Clownfish dying, not sure what to do.

[Siberwulf]

Hey all,

I've had my tank up and running for almost two years now and one of my clownfish (in there for a year and a half) started acting weird. Not so much in the "hey, it's a weird clownfish" way, but in a "Hey, this isn't right" way.

About five days ago, I noticed he wasn't eating. He was hanging back by the sand totally out of the way of the other fish and wouldn't come to the top to feed. I also noticed he was moving his mouth faster than the other fish in the tank (I've read this is not a good thing)

The day before yesterday, I noticed a long trail coming out of his abdomen, probably about half as long as his body, he still wasn't eating, but he was swimming normally, and was hanging out in "safe zones" at the bottom of the tank.

This morning, I woke up and he's swimming upside down on the bottom of the tank, and moving quite erratically. He finally got sucked up to the overflow and was stuck against the side. The trail from his abdomen has mostly gone away, but he's not doing well. He's in a cup right now, just nose down on the bottom, and it feels like the last bit of life is leaving him.

All the other fish (three cardinal, one more clown, and a filefish) are perfectly fine, and eating like normal.

What should I do?

 

[Siberwulf]

Just ran a water test and here's what I got:

PO4 - .05
NO3 - 0.0 (I am dosing this, but apparently not enough)
Alk - 8.2
Ph - 8.25
Salinity - 1.025 (I plan to add a little salt to the tank)

I'm tempted to think this is a parasite, but I don't know where it could have come from. I buy all my fish pre-QTd and I left this tank run fallow for 90 days with the initial live rock/sand. Could this have come in through a coral frag and it just took a while to surface? I've not added a piece of coral in months (at least six) so I'm not sure.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Sorry to see, not anything you can really do for this fish. It likely had a systemic internal infection - either protozoan or bacterial. Watch the other clown closely for signs of similar symptoms.
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

With the discoloration it may be secondary bacterial stemming from water or brook but fish is moribund and likely will not make it as It will likely not eat or swim normal again.

 

[nuxx]

Weird fish deaths actually forced me to shut down my tank.

Would randomly find a smaller fish dead once a week or so for a month or two.

Everything (coral / fish / inverts) were quarantined and never saw any signs of disease in the tank. Did all the water tests including sending off water.

Looking back years later, I'm guessing one of the tangs or triggers might have been stressing out the smaller fish when I didn't see it. Or some hitchhiker...

Ended up being something I couldn't get over with the hobby.

 

[Weeb]

"Pre-QTd?" Who? Nothing beats doing your own QT.

 

[Siberwulf]

"Pre-QTd?" Who? Nothing beats doing your own QT.

Dr Reef. I don't have a ton of confidence in doing my own QT yet.

 

[Siberwulf]

With the discoloration it may be secondary bacterial stemming from water or brook but fish is moribund and likely will not make it as It will likely not eat or swim normal again.

He passed shortly after this post. I managed to get him out of the tank before he died in order to not stress out the other fish. It's pretty heartbreaking. I've had him since he was so tiny, and I can tell Queso, his wifey misses him (His name was Chip).

 

[ckuhny3]

Losing a fish you have a bond with is as tough as any pet loss we can face. My wife called me crazy for taking off work the day I found my clown against the powerhead. Keep your head up and know you gave that clown a good stress free life for years. Watch the rest of the fish in case you need to isolate and treat them. Sorry for your loss

 

[vetteguy53081]

He passed shortly after this post. I managed to get him out of the tank before he died in order to not stress out the other fish. It's pretty heartbreaking. I've had him since he was so tiny, and I can tell Queso, his wifey misses him (His name was Chip).

Sorry to hear. Aggression is never welcomed

 

[Weeb]

Sad. Sorry for the loss.

 

[RandomUser7]

Sorry for your loss. I hope the rest of your fish are able to live a long happy life.