Clownfish health assessment

[Gadzreefs]

Hello!
This is my first post here I have been trying to go about the hobby alone for a few months now and have recently discovered and started lurking on the form.

I have 2 clownfish I got about six weeks ago and I cannot tell if they are healthy or not. They seem happy enough but lately it almost feels like the female has to keep the male afloat at night, but neither looks completely healthy to me. I took a bunch of photos but am only posting a few of the ones here that illustrate any concern I have. Me being so new to the hobby and having very limited experience in these things and also not even knowing a quarantine protocol was a thing until a week or two ago I don’t want to miss anything nor do I want to rush into treating anything that isn’t there.

Apologies for the dissertation - on to the photos:

Here there are some wrinkles up near the face - is this a sign of mucus build up?

Here you can see some a white dot up on the face and another much smaller one in the black path and finally a brown “streak” up the side.

The other has another angle of the “wrinkles”

Few other angles.

Little more information:
They never really explore the tank and sometimes I catch them swimming fully upright or on a side. They also seem to hang out in front of the overflow and PH diffusion often, which as I understand could just be normal clown behavior. Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

- Chris

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

#fishmedics can give you info on the markings on the fish, but seeing the fish at the surface like that is concerning to me, it makes me think there is perhaps a low oxygen issue in the tank. The water surface should be agitated with a powerhead to help oxygenate the water, it should not be a flat surface IMO. The medics will know

 

[Mark Goode]

I can't comment on the spot (I can't see it), but the behaviour seems typical of young tank bred clowns to me. They'll hang around in one place, usually close to the surface, and swim tightly around each other. At least until they've settled - but mine still stay close to the same place after 3.5 years. Are they gasping at the surface, or just hanging there?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello!
This is my first post here I have been trying to go about the hobby alone for a few months now and have recently discovered and started lurking on the form.

I have 2 clownfish I got about six weeks ago and I cannot tell if they are healthy or not. They seem happy enough but lately it almost feels like the female has to keep the male afloat at night, but neither looks completely healthy to me. I took a bunch of photos but am only posting a few of the ones here that illustrate any concern I have. Me being so new to the hobby and having very limited experience in these things and also not even knowing a quarantine protocol was a thing until a week or two ago I don’t want to miss anything nor do I want to rush into treating anything that isn’t there.

Apologies for the dissertation - on to the photos:

Here there are some wrinkles up near the face - is this a sign of mucus build up?

Here you can see some a white dot up on the face and another much smaller one in the black path and finally a brown “streak” up the side.

The other has another angle of the “wrinkles”

Few other angles.

Little more information:
They never really explore the tank and sometimes I catch them swimming fully upright or on a side. They also seem to hang out in front of the overflow and PH diffusion often, which as I understand could just be normal clown behavior. Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

- Chris

I see discoloration that suggests early stage brooklynella. Mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Treat tank with ruby rally pro then at The longer the fish are exposed to the treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello!
This is my first post here I have been trying to go about the hobby alone for a few months now and have recently discovered and started lurking on the form.

I have 2 clownfish I got about six weeks ago and I cannot tell if they are healthy or not. They seem happy enough but lately it almost feels like the female has to keep the male afloat at night, but neither looks completely healthy to me. I took a bunch of photos but am only posting a few of the ones here that illustrate any concern I have. Me being so new to the hobby and having very limited experience in these things and also not even knowing a quarantine protocol was a thing until a week or two ago I don’t want to miss anything nor do I want to rush into treating anything that isn’t there.

Apologies for the dissertation - on to the photos:

Here there are some wrinkles up near the face - is this a sign of mucus build up?

Here you can see some a white dot up on the face and another much smaller one in the black path and finally a brown “streak” up the side.

The other has another angle of the “wrinkles”

Few other angles.

Little more information:
They never really explore the tank and sometimes I catch them swimming fully upright or on a side. They also seem to hang out in front of the overflow and PH diffusion often, which as I understand could just be normal clown behavior. Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

- Chris

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Are the fish still eating well?
How is the water testing at? Ammonia?
The water’s surface looks really still, does the tank have good aeration?
What do you mean by “pH diffusion”?

A video would tell us more about the fish’s health. If you can’t upload a video directly here, linking to YouTube works well.

Jay

 

[Gadzreefs]

Awesome thanks much for all of the responses.

Few points to clarify -
Tanks is a 15g cube

Oxygen hopefully shouldn’t be an issue - I have an axis 20 return rippling the surface and a Nero 3 PH turned way down.

For them hanging at the surface both? It’s kind of weird they will swim around a little and then go up to the surface - to be honest it kind of reminds me of my beta fish.

Under certain light they look a little “dusty”.

Rather than dose the whole tank would a removal following a protocol with formalin be a better option or is this the type of thing that infects the environment? I ask because I have some hermit crabs, a skunk cleaner, a bubbletip, and rockflower anemone in there and I’ve read mixed reviews on the reef safe claim. (I’m ignorant and am totally at the mercy of reviews and accounts).

 

[Gadzreefs]

Here’s a video.

Another thing to note is there are copepods in the tank and I do see them hunting them on the glass so I had written this off as the same for a while.

Edit:
I think I’m being trolled by the video host .

YouTube links -
Top ripple:

Behavior right now:

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Here’s a video.

Another thing to note is there are copepods in the tank and I do see them hunting them on the glass so I had written this off as the same for a while.

While there is good circulation, there isn't any surface agitation to speak of - you need that for proper gas exchange. I would try adding an air stone, just to see if that helps, while you pursue other options.....

 

[Gadzreefs]

Ahh okay I will angle the return way higher I thought it was good thanks!

 

[Gadzreefs]

While there is good circulation, there isn't any surface agitation to speak of - you need that for proper gas exchange. I would try adding an air stone, just to see if that helps, while you pursue other options.....

This insight was huge thank you soo much. I moved my power head up to the back wall and cleaned out a world of garbage from the return. Seeing all of that has me thinking
I should do an ammonia test to see if I had rotting food creeping it up. Thanks a lot

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

This insight was huge thank you soo much. I moved my power head up to the back wall and cleaned out a world of garbage from the return. Seeing all of that has me thinking
I should do an ammonia test to see if I had rotting food creeping it up. Thanks a lot

Yes - an ammonia and pH test can tell us a lot, or at least rule some issues out.

 

[Gadzreefs]

Yes - an ammonia and pH test can tell us a lot, or at least rule some issues out.

Sorry for the delay wanted to wait to the am to check the PH as I’ve learned about oxygen levels in homes overnight and its impact on exchange - there’s so much to this hobby.

Readings: (API marine kit)
PH - 8.1
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 5
Salinity - 35

Salinity should be stable as I have an ATO on the tank and use RODI water.

Here’s a video of the behavior early early this am:


And here they are a little later -


note the one that’s below has been down there a lot the last 24 hours, even slapping the sand around with her belly and tail.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Sorry for the delay wanted to wait to the am to check the PH as I’ve learned about oxygen levels in homes overnight and its impact on exchange - there’s so much to this hobby.

Readings: (API marine kit)
PH - 8.1
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 5
Salinity - 35

Salinity should be stable as I have an ATO on the tank and use RODI water.

Here’s a video of the behavior early early this am:


And here they are a little later -


note the one that’s below has been down there a lot the last 24 hours, even slapping the sand around with her belly and tail.

Ok, your water quality rules out water quality issues.

That leaves Brooklynella or “clowns being clowns” as the next two most likely issues. Dosing the tank with ruby reef rally pro is a pretty safe option. It won’t always cure brooklynella, but it does help in mild cases. As far as the other issue about clowns acting odd - you can try adjusting the rockwork and water flow to see if the clowns can find a more comfortable location to hang out in.

 

[Gadzreefs]

Okay the only reason im inclined to this this isn’t brook is from what I gather that kills really quickly - this behavior has been constant since I got them. They both always kind of separated at night and float to corners sometimes even hanging out by the overflow. I’ve moved the powerhead a few times to try to adjust the flow - is it possible the Nero 3 is just too strong and I should put the voyager back in? That one tops out around 270 which is less than half of what the Nero pushes when turned all the way down

I’ll try the rock work adjustment and grab some ruby

Here’s the settings on my mobius app if that helps. The flow that high is a result of yesterdays adjustments it was sitting around 600ish until then.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Okay the only reason im inclined to this this isn’t brook is from what I gather that kills really quickly - this behavior has been constant since I got them. They both always kind of separated at night and float to corners sometimes even hanging out by the overflow. I’ve moved the powerhead a few times to try to adjust the flow - is it possible the Nero 3 is just too strong and I should put the voyager back in? That one tops out around 270 which is less than half of what the Nero pushes when turned all the way down

I’ll try the rock work adjustment and grab some ruby

Here’s the settings on my mobius app if that helps. The flow that high is a result of yesterdays adjustments it was sitting around 600ish until then.

I’m just worried that if you slow the water flow down, you can run into aeration issues. I would add an air stone for safety and then drop the flow to see if the clowns change location.