4 year old female clown sick

[Bryan68]

I have a four year old female clown that is breathing heavy with no other visible illness signs other than some poo hanging yesterday. This morning she was near the water surface, which seems reasonable if she is breathing heavy. Now she is where she normally resides, but still breathing heavy. She has not eaten in two days. No livestock other than coral has been added in about eight months. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Any other fish in the tank with it?
Can you post a short video?
Jay

 

[Bryan68]

@Jay Hemdal, all other fish are fine. Stocking includes several tangs, foxface, several wrasses. I will attempt to get a video.

 

[Bryan68]

@Jay Hemdal please see attached video....I hope!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Both clowns look a bit mopey to me - the one on the bottom is breathing a bit fast. What color were the feces that you saw yesterday?

I'll tell you up front - without another symptom, it is going to be really tough to figure this one out. No new animal additions rules out all but "normal" microbes; Heaxamita, Uronema or bacteria.

Jay

 

[Bryan68]

Feces was grey / brown. Agreed, this is tough.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Moving the fish to a treatment tank and dosing with General Cure is one shotgun approach, but still, where on earth would it have picked up parasites after this length of time?

Here is some material I wrote up on mucoid feces:

Idiopathic mucus feces: this fancy term is just to describe white mucoid bulky feces of no
serious consequence, but of an unknown cause. Some suspicion is that this can be caused by changes in
diet or diets high in fats.

Starvation: Fish that have no food moving through their bowels may excrete white mucoid feces
with little bulk to them. The primary diagnostic for this issue is evident in that the fish won’t been seen to
be eating. Resolving the anorexia is of course the prime focus to resolve this issue.
Bacterial infection: internal bacterial infections can cause stringy feces as well. While some of
these may resolve on their own, medicated foods containing a broad spectrum, gram negative oral
antibiotic may be required.

Metazoan infections: multicellular worms are often blamed for mucoid feces, but in reality, they
are almost never the root cause for this, and really, can only be diagnosed through looking for their ova in
fecal samples. Fish can harbor tapeworms and nematodes without producing mucoid feces.
Protozoan infection: Hexamita and related diplomonad flagellate protozoans very frequently
cause white stringy feces, especially in newly acquired clownfish. Metronidazole is the most frequent
treatment for this issue. It can be dosed orally at 25 mg per kg of fish body weight, or 5 g in a kg of food.
However, it is a very bitter medication, and some fish will refuse to feed on food containing it. It can be
dosed in the water at 25 mg/l, but this is more effective in treating marine fishes, as freshwater fish do not
“drink” aquarium water.

Coccidia: These microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled parasites are common diseases in
dogs and cats. In fish, they cause epithelial necrosis of the gut, enteritis and the copious production of
mucus (Noga 2010). These cannot be diagnosed without microscopic examination, and there is no well
researched cure for this in fishes, although Toltrazuril has been tested.

Constipation: This malady is often given as a cause for stringy feces, but it is not as common as
one would think. When it is seen, the feces are usually dark, not light in color. Often touted as a “cure
for constipation”, many aquarists add Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) to the aquarium’s water – do not
do this in marine aquariums, its use is primarily as a tonic/dip for freshwater fish. Seawater formulas
already contain between 7 and 19 grams of magnesium sulfate per gallon (depending on the recipe). NSW
magnesium level is around 1200 ppm and sulfur is around 840 ppm. Some benefit might be seen using it
as a dip in additional concentrations, but adding a small amount to a marine aquarium itself has no
benefit. Epsom salts do have some possible benefit when mixed into the food as a 3% by weight adjunct.
Another commonly heard remedy for constipation is; “feed fresh peas”. This is an effective cure for
fancy goldfish and Malawi cichlids that develop constipation and bloating. Again, overextrapolation has
marine aquarists trying to feed peas to carnivorous fish, etc. The best method to enhance gut motility in
fish is to feed frozen adult brine shrimp – not as a permanent diet, just long enough to get the constipation
resolved.

Jay

 

[Bryan68]

Thanks for the info Jay. After testing through your information, being honest, I'm still stumped. Like you, with nothing new added, makes me scratch my head. She is again separated from her mate, do I will see how she looks in the morning. Thank you so much for your help!!!

 

[Bryan68]

@Jay Hemdal I have an unfortunate update. The clown now has white stringy feces. Still not eating, had been two full days. And again, she is four years old and nothing added to the tank in 8 months. Any additional thoughts? And to add even more of a mess, I have lended out my hospital setup.

 

[Bryan68]

Thoughts from anyone will be greatly appreciated! Will this pass without meds since she isn't eating?

 

[Bryan68]

Does anyone have any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

@Jay Hemdal I have an unfortunate update. The clown now has white stringy feces. Still not eating, had been two full days. And again, she is four years old and nothing added to the tank in 8 months. Any additional thoughts? And to add even more of a mess, I have lended out my hospital setup.

At this point, you can't really dose with General Cure, as that should be done in a hospital tank. You could dose Prazipro in your main tank fairly safely, but it only contains one of the ingredients that General Cure has, so you would be missing out dosing with Metronidazole....

Jay