Clownfish with Laboured Breathing

[amemome]

Found my female ocellaris clown in respiratory distress around noon PST, but thought she was just being weird until I looked again around 3:30pm PST.

Parameters came out as follows;
Ammonia: somewhere between .25 and .50 ppm (still using an API test kit, aiming to go full Salifert in 2027)
Nitrates: 0
Nitrites: 0
pH: seems right between 8.2-8.4 so I’m guessing it’s 8.3?

I’m waiting for my RO water to fill my bucket right now; is there anything else I can/should be doing to help her? I also pointed my PH at the surface to create more agitation for oxygen.

She’s the only fish affected, her mate is fine, all my inverts are fine, and my goby also seems unaffected.

Videos attached of her breathing. She’s in an isolation box in the tank right now so I can keep an eye on her.

 

[mmorrison55]

#fishmedics

 

[amemome]

#fishmedics

Thank you, I didn’t know what to tag

 

[vetteguy53081]

Found my female ocellaris clown in respiratory distress around noon PST, but thought she was just being weird until I looked again around 3:30pm PST.

Parameters came out as follows;
Ammonia: somewhere between .25 and .50 ppm (still using an API test kit, aiming to go full Salifert in 2027)
Nitrates: 0
Nitrites: 0
pH: seems right between 8.2-8.4 so I’m guessing it’s 8.3?

I’m waiting for my RO water to fill my bucket right now; is there anything else I can/should be doing to help her? I also pointed my PH at the surface to create more agitation for oxygen.

She’s the only fish affected, her mate is fine, all my inverts are fine, and my goby also seems unaffected.

Videos attached of her breathing. She’s in an isolation box in the tank right now so I can keep an eye on her.

The container the fish is in makes it very hard to make an assessment. Common with this behavior is often Brooklynella or gill flukes. I suspect brook. The most significant sign is heavy slime on its body as mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
Temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

 

[amemome]

The container the fish is in makes it very hard to make an assessment. Common with this behavior is often Brooklynella or gill flukes. I suspect brook. The most significant sign is heavy slime on its body as mucus generally starts at the facial area as well as gills and spreads across the body producing lesions as it progresses often confused with ich and can turn into secondary bacteria. Other symptoms will be lethargic behavior, refusing to eat and heavy breathing from the mucus.
Start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
Temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.

Thanks for the response

I can’t make out any lesions/mucus associated with brook, but I’ve also never dealt with it before.

The fastest I can get the Ruby Rally is this Friday, will she be okay until then? I also don’t have a dedicated QT tank, I’m not sure what I could use to set one up as I got rid of all my spare parts and equipment last summer.

She seems to be moving around more after the first bucket of clean water but still definitely having issues breathing; seems to be side swimming occasionally now :(

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for the response

I can’t make out any lesions/mucus associated with brook, but I’ve also never dealt with it before.

The fastest I can get the Ruby Rally is this Friday, will she be okay until then? I also don’t have a dedicated QT tank, I’m not sure what I could use to set one up as I got rid of all my spare parts and equipment last summer.

She seems to be moving around more after the first bucket of clean water but still definitely having issues breathing; seems to be side swimming occasionally now :(

Freshwater dip for 5 mins , same temperature as display tank will offer temporary relief but do not do daily as it can be stressful to the fish

 

[amemome]

Gave her the FW dip, she hated it and I feel horrible. Her breathing is slightly better but not by much. She’s definitely more willing to move around now.

I did order the Ruby Reef Rally anyways.

As I’m writing this she’s only resting on her side at the bottom of the isolation box. I don’t know at what point I should just euthanize her instead of having her suffer.

 

[martin.a]

I am not a medic, but I do not think she can make it until Fri.
You don't happen to have formalin? AFAIK formalin bath would work best to give her more time, but formalin is considered a carcinogen and availability is limited.

 

[amemome]

I am not a medic, but I do not think she can make it until Fri.
You don't happen to have formalin? AFAIK formalin bath would work best to give her more time, but formalin is considered a carcinogen and availability is limited.

I don’t, I’ve been shocked recently to find that I can now get a variety of fish-meds that were previously unavailable (like Kanaplex and Methylene Blue) in Canada (not that I have either). I doubt its something I can get living in a small town either.

 

[amemome]

Replying to thread. It had been only half an hour since I last checked on her and she’s gone.

 

[mmorrison55]

Sorry to hear that. At least she went relatively quick.

Keep an eye on your other fish to make sure nothing has spread. Maybe your ordered meds can help them if they start to show symptoms.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for the response

I can’t make out any lesions/mucus associated with brook, but I’ve also never dealt with it before.

The fastest I can get the Ruby Rally is this Friday, will she be okay until then? I also don’t have a dedicated QT tank, I’m not sure what I could use to set one up as I got rid of all my spare parts and equipment last summer.

She seems to be moving around more after the first bucket of clean water but still definitely having issues breathing; seems to be side swimming occasionally now :(

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

How is the fish this morning?

First, ensure the tank has good aeration (not just circulation). That supports the fish’s respiration.

It’s odd for one fish to develop rapid breathing without the other fish being affected - water issues affect all fish fairly evenly. Sometimes, diseases will start in one fish sooner than the others though.

 

[amemome]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

How is the fish this morning?

First, ensure the tank has good aeration (not just circulation). That supports the fish’s respiration.

It’s odd for one fish to develop rapid breathing without the other fish being affected - water issues affect all fish fairly evenly. Sometimes, diseases will start in one fish sooner than the others though.

She passed away that night. None of the others have developed issues but I do have Ruby Rally on hand now if they do.