Clown Not Eating Anything

[PicassoClown04]

So I got a pair of (kinda pricey!) flurry clowns on Sunday, they ate and showed interest in food in the tank. Were told that they were eating pellets well but had been feed only an hour prior to me buying the fish and that’s why they weren’t eating vigorously but were showing interest. Drip acclimated for an hour after temp acclimation, both were very active and swimming well. Released into tank while the lights were dimming.

Woke up the next morning and one clown was dead sucked against the powerhead, believe that it died prior to being stuck on the power head. The other is still alive but has not eaten anything and only swims at the very surface of the tank. I’ve tried pellets, algae pellets, LRS Frozen, even a variety of freshwater pellets, no response to them at all. They literally bounced off his face. Can anybody tell me what to do? The other two fish in the tank are still eating heartily and there were no signs of diseases on the deceased one or the one still alive.

 

[GeoSquid]

How long has your tank been set up and how big is it? What other fish do you have?

 

[PicassoClown04]

How long has your tank been set up and how big is it? What other fish do you have?

Tank has been set up for several months, it’s a 25 gallon lagoon AIO. I have a seaweed blenny and a small geometry hawk.

 

[Texas Rick]

Have you tried brine shrimp . That what mine eat

 

[PicassoClown04]

Have you tried brine shrimp . That what mine eat

Yeah, showed zero interest. Live brine

 

[GeoSquid]

I'm sorry for the loss of one of them. I've never quarantined or had to use medication before so someone might have some ideas on here. It's a very small and new tank, maybe the new additions overloaded the system. I would stay away from dry foods and just try frozen. Also, they might have had something wrong when you bought them.

 

[PicassoClown04]

I'm sorry for the loss of one of them. I've never quarantined or had to use medication before so someone might have some ideas on here. It's a very small and new tank, maybe the new additions overloaded the system. I would stay away from dry foods and just try frozen. Also, they might have had something wrong when you bought them.

I believe something was off when I bought them. The tank was set up with wet live rock, water from my friends tank (used water from a water change, used that for 2 months), and was dosed with Dr. Tim’s one and only, it should be able to handle quite a bit of bioload, especially just 2 1” clowns. I’ve never medicated either so I’m hoping someone tells me it can just be a phase with clowns and he’ll start eating? Not really her what to expect

 

[Cambrian Reef]

Mine didn't eat right away and refused to eat pellets. I tried some flake and they devoured it. Now they eat both flake and frozen mysis. They want nothing to do with pellets to this day. Good Luck and sorry for the loss.

 

[Redfoxtang]

I’m going say that something was wrong with them when you purchased them. Clowns are usually very aggressive eaters. When acclimated to a new tank it may tank a couple days but they bounce right back. I would have the LFS feed your fish before purchasing your next fish to help make sure this doesn’t happen again!

 

[FreakPrism]

I bought 2 Ocellaris clownfish on Saturday and when I tried to feed Monday day and evening they did not eat anything, Today however, they seemed more engaged and eating (I feed them PE pellets 1mm) both in day and afternoon feedings. I also find they are swimming around the tank more and probably more comfortable. I suspect they will eat more tomorrow.

Maybe the same might happen in your case? The fish store had told us before eating they ate a lot and their tummy was full ...

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So I got a pair of (kinda pricey!) flurry clowns on Sunday, they ate and showed interest in food in the tank. Were told that they were eating pellets well but had been feed only an hour prior to me buying the fish and that’s why they weren’t eating vigorously but were showing interest. Drip acclimated for an hour after temp acclimation, both were very active and swimming well. Released into tank while the lights were dimming.

Woke up the next morning and one clown was dead sucked against the powerhead, believe that it died prior to being stuck on the power head. The other is still alive but has not eaten anything and only swims at the very surface of the tank. I’ve tried pellets, algae pellets, LRS Frozen, even a variety of freshwater pellets, no response to them at all. They literally bounced off his face. Can anybody tell me what to do? The other two fish in the tank are still eating heartily and there were no signs of diseases on the deceased one or the one still alive.

My first thought would be: what was the salinity of the dealer’s tank compared to yours? Both new fish going down overnight and your other fish doing fine points to something wrong with the transfer, and going from low salinity in a dealers tank to high salinity at home is a huge problem in my region.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

As Jay expressed, I question. . . . How were fish acclimated to tank, and by any chance did you notice fish poop and was it White or normal dark color ?

 

[PicassoClown04]

My first thought would be: what was the salinity of the dealer’s tank compared to yours? Both new fish going down overnight and your other fish doing fine points to something wrong with the transfer, and going from low salinity in a dealers tank to high salinity at home is a huge problem in my region.

Jay

LFS tank measures 1.023 mine is 1.025. I’ve got another clown pair from them I bought in March, they were always perfect. Don’t know what’s wrong with these guys

 

[Jay Hemdal]

LFS tank measures 1.023 mine is 1.025. I’ve got another clown pair from them I bought in March, they were always perfect. Don’t know what’s wrong with these guys

Two SG points isn’t too bad, but around 4 you start to see dehydration even with acclimation....I just wanted to rule that out.
Jay

 

[GeoSquid]

How is the clown doing?

 

[PicassoClown04]

How is the clown doing?

He’s OK... took me 45 mins but he ate the ittiest bittiest chunk of food today after spitting it out 5/6 times. Stayed there for 10 mins after to make sure he actually swallowed it. I think I’m gonna feed him a tiny bit lots of times a day to see if that works better. He’s so pretty I’d feel awful if he died and I didn’t do everything in my power to save him. My nem even split so now I’ve got 4 nems in the tank, I wish he’d get better so I can have a clownfish hosting an anemone. That’s what originally lured me into this hobby.

 

[GeoSquid]

I thought your tank was new, but looking at full shots it looks pretty mature. I'm glad He/She is hanging in there, it's a very pretty clown. I've got a small rainbow BTA that my pair of saddlebacks wouldn't look at. I recently tried an LTA and the female clown beat the crap out of it and killed it. I tried to protect the nem with egg crate but both of the clowns always found there way under it. Now, the female decided to host my BTA. So far so good. I think the BTA can pull back into the rocks if she gets too rough.

 

[PicassoClown04]

I thought your tank was new, but looking at full shots it looks pretty mature. I'm glad He/She is hanging in there, it's a very pretty clown. I've got a small rainbow BTA that my pair of saddlebacks wouldn't look at. I recently tried an LTA and the female clown beat the crap out of it and killed it. I tried to protect the nem with egg crate but both of the clowns always found there way under it. Now, the female decided to host my BTA. So far so good. I think the BTA can pull back into the rocks if she gets too rough.

Yeah, despite being set up a few months ago it’s very mature. I started with wet live rock, water from a water change out of my friend’s tank for the first month, and put Dr. Tim’s One and Only in there about 3 weeks ago just to top things off. All of the anemones are doing great, attaching nicely to the acclimation cups. I’ve got a little bit of an algae problem but it’s blue ochtodes algae, not hair or bubble so that’s kinda weird. Idk, but I think he’s improving!