Clownfish stopped eating, won't close mouth

[hannernanner]

Clown has been in my tank a little over a month. it is the first fish, only other inhabitants are a few snails. This morning he was just hovering near the top of the water in the back of the tank when I normally feed him. Eventually he came out, as I was removing some algae and working on the tank, but still not interested in food. All parameters are in range, I don't know what's happening. The video is a little blurry but you can see that his mouth is just open. What's going on?

https://youtu.be/k5qvw8aNL_U

 

[bark1ngspider]

Looks really cool! What are your ammonia levels mouth opening can be a sign that gills are ammonia burn....has he been gasping for air at top of water?

 

[hannernanner]

Looks really cool! What are your ammonia levels mouth opening can be a sign that gills are ammonia burn....has he been gasping for air at top of water?

I know, I’ll be devastated if I lose him. Ammonia is zero, has been for a couple months now. Tank is new but was cycled well before he was added.

 

[bark1ngspider]

I would do a 10-15% water change and see if he has brook or ich

 

[hannernanner]

I would do a 10-15% water change and see if he has brook or ich

Water change has been done in the last week. I’m trying not to do too many because the last one triggered a bacterial bloom and I also may have Dino. When it rains it pours. I know the typical symptoms of ich (haven’t seen any white spots yet), but no idea what brook looks like. He’s been very healthy and active for the 6 weeks he’s been in the tank, and nothings been added since he was. How would either of these parasites have gotten in??

 

[bark1ngspider]

They could’ve been contaminated from switch tanks like if where u bought them put them in a holding tank that has been used before....did u qt him?

 

[hannernanner]

They could’ve been contaminated from switch tanks like if where u bought them put them in a holding tank that has been used before....did u qt him?

No, I don’t have a quarantine tank set up. The guy at the LFS told me they keep the captive bred fish in a different system than the others, so they don’t share water with the ocean fish...

 

[bark1ngspider]

I personally don’t qt because my lfs medicated them and they are captive bred and I’ve never had a sick fish from them and they are doing really healthy, BUT I treat for internal parasites

 

[bark1ngspider]

Have your clowns had white stringy poop or pinched stomach or heavy breathing I recommend prazi which is reef safe and will also treat for brook

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The simple test for water quality issues versus disease is this: if the invertebrates are fine, and only the fish are affected, it is almost always a fish disease, not water quality. In your case, with just snails in the tank, it is less clear, but if the snails are moving around and feeding, then you should focus on fish diseases.

Rarely, but it does happen, a fish can get a bit of gravel caught in its mouth. I don't think that is the case here, as the fish is also breathing pretty rapidly.

I advocate for ALL fish to be properly quarantined, but I realize that this is an issue with home aquarists that only have a single tank.

At this point, your options are really limited. You could try dosing with Ruby Reef Rally Pro, of all of the "reef safe" medications, it is the only one that I know of that contains actual proven medication, and not some herbal tonic.

Jay

 

[bark1ngspider]

The simple test for water quality issues versus disease is this: if the invertebrates are fine, and only the fish are affected, it is almost always a fish disease, not water quality. In your case, with just snails in the tank, it is less clear, but if the snails are moving around and feeding, then you should focus on fish diseases.

Rarely, but it does happen, a fish can get a bit of gravel caught in its mouth. I don't think that is the case here, as the fish is also breathing pretty rapidly.

I advocate for ALL fish to be properly quarantined, but I realize that this is an issue with home aquarists that only have a single tank.

At this point, your options are really limited. You could try dosing with Ruby Reef Rally Pro, of all of the "reef safe" medications, it is the only one that I know of that contains actual proven medication, and not some herbal tonic.

The simple test for water quality issues versus disease is this: if the invertebrates are fine, and only the fish are affected, it is almost always a fish disease, not water quality. In your case, with just snails in the tank, it is less clear, but if the snails are moving around and feeding, then you should focus on fish diseases.

Rarely, but it does happen, a fish can get a bit of gravel caught in its mouth. I don't think that is the case here, as the fish is also breathing pretty rapidly.

I advocate for ALL fish to be properly quarantined, but I realize that this is an issue with home aquarists that only have a single tank.

At this point, your options are really limited. You could try dosing with Ruby Reef Rally Pro, of all of the "reef safe" medications, it is the only one that I know of that contains actual proven medication, and not some herbal tonic.

Jay

I also got a question...if my clown has white somewhat stringy poop .25inch long and only sticks to him for about 15 minutes is that internal parasite...I do feed mysis