Clown breathing fast and not moving much, appears to have some scales missing

malfist

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Hi All,

Would appreciate some input on my clownfish. I've had these guys for ~7 years now. The female clown is laying on it's side and not moving much, it didn't eat when I fed this morning. They're fed on an automatic feeder so she may have just not been hungry. She appeared normal two days ago. Last week they appeared to be clearing a spot for eggs where they've spawned in the past.

I think this is a case of aggression, both clowns appear to be missing scales as well as a pygmy angelfish that seems to have moved into their territory recently. I witnessed the male and the pygmy chasing each other. The angelfish and the male clown appear to be in good health other than the missing scales.

If I move her, she returns to that rock, but not always to the exact same spot.

Tank params:
pH: 8.28
Temp: 79.9F
Alk, Ca, Mg: 9.52/437/1374
Nitrates: 12.2ppm
Phosphate: 0.05

UV, Skimmer and Carbon are all running on this tank, carbon was refreshed 3 days ago. Fuge full of chaeto.


Recent changes:
Recently added more frags
Recently added a bubble tip anenome.

Had a small few patches of cyanobacteria, so I added Dr. Tim's Re-Fresh yesterday.

Advice on how to treat?

I've taken the following action already:
  • Increased feeding times in case the aggression is coming from lack of food.

I have amoxicilin, and sulfaplex on hand, and a 20 gallon I could setup as a hospital tank if I had too.




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Jay Hemdal

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Can you post a short video? I’d like to see its respiration rate.
How does the angel look in terms of reciprocal aggression?
How recent were the frag and anemone additions?
Jay
 

vetteguy53081

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Agree on better pics/video. The other clown to the left has secondary bacterial lesions which is associated with brooklynella
 
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malfist

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Here are two videos:

She seems a bit more active in one of them. You can see the pygmy in the background.

Nem was added two days ago. Frags have been added over the past three weeks, got a couple batches of them in. Tank was previously growing coral, so it is a stable tank, coral isn't new to it.
 

Jay Hemdal

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Here are two videos:

She seems a bit more active in one of them. You can see the pygmy in the background.

Nem was added two days ago. Frags have been added over the past three weeks, got a couple batches of them in. Tank was previously growing coral, so it is a stable tank, coral isn't new to it.
Sorry - the videos are too pixelated on my phone. I can see the angel is being a jerk though, not really typical for that species.
Jay
 

Jay Hemdal

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Much better video, thanks. I saw a notch in the angel's tail fin, that implies the fighting is going on both ways. I can see the spots and nicks on the clownfish, but I can't say if those are purely from fighting or if there might be a disease element thrown into the mix.

The female is breathing a bit fast, but not to the point where I'd suspect a gill disease.

I think this is all behavioral - with the clownfish nesting and the angel crowding in, they just wouldn't back down. the female clown, at age 7+, may have some underlying chronic condition (fatty liver, TB, etc.) that is keeping it from bouncing back from a scrap.

Jay
 
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malfist

malfist

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Would your recommendation be to wait and observe? See if she takes food tomorrow? I may try with frozen mysis since they're highly motivating.

Since I increased the feeding frequency with the plank, the aggression appears to have calmed down some between the two parties.
 
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malfist

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She is showing improvement this morning. Still lower activity level than normal, but more activity than yesterday. Her respiration rate is back to normal, or at least matches the male. I got her to eat a single mysis shrimp when I put some in front of her.

The spots on the male that made someone suggest brook seem to be mostly back to normal today.

Last night after lights off, I watched her boss around the male some. Clearly getting better.

Will continue watching, but I'm very hopeful.

Forgot to add, but it looks like they may have won the fight, the pygmy angelfish hasn't been seen in that hole for a while.
 
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malfist

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Further improvement today. She is eating without me having to place food near her.

She is still staying close to her rock and less activity than normal but much more than the previous days.

I think she's well on her way to recovery.
 
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malfist

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Last update. Everyone is back to normal. All healthy again.
 

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