Fish appetite suppressed and acting slightly lethargic

Saltysocks

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Hey guys. So my pair of clowns is a little over 1 1/2 years old. I recently went on vacation and since I've came back one of the clowns has no interest in food. I've seen her be picky before but she would atleast pick at the food and spit it out. This is different, she is showing absolutely no interest in food. I've tried 3 different pellets, gvc mix flakes, mysis, brine, a frozen mix from ocean nutrition as well as frozen krill. She's ate none. Actually in feeding all.of those she showed slight interest once but not enough to even nip.

She's also acting slightly lethargic, but still protecting her anemone.

She's showing no physical symptoms and her partner is doing perfectly fine and eating

I did add a conch snail and few hermits but that was probably a month and a half ago so I don't think they're related. Any ideas on what to do? It's been 4 days since I seen her eat with my own eyes

I'm currently fighting a gha battle as I returned from vacation and my tank sitter was over feeding. P04 is higher than I've ever had it in my tank.

Parameters as of yesterday:

Alk 8.7
N03 31.9
P04 .221
PH 8.1

Both the p04 and n03 are higher than I ever have them. Could that be effecting thr fish? Although I find it unlikely it'd only be effecting one of the fish. No stringy poop or anything. Starting to get worried so I appreciate any ideas!

In the pic you can see the hair algae and the 2 fish. I also have videos if at all helpful. Thanks

20210815_125333.jpg
 

Jay Hemdal

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This is unusual that one clown is fine and the other isn’t eating? No fighting, right?

Jay
 

Jay Hemdal

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No fighting, in fact it's been calmer than usually cause I don't think she has the energy to push her regular dominance
Well, perhaps post the video, though I doubt that will tell me much.

The trouble is that not eating and lethargy are really general symptoms. When only one of a group of fish shows that, it is less likely that it is something contagious (or a water issue). If it isn't a contagious disease (or water issue), then it often isn't something that is treatable. Going that long without food is a serious symptom, just that it isn't something that can be specifically treated for.

Jay
 
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Saltysocks

Saltysocks

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Well, perhaps post the video, though I doubt that will tell me much.

The trouble is that not eating and lethargy are really general symptoms. When only one of a group of fish shows that, it is less likely that it is something contagious (or a water issue). If it isn't a contagious disease (or water issue), then it often isn't something that is treatable. Going that long without food is a serious symptom, just that it isn't something that can be specifically treated for.

Jay
Thanks for thr info Jay I really appreciate it. I am concerned if I don't get her to eat soon it's not gonna end well. I've been thinking of trying to treat for bacterial infection maybe? Or am I better of letting her try to fight it off herself? I'm not sure. Here's a video I took of them during feeding. Not quite the video I wanted to post but the other ones won't upload.



If you have any ideas on kind of an emergency treatment incase she gets worse. As long as she looks OK im gonna try not to interfere
 

Jay Hemdal

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Thanks for thr info Jay I really appreciate it. I am concerned if I don't get her to eat soon it's not gonna end well. I've been thinking of trying to treat for bacterial infection maybe? Or am I better of letting her try to fight it off herself? I'm not sure. Here's a video I took of them during feeding. Not quite the video I wanted to post but the other ones won't upload.



If you have any ideas on kind of an emergency treatment incase she gets worse. As long as she looks OK im gonna try not to interfere
Sorry, the video wouldn’t play for me.
Jay

Edit - I got the video to play on my computer at home. Trouble is, the blue lights make it difficult to see anything.
 
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Saltysocks

Saltysocks

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So got a little update. Just got home after not being home for a day and a half and notice the effected clown has sort of an "indentation" above her eye on her head. Still haven't seen the fish eat although seeming a little more interested in food. I don't think it looks like hole in the head disease, I'm certainly not an expert. Any ideas?
20210822_194118.jpg
 

Glenner’sreef

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So high phosphates aren’t great for reef tanks, corals will turn brown but fish are pretty much safe. Until algae blooms at some point take over. Oxygen level can plummet and take a toll on fish. I believe oxygen levels can drop before a physical appearance of the algae bloom occurs. The symptom of lethargy does fit but not sure. If it was my situation, I’d hook up an air pump/stone (just to provide relief) and start lowering my phosphates. GFO, Roahphos, Phosgaurd , Phos Pad etc. Good luck. :)
 
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So high phosphates aren’t great for reef tanks, corals will turn brown but fish are pretty much safe. Until algae blooms at some point take over. Oxygen level can plummet and take a toll on fish. I believe oxygen levels can drop before a physical appearance of the algae bloom occurs. The symptom of lethargy does fit but not sure. If it was my situation, I’d hook up an air pump/stone (just to provide relief) and start lowering my phosphates. GFO, Roahphos, Phosgaurd , Phos Pad etc. Good luck. :)
I'll definitely try that air stone! I've been running gfo and chemi pure blue as well as purigen in an attempt to lower the p04. At last check it was .193 ppm. Also thank you! Really hoping it works out OK
 
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Saltysocks

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Sorry, the video wouldn’t play for me.
Jay

Edit - I got the video to play on my computer at home. Trouble is, the blue lights make it difficult to see anything.
Thank you so much for trying to take a look Jay! I didn't realize you had gotten it to play. Maybe tommrow when the lights come on I can Crank the whites up and try to get a better video
 
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Saltysocks

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So I got a few pictures and videos today


20210823_143456.jpg


20210823_143452.jpg


20210823_143448.jpg


I can tell the black clown is looking a little thin, but other than that I don't notice alot. Any ideas?
 

Jay Hemdal

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Thanks for thr info Jay I really appreciate it. I am concerned if I don't get her to eat soon it's not gonna end well. I've been thinking of trying to treat for bacterial infection maybe? Or am I better of letting her try to fight it off herself? I'm not sure. Here's a video I took of them during feeding. Not quite the video I wanted to post but the other ones won't upload.



If you have any ideas on kind of an emergency treatment incase she gets worse. As long as she looks OK im gonna try not to interfere

Neither clown is going after food the way they ought to. Had you recently fed the orange clown? If not, it should have pounded the food. I couldn't tell for certain, but the black clown seemed to be breathing a bit hard/fast as well. I can see that pitting around its head, and yes, it looks a bit thin. Clownfish rarely get head and lateral line erosion, and when they do, it won't really affect their appetite.

I don't think it is the water quality, clownfish can be kept in much worse with no issues at all.

I don't suppose you have a treatment tank at your disposal? I don't have a clear thought as to what this could be, but dosing with an antibiotic would be one thing to try.

Jay
 
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Saltysocks

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Neither clown is going after food the way they ought to. Had you recently fed the orange clown? If not, it should have pounded the food. I couldn't tell for certain, but the black clown seemed to be breathing a bit hard/fast as well. I can see that pitting around its head, and yes, it looks a bit thin. Clownfish rarely get head and lateral line erosion, and when they do, it won't really affect their appetite.

I don't think it is the water quality, clownfish can be kept in much worse with no issues at all.

I don't suppose you have a treatment tank at your disposal? I don't have a clear thought as to what this could be, but dosing with an antibiotic would be one thing to try.

Jay
No that was actually their first meal of the day, although I usually feed frozen for dinner and dry in the afternoon so maybe the threw the orange one off. Unfortunately I don't have a qt right now but I might not have any other choice than to run to petco amd grab a 20 gallon. Anything I could possibly treat with in the dt? Once again thank you for the reply Jay
 
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Saltysocks

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The effect led clown gas began to nip at food again. Today she had a very dark large semi stringy poop. She's swimming around the tank like she does when she's looking fur pods. Any ideas?

 

Jay Hemdal

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Yes it is. I hadn't even thought of such a thing
Bad frozen food is definitely a thing! Sometimes the food has been thawed and refrozen many Tim’s before you even get it.
Jay
 
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Saltysocks

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Hopefully she's passes this and is okay. I was feeding pe mysis. Then added an ocean nutrition frozen cube to feeding. But after feeding it for a but I realized it uses "gel binder". Should I be avoiding that?
 

Jay Hemdal

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Hopefully she's passes this and is okay. I was feeding pe mysis. Then added an ocean nutrition frozen cube to feeding. But after feeding it for a but I realized it uses "gel binder". Should I be avoiding that?
I don’t think gel diet has anything to do with this, it is pretty digestible. Big chunks of dried algae can cause blockages though.
Jay
 

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