Thank you for your help!

She's up in that spot now and has been for about 20 minutes, but she's also been lying sideways on the bottom, and generally attempting to swim but can't. I'd say most of today she's been moving from spot to spot either upside down or sideways.

I understand your point about the other perc, but they've been inseparable since they were added to the tank together 3 weeks ago and she's at least three times his size. She's usually the most aggressive fish in the tank by far.

 

[Oceanis]

Here's another vid I just took of her on the ground

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi Jay,

Thank you for your help!

She's up in that spot now and has been for about 20 minutes, but she's also been lying sideways on the bottom, and generally attempting to swim but can't. I'd say most of today she's been moving from spot to spot either upside down or sideways.

I understand your point about the other perc, but they've been inseparable since they were added to the tank together 3 weeks ago and she's at least three times his size. She's usually the most aggressive fish in the tank by far.

Sorry, that is too blue. Can you get another video of when it is on the bottom?

Jay

 

[Oceanis]

Just posted it right before you did, lol

 

[abc123]

Do you feed frozen food?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Here's another vid I just took of her on the ground

This video is sound only and no image. based on Jay's hunch, one thing you can do to determine aggression is to
set your cell phone on video mode for about 40 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there. Often the aggressor is a bully at feeding time.
Review the video and see who it may be

 

[Oceanis]

Do you feed frozen food?

I do. Reef Plus

This video is sound only and no image. based on Jay's hunch, one thing you can do to determine aggression is to
set your cell phone on video mode for about 40 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there. Often the aggressor is a bully at feeding time.
Review the video and see who it may be

I'll try that and report back. In the meantime please see below for another video attempt. It just seems strange when there have been no fish changes in 6+ months that everything would change within 24 hours. She's been lying on the floor since my first post. Assuming I find out she's suddenly being bullied what should I do?

 

[Oceanis]

I do. Reef Plus



I'll try that and report back. In the meantime please see below for another video attempt. It just seems strange when there have been no fish changes in 6+ months that everything would change within 24 hours. She's been lying on the floor since my first post. Assuming I find out she's suddenly being bullied what should I do?

 

[resortez]

Any chance the percs have been nesting &/or have gone as far as laying eggs???? I had a pair that hosted an anemone that constantly laid eggs. The female was extremely aggressive with all her tank mates but unfortunately one day a coral beauty got a taste of the caviar & the angel ended up wrecking the female to the point of death. The angels hits are way more powerful than the percs & she just didn’t survive the injuries. I do remember the female perc abandoning the anemone & secluding herself in a corner to escape the angel’s attacks. The male perc also stayed near her until she perished. The angel was so aggressive that it would hover above the perc as if claiming the kill. Obviously I removed the coral beauty because I knew the percs were going to continue to lay eggs & the chaos would start all over again. I had 5 percs so once the female perished, the male selected an orbiting male, courted, submitted the male & the old paired male switched to female. It was unfortunate because the old female was roughly 6 years in the system & had developed gorgeous coloring, plus was a sweat heart when ever I did maintenance on the tank. You might be dealing with a similar situation but I could be wrong.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I do. Reef Plus



I'll try that and report back. In the meantime please see below for another video attempt. It just seems strange when there have been no fish changes in 6+ months that everything would change within 24 hours. She's been lying on the floor since my first post. Assuming I find out she's suddenly being bullied what should I do?

Same - No image. Try you tube video under white lighting

 

[Oceanis]

Any chance the percs have been nesting &/or have gone as far as laying eggs???? I had a pair that hosted an anemone that constantly laid eggs. The female was extremely aggressive with all her tank mates but unfortunately one day a coral beauty got a taste of the caviar & the angel ended up wrecking the female to the point of death. The angels hits are way more powerful than the percs & she just didn’t survive the injuries. I do remember the female perc abandoning the anemone & secluding herself in a corner to escape the angel’s attacks. The male perc also stayed near her until she perished. The angel was so aggressive that it would hover above the perc as if claiming the kill. Obviously I removed the coral beauty because I knew the percs were going to continue to lay eggs & the chaos would start all over again. I had 5 percs so once the female perished, the male selected an orbiting male, courted, submitted the male & the old paired male switched to female. It was unfortunate because the old female was roughly 6 years in the system & had developed gorgeous coloring, plus was a sweat heart when ever I did maintenance on the tank. You might be dealing with a similar situation but I could be wrong.

Thanks for the advise and sorry to hear about your clown. I know it's only a fish but I have grown pretty attached to her and want to do everything I can do help if there's a solution. I've gone ahead and caught the sailfin in a DIY separator I just made out of a big gulp cup and pinned it to the side of the tank. I'll give it a few hours and see if the clown improves...

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I do. Reef Plus



I'll try that and report back. In the meantime please see below for another video attempt. It just seems strange when there have been no fish changes in 6+ months that everything would change within 24 hours. She's been lying on the floor since my first post. Assuming I find out she's suddenly being bullied what should I do?

I can see a lot more missing scales. I can also see the dynamic of the tang and the other clown. I agree now, the tang is the culprit and the male clown is actually trying to defend the female!

So this becomes and what came first, the chicken or the egg issue? What I mean is - did the tang just trounce this clown, or did it start attacking it because the clown was weakened by some other issue?

Do you have any sort of an isolation basket that you could move it to?

Jay

 

[Oceanis]

I can see a lot more missing scales. I can also see the dynamic of the tang and the other clown. I agree now, the tang is the culprit and the male clown is actually trying to defend the female!

So this becomes and what came first, the chicken or the egg issue? What I mean is - did the tang just trounce this clown, or did it start attacking it because the clown was weakened by some other issue?

Do you have any sort of an isolation basket that you could move it to?

Jay

Hi,

Sitrep, so I isolated the tang, the clown has been alone since 3pm, but her condition has worsened. She won't leave the bottom now and it breathing really heavily. Whatever happened, it seems like it will probably be fatal. I just dont understand how a super healthy fish can go from 10/10 to deaths door in 24 hours... crazy. Thanks for all your help everyone

 

[Oceanis]

Hi All,

Update. She is back! Alive and swimming again and even ate yesterday! However, she's pinned herself up in a corner between the glass and my DIY big gulp isolator that the tang is in. She refuses to leave out of the corner and is still swimming somewhat erratically, but is getting better. Usually she's on the exact other side of the tank swimming with the other clown under and overhang.

Any advice for what I can do? Should I just watch and wait?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi All,

Update. She is back! Alive and swimming again and even ate yesterday! However, she's pinned herself up in a corner between the glass and my DIY big gulp isolator that the tang is in. She refuses to leave out of the corner and is still swimming somewhat erratically, but is getting better. Usually she's on the exact other side of the tank swimming with the other clown under and overhang.

Any advice for what I can do? Should I just watch and wait?

Keep it away from the tang!

Jay

 

[Oceanis]

Just wanted to thank everyone for all your help! It appears she has made a full recovery! I guess for some reason, after almost a year together the sailfish must have just decided to go on the attack and assault her… he’s still in the cup now and I have one final question if anyone is up for it.

The fish are currently in a 25gal long, however I have a 160gal I haven’t set up yet but could probably have cycled and running in a month or so. Do you think they will get along better in the much larger tank or should I not risk it and find the tang another home?

 

[Cell]

Sailfin tang in a 25 is not sustainable. If you have a 160, then why is the tang in the 25 at all?