Constipation or Something Else?

[Razorbacks]

The last several days I've noticed my male clownfish's poop dangling for a long time. Today I looked over and saw it resting on the bottom of the tank which isn't normal behavior. It's still feeding normal and it will get up and swim around, but I've seen it resting on the bottom of the tank several times in a short window of time which has me concerned. It's color seems normal. No spots or flaking of skin. I don't think his belly looks pinched or bloated, but attaching a video for second opinion on that. His breathing seems normal not elevated. I did just get back from several days away where I had an auto feeder running so it's possible it was overfeeding. I feed tetramarine flakes. There have been no new additions to the tank recently, but I did just switch from distilled to RODI water a few weeks ago.

This fish was introduced 77 days ago and was fully quarantined with Copper Power (30 days) and Prazi (2 weeks).

I should add that both clowns have been more interested in the bottom of the tank lately. They've carved out two "bowls" in the sand and seem to be hosting one, spending quiet a bit of time there (though hovering not resting on the bottom). That is the same spot that I've found the male resting on the bottom today.

Trying to troubleshoot on my own it seemed like it could be either constipation or internal worms/parasites were possible, but had different treatments.

I do have a QT tank, but it's currently housing a newly acquired royal gramma that's in copper so hoping if I need to dose medicated food then I could do so to the full display tank. The only other fish currently is the female clown who doesn't seem to have the same issue, though I have seen a little flashing at the sand when carving out the two bowls.


Aquarium Parameters:
Aquarium type: Reef
Aquarium water volume: 20 gallon long
Filtration type: protein skimmer, hob with sponge
How long has the aquarium been established?: 1 year for rock, but moved from 10 to 20 gallon tank about a month ago

In-depth information:
Have you lost any fish to this problem yet? No
Are any invertebrates affected? No
Respiration rate of affected fish: Appears normal
Are the affected fish still feeding? Yes
What remedies have you tried so far? N/A
Attaching a video link:



Tip: you might want to mute video to avoid hearing my kid's show

#fishmedic

 

[Sharkbait19]

It doesn’t look off physically, though it may be struggling against the current a bit.
Eating is a good sign - for now I would simply keep an eye out for more abnormal feces or change in behavior.

 

[Razorbacks]

He seems to be on the ground more now. Here's a 2 minute clip where he's on the ground more than not. He keeps getting up but settles back down. My wife feels like his color is a little off a bit. Hard for me to tell. He's always been a little more muted in color than the established one.

 

[Sharkbait19]

The behavior is definitely abnormal, but the fish still looks normal to me. Try reducing the flow a bit and see if that helps.

 

[vetteguy53081]

He seems to be on the ground more now. Here's a 2 minute clip where he's on the ground more than not. He keeps getting up but settles back down. My wife feels like his color is a little off a bit. Hard for me to tell. He's always been a little more muted in color than the established one.

What I see is a male succumbing to a larger female who is often an aggressor and will intimidate it. This is not uncommon and one way to confirm is to remove female to a clean container for 20-30 minutes. If you see smaller (male) suddenly cruising the tank - then you know.
Regarding feces, if you are feeding mysis and brine shrimp exclusively, you will see string feces and if fish are eating normal- likely not an internal issue.
If there is a chance of constipation, feed brine - No mysis which will act as a laxative and change up diet adding food such s TDO pellets and LRS fish frenzy

 

[Razorbacks]

Ok, thanks. I guess I'll just keep an eye on it. They've been together a few months, but I hadn't seen this behavior before, though I've seen other normal submissive behavior from the male. Since they're kind of hosting that spot recently I guess that makes sense. I just freak out when I see a fish on the sand bed.

I don't feed anything besides flakes and occasionally pellets. I've never fed frozen. The fish is eating normally. I could try to pick up some brine tomorrow, but was actually thinking about making some of my own frozen food from just salmon filets. I've heard this is healthier than brine or mysis.

Since nobody suspects internal issues I'll hold off any medications.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The last several days I've noticed my male clownfish's poop dangling for a long time. Today I looked over and saw it resting on the bottom of the tank which isn't normal behavior. It's still feeding normal and it will get up and swim around, but I've seen it resting on the bottom of the tank several times in a short window of time which has me concerned. It's color seems normal. No spots or flaking of skin. I don't think his belly looks pinched or bloated, but attaching a video for second opinion on that. His breathing seems normal not elevated. I did just get back from several days away where I had an auto feeder running so it's possible it was overfeeding. I feed tetramarine flakes. There have been no new additions to the tank recently, but I did just switch from distilled to RODI water a few weeks ago.

This fish was introduced 77 days ago and was fully quarantined with Copper Power (30 days) and Prazi (2 weeks).

I should add that both clowns have been more interested in the bottom of the tank lately. They've carved out two "bowls" in the sand and seem to be hosting one, spending quiet a bit of time there (though hovering not resting on the bottom). That is the same spot that I've found the male resting on the bottom today.

Trying to troubleshoot on my own it seemed like it could be either constipation or internal worms/parasites were possible, but had different treatments.

I do have a QT tank, but it's currently housing a newly acquired royal gramma that's in copper so hoping if I need to dose medicated food then I could do so to the full display tank. The only other fish currently is the female clown who doesn't seem to have the same issue, though I have seen a little flashing at the sand when carving out the two bowls.


Aquarium Parameters:
Aquarium type: Reef
Aquarium water volume: 20 gallon long
Filtration type: protein skimmer, hob with sponge
How long has the aquarium been established?: 1 year for rock, but moved from 10 to 20 gallon tank about a month ago

In-depth information:
Have you lost any fish to this problem yet? No
Are any invertebrates affected? No
Respiration rate of affected fish: Appears normal
Are the affected fish still feeding? Yes
What remedies have you tried so far? N/A
Attaching a video link:



Tip: you might want to mute video to avoid hearing my kid's show

#fishmedic

Thanks for the complete posting - that really helps!

I think they are just a bit over fed (not bad though).

A little bit of frozen brine, fed every other day or so, helps keep the fish regular. I'm not a big fan of flake foods, but they're o.k. I have a Darwin clown that I have fed only NLS pellets for three years and it looks great...sort of a test to see if a lazy aquarist can give good nutrition with a single food, plus my wife hates having frozen foods in our freezer (grin).

Jay

 

[Idech]

As a side note, be careful with that glass heater buried in the sand. The risk of breaking is increased and that can cause problems such as stray current. Not pleasant.

 

[Razorbacks]

As a side note, be careful with that glass heater buried in the sand. The risk of breaking is increased and that can cause problems such as stray current. Not pleasant.

Thanks. I didn't realize this was an issue. I'll raise it up.

 

[Razorbacks]

Thanks for the complete posting - that really helps!

I think they are just a bit over fed (not bad though).

A little bit of frozen brine, fed every other day or so, helps keep the fish regular. I'm not a big fan of flake foods, but they're o.k. I have a Darwin clown that I have fed only NLS pellets for three years and it looks great...sort of a test to see if a lazy aquarist can give good nutrition with a single food, plus my wife hates having frozen foods in our freezer (grin).

Jay

Thanks Jay. The behavior seems to have stopped this morning which is a relief.

I know there are a lot of different opinions on food and which is best. I've had good luck with flakes and pellets so plan to stick with those long term, but I agree variety is probably the best approach vs any one food so planning to add in the homemade frozen food from time to time.