Clownfish laying on sand breathing hard

[Innominandum]

Looking for some advice on what to do

Noticed a couple hours ago that one of my clownfish (smaller/male) was gasping for air (looked like he was eating but I didn't feed them yet). After I tried feeding pellets and frozen reef frenzy, the female ate while he didn't and eventually dropped to the sandbed where he is now. Moves if anything (pointer stick / cleanup crew) touches him but otherwise just lays there.

Since then, hes swam for like maybe 1min right above the sandbed and moved to the outflow nozzle and back to the sandbed once.

Have had the pair for over 7 months. Tank is technically like 5 years old. Haven't added anything new in 4 months.

So far I have:

1. Tested pH, ammonia, and nitrite with an old API kit set, and nitrate with nyos.
   1. pH: ~8.0, ammonia: ~0.1?ppm(hard to tell), nitrite: 0ppm, nitrate: between 0-1ppm
2. Moved the female to a breeder box, since I noticed her swimming around the male at one point
   1. They've been together fine for 7 months in my tank, and were previously in a harem before I got them.
   2. Male does seem to have torn fins. Not sure if they ever healed from when they fought when I first got them.
3. 5 gallon water change. I have the fluval 13.5gal tank.
4. chucked in a couple frozen water bottles. Tank was showing 81F degrees with a mercury thermometer and 78 on the heater itself.
5. Pointed outflow nozzle more towards surface to increase surface breakage for oxygen exchange.
6. Swapped all my filter media for fresh ones.
7. Checked visually for signs of disease? mucus or white dots
   1. Doesn't seem to be Brooklynella or itch, but I'm no expert. I haven't added anything to the tank for almost 4 months.

I'm not sure what caused this, especially since everything else in the tank seems to be doing fine. Though, I have been busy with work last couple weeks and haven't looked at the tank much aside from dropping in some pellets or a cube of reef frenzy daily. Maybe a little thin? But he isn't accepting any food right now.

I attached a couple videos/images of him below, any help would be appreciated

Saw him near the top hoving at the thermometer while writing this. Dropped in a couple pellets, but he didn't even acknowledge their existence.
edit: dropped in some defrosted reef frenzy since he was at the thermometer again. He seemed to see it, looked at the pieces float around, but then sank back to the bottom without eating them.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

@vetteguy53081

 

[Innominandum]

Update: He's swimming around a little now, but seems extremely weak. Hanging on the glass more than middle of the tank. Preferring to hang on the thermometer (usually hosts a zoa or the outflow nozzle)

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looking for some advice on what to do

Noticed a couple hours ago that one of my clownfish (smaller/male) was gasping for air (looked like he was eating but I didn't feed them yet). After I tried feeding pellets and frozen reef frenzy, the female ate while he didn't and eventually dropped to the sandbed where he is now. Moves if anything (pointer stick / cleanup crew) touches him but otherwise just lays there.

Since then, hes swam for like maybe 1min right above the sandbed and moved to the outflow nozzle and back to the sandbed once.

Have had the pair for over 7 months. Tank is technically like 5 years old. Haven't added anything new in 4 months.

So far I have:

1. Tested pH, ammonia, and nitrite with an old API kit set, and nitrate with nyos.
   1. pH: ~8.0, ammonia: ~0.1?ppm(hard to tell), nitrite: 0ppm, nitrate: between 0-1ppm
2. Moved the female to a breeder box, since I noticed her swimming around the male at one point
   1. They've been together fine for 7 months in my tank, and were previously in a harem before I got them.
   2. Male does seem to have torn fins. Not sure if they ever healed from when they fought when I first got them.
3. 5 gallon water change. I have the fluval 13.5gal tank.
4. chucked in a couple frozen water bottles. Tank was showing 81F degrees with a mercury thermometer and 78 on the heater itself.
5. Pointed outflow nozzle more towards surface to increase surface breakage for oxygen exchange.
6. Swapped all my filter media for fresh ones.
7. Checked visually for signs of disease? mucus or white dots
   1. Doesn't seem to be Brooklynella or itch, but I'm no expert. I haven't added anything to the tank for almost 4 months.

I'm not sure what caused this, especially since everything else in the tank seems to be doing fine. Though, I have been busy with work last couple weeks and haven't looked at the tank much aside from dropping in some pellets or a cube of reef frenzy daily. Maybe a little thin? But he isn't accepting any food right now.

I attached a couple videos/images of him below, any help would be appreciated

Saw him near the top hoving at the thermometer while writing this. Dropped in a couple pellets, but he didn't even acknowledge their existence.
edit: dropped in some defrosted reef frenzy since he was at the thermometer again. He seemed to see it, looked at the pieces float around, but then sank back to the bottom without eating them.

Fish looks to be a victim of aggression with tail and fins bitten, likely from another clown or tank mate. May be approaching state of being moribund which it may not eat or swim normal going forward unless separated, at least for now with air stone added

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Looking for some advice on what to do

Noticed a couple hours ago that one of my clownfish (smaller/male) was gasping for air (looked like he was eating but I didn't feed them yet). After I tried feeding pellets and frozen reef frenzy, the female ate while he didn't and eventually dropped to the sandbed where he is now. Moves if anything (pointer stick / cleanup crew) touches him but otherwise just lays there.

Since then, hes swam for like maybe 1min right above the sandbed and moved to the outflow nozzle and back to the sandbed once.

Have had the pair for over 7 months. Tank is technically like 5 years old. Haven't added anything new in 4 months.

So far I have:

1. Tested pH, ammonia, and nitrite with an old API kit set, and nitrate with nyos.
   1. pH: ~8.0, ammonia: ~0.1?ppm(hard to tell), nitrite: 0ppm, nitrate: between 0-1ppm
2. Moved the female to a breeder box, since I noticed her swimming around the male at one point
   1. They've been together fine for 7 months in my tank, and were previously in a harem before I got them.
   2. Male does seem to have torn fins. Not sure if they ever healed from when they fought when I first got them.
3. 5 gallon water change. I have the fluval 13.5gal tank.
4. chucked in a couple frozen water bottles. Tank was showing 81F degrees with a mercury thermometer and 78 on the heater itself.
5. Pointed outflow nozzle more towards surface to increase surface breakage for oxygen exchange.
6. Swapped all my filter media for fresh ones.
7. Checked visually for signs of disease? mucus or white dots
   1. Doesn't seem to be Brooklynella or itch, but I'm no expert. I haven't added anything to the tank for almost 4 months.

I'm not sure what caused this, especially since everything else in the tank seems to be doing fine. Though, I have been busy with work last couple weeks and haven't looked at the tank much aside from dropping in some pellets or a cube of reef frenzy daily. Maybe a little thin? But he isn't accepting any food right now.

I attached a couple videos/images of him below, any help would be appreciated

Saw him near the top hoving at the thermometer while writing this. Dropped in a couple pellets, but he didn't even acknowledge their existence.
edit: dropped in some defrosted reef frenzy since he was at the thermometer again. He seemed to see it, looked at the pieces float around, but then sank back to the bottom without eating them.

There does seem to be some fin damage, but some of that may be genetic, due to its long fin form.

The core issue is that this clown is wafer thin. Fish lose muscle mass in their nape and back. Fish don’t store fat well, so they use their liver for energy. When it gets to a certain point, irreversible liver damage results. Sorry, but I think your fish has reached this point.

So - what caused this food malabsorption? It may be genetic, these fancy clowns are prone to that. It could also be a mycobacteria infection (not treatable). In some fish, I’ve seen this caused by a gravel grain stuck in their intestine, or even a tumor there.

 

[MnFish1]

Looking for some advice on what to do

Noticed a couple hours ago that one of my clownfish (smaller/male) was gasping for air (looked like he was eating but I didn't feed them yet). After I tried feeding pellets and frozen reef frenzy, the female ate while he didn't and eventually dropped to the sandbed where he is now. Moves if anything (pointer stick / cleanup crew) touches him but otherwise just lays there.

Since then, hes swam for like maybe 1min right above the sandbed and moved to the outflow nozzle and back to the sandbed once.

Have had the pair for over 7 months. Tank is technically like 5 years old. Haven't added anything new in 4 months.

So far I have:

1. Tested pH, ammonia, and nitrite with an old API kit set, and nitrate with nyos.
   1. pH: ~8.0, ammonia: ~0.1?ppm(hard to tell), nitrite: 0ppm, nitrate: between 0-1ppm

You cannot measure ammonia at a 0.1 level with an API kit - you read it as the closest color to the card - so 0.1 would be 0.

• Moved the female to a breeder box, since I noticed her swimming around the male at one point
  1. They've been together fine for 7 months in my tank, and were previously in a harem before I got them.
  2. Male does seem to have torn fins. Not sure if they ever healed from when they fought when I first got them.

Agree - it looks like aggression at some point. And if it happened once - it likely happened again. The fish itself looks like it's in bad shape - I cannot see the videos.

• 5 gallon water change. I have the fluval 13.5gal tank.
• chucked in a couple frozen water bottles. Tank was showing 81F degrees with a mercury thermometer and 78 on the heater itself.

Just a comment - when 2 parameters do not match - use a third method to double check to see which is more likely the correct one before doing anything to adjust the parameter

• Pointed outflow nozzle more towards surface to increase surface breakage for oxygen exchange.

Good

• Swapped all my filter media for fresh ones.

Potentially an issue - depending on where your nitrifiers are - watch ammonia.

• Checked visually for signs of disease? mucus or white dots
  1. Doesn't seem to be Brooklynella or itch, but I'm no expert. I haven't added anything to the tank for almost 4 months.

Agree this is important.

I'm not sure what caused this, especially since everything else in the tank seems to be doing fine. Though, I have been busy with work last couple weeks and haven't looked at the tank much aside from dropping in some pellets or a cube of reef frenzy daily. Maybe a little thin? But he isn't accepting any food right now.

He does look thin - and unless the videos look much better than the picture - he may not recover. Fish that have gotten along for months may change when breeding behavior becomes evident.

I attached a couple videos/images of him below, any help would be appreciated

Saw him near the top hoving at the thermometer while writing this. Dropped in a couple pellets, but he didn't even acknowledge their existence.
edit: dropped in some defrosted reef frenzy since he was at the thermometer again. He seemed to see it, looked at the pieces float around, but then sank back to the bottom without eating them.

I would be careful not to add too much food. Since other fish, etc are doing ok - I'm not sure you can do much to save this fish. I know I probably repeated some things other people have said - however, I can't read all the posts. Best wishes with your tank and fish!