Clownfish not doing well

[shmoosh]

I'm hoping some more experienced folks could help me figure out what's wrong with my Clownfish. Since last night he just sort of floats right by the overflow. But when I feed, he perks up and swims normally and eats fine. I attached videos of him just floating there and of him swimming around after I fed some frozen food. I checked ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates and they were all zero except nitrates which were around 10 ppm which is pretty standard for my tank. I took a sample of tank water to my lfs and they said they didn't see anything concerning with my water.

The clownfish did seem to "gulp" food at the surface so it's possible he may have swallowed some air? I've been soaking the pellet food so it sinks and feeding frozen food to eliminate the gulping (started doing that this morning).

Any info to help me help my little dude would be greatly appreciated!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm hoping some more experienced folks could help me figure out what's wrong with my Clownfish. Since last night he just sort of floats right by the overflow. But when I feed, he perks up and swims normally and eats fine. I attached videos of him just floating there and of him swimming around after I fed some frozen food. I checked ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates and they were all zero except nitrates which were around 10 ppm which is pretty standard for my tank. I took a sample of tank water to my lfs and they said they didn't see anything concerning with my water.

The clownfish did seem to "gulp" food at the surface so it's possible he may have swallowed some air? I've been soaking the pellet food so it sinks and feeding frozen food to eliminate the gulping (started doing that this morning).

Any info to help me help my little dude would be greatly appreciated!

Likely a bladder issue and yes ingesting air would be a contributor. It will be up to release the air on its own should this be the case

 

[shmoosh]

I'm hoping some more experienced folks could help me figure out what's wrong with my Clownfish. Since last night he just sort of floats right by the overflow. But when I feed, he perks up and swims normally and eats fine. I attached videos of him just floating there and of him swimming around after I fed some frozen food. I checked ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates and they were all zero except nitrates which were around 10 ppm which is pretty standard for my tank. I took a sample of tank water to my lfs and they said they didn't see anything concerning with my water.

The clownfish did seem to "gulp" food at the surface so it's possible he may have swallowed some air? I've been soaking the pellet food so it sinks and feeding frozen food to eliminate the gulping (started doing that this morning).

Any info to help me help my little dude would be greatly appreciated!

Likely a bladder issue and yes ingesting air would be a contributor. It will be up to release the air on its own should this be the case

Thank you. That's what Google suggested, but this is my first ever saltwater fish so I thought I'd ask here as well. I'm going to keep soaking pellets before feeding and feeding frozen food also to avoid that in the future. For the time being is it just a waiting game? Are there any symptoms I should be keeping an eye out for?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you. That's what Google suggested, but this is my first ever saltwater fish so I thought I'd ask here as well. I'm going to keep soaking pellets before feeding and feeding frozen food also to avoid that in the future. For the time being is it just a waiting game? Are there any symptoms I should be keeping an eye out for?

No pellets for now
Offer brine shrimp which often acts as a laxative

 

[Mebbid]

Does he have a hard time swimming around when you feed him? Will he swim down below the surface?

Tbh it might just be a clown being lazy. Ive had a number of fish that were happy to just chill against an overflow.

 

[dloberry]

My clownfish stay in a very small area. One pair I have acts just like yours and has for months. No problems

 

[W31Olds]

Can you post another Video under white lights? I'm not entirely convinced this is a bladder issue. He is right by the overflow and at the end of your Video his respiration is elevated.

 

[shmoosh]

Does he have a hard time swimming around when you feed him? Will he swim down below the surface?

Tbh it might just be a clown being lazy. Ive had a number of fish that were happy to just chill against an overflow.

Yes he swims just fine when I feed. He'll occasionally do a lap or two around the tank, then right back to the overflow.

 

[shmoosh]

My clownfish stay in a very small area. One pair I have acts just like yours and has for months. No problems

I've only had him for two weeks, but that corner of the tank is his main chilling spot. But he normally at least swims, not just float there.

 

[shmoosh]

Can you post another Video under white lights? I'm not entirely convinced this is a bladder issue. He is right by the overflow and at the end of your Video his respiration is elevated.

Yes I'll try to get another video in the morning. I'm still getting the hang of getting decent aquarium video.

The overflow was my concern, too. When I first saw it I thought he had died and gotten sucked into it.

 

[Mebbid]

He does look like hes having a little bit of a hard time staying submerged, but that might just be the derpy way clowns swim. What does he do if you turn the flow off?

 

[PharmrJohn]

No pellets for now
Offer brine shrimp which often acts as a laxative

That's good to know!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I'm hoping some more experienced folks could help me figure out what's wrong with my Clownfish. Since last night he just sort of floats right by the overflow. But when I feed, he perks up and swims normally and eats fine. I attached videos of him just floating there and of him swimming around after I fed some frozen food. I checked ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates and they were all zero except nitrates which were around 10 ppm which is pretty standard for my tank. I took a sample of tank water to my lfs and they said they didn't see anything concerning with my water.

The clownfish did seem to "gulp" food at the surface so it's possible he may have swallowed some air? I've been soaking the pellet food so it sinks and feeding frozen food to eliminate the gulping (started doing that this morning).

Any info to help me help my little dude would be greatly appreciated!

In the second video, on the fish's right side, on the back area brown spot, there seems to be a lesion.

Are there other fish in with this one?

 

[shmoosh]

Can you post another Video under white lights? I'm not entirely convinced this is a bladder issue. He is right by the overflow and at the end of your Video his respiration is elevated.

 

[shmoosh]

I'm hoping some more experienced folks could help me figure out what's wrong with my Clownfish. Since last night he just sort of floats right by the overflow. But when I feed, he perks up and swims normally and eats fine. I attached videos of him just floating there and of him swimming around after I fed some frozen food. I checked ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates and they were all zero except nitrates which were around 10 ppm which is pretty standard for my tank. I took a sample of tank water to my lfs and they said they didn't see anything concerning with my water.

The clownfish did seem to "gulp" food at the surface so it's possible he may have swallowed some air? I've been soaking the pellet food so it sinks and feeding frozen food to eliminate the gulping (started doing that this morning).

Any info to help me help my little dude would be greatly appreciated!

In the second video, on the fish's right side, on the back area brown spot, there seems to be a lesion.

Are there other fish in with this one?

I thought that was part of his coloring. No, there are no other fish in the tank. Just the clownfish and a small cleanup crew.

 

[shmoosh]

He does look like hes having a little bit of a hard time staying submerged, but that might just be the derpy way clowns swim. What does he do if you turn the flow off?

I turned the return pumps off (my only flow currently) and he swam around right there at the overflow.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I thought that was part of his coloring. No, there are no other fish in the tank. Just the clownfish and a small cleanup crew.

That doesn't look normal to me - that area should be black, like the tissue surrounding it.

 

[shmoosh]

I thought that was part of his coloring. No, there are no other fish in the tank. Just the clownfish and a small cleanup crew.

That doesn't look normal to me - that area should be black, like the tissue surrounding it.

His left side has a similar elongated spot like that, and now that I look closer that one is all black. Any idea what that might be? He's had that spot for at least the two weeks I've had him, but he hasn't acted abnormally until a couple of days ago.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

His left side has a similar elongated spot like that, and now that I look closer that one is all black. Any idea what that might be? He's had that spot for at least the two weeks I've had him, but he hasn't acted abnormally until a couple of days ago.

No - that's why I asked about tankmates, I was looking for a possible cause of an injury....

 

[shmoosh]

His left side has a similar elongated spot like that, and now that I look closer that one is all black. Any idea what that might be? He's had that spot for at least the two weeks I've had him, but he hasn't acted abnormally until a couple of days ago.

No - that's why I asked about tankmates, I was looking for a possible cause of an injury....

Possibly at the lfs, he had that white spot when I got him. I didn't think anything of it until now.