HELP My clownfish is sick. I think.

technocolor · Feb 13, 2015

Eh, first post on here, hopefully i can get this little guy cured. Anyway I'm very new to the world of marine fish keeping and my fish is acting odd. My tank is newly cycled, and I just got my first fish a couple of days ago. I had a few inverts in there as well and they are doing great. but my ocellaris is acting strange but then again it could just be me over reacting because i have other freshwater fish that i am treating for hexamita. he seemed healthy and happy when i got him. he is maybe an inch and a half long, and a few days ago i noticed a perfectly round pink spot on the side of his head. he was also breathing heavy, so i did a water change and that slowed the breathing down some but he still had that spot and it disappeared yesterday sometime. and he was breathing heavy again, so i just treated it as maybe he is just stressed from entering a new tank. but now he is hiding, his colors are fading, he is at the bottom of the tank, and i can see straight through him, literally. he is so malnourished, which is odd because i feed my fish on a schedule, and he looked plumpish yesterday. I will post pictures and more info tomorrow but for now you'll have to go off of the evidence i have given. Any insights are appreciated.

Reefing Madness · Feb 13, 2015

All in All, without a pic, it sounds like new tank stress. Of which can be fatal if you can't get him to eat at all. Can you give us your full tank water parameters?

Humblefish · Feb 13, 2015

Reefing Madness said:
All in All, without a pic, it sounds like new tank stress. Of which can be fatal if you can't get him to eat at all. Can you give us your full tank water parameters?

^^This. I would especially like to know what your current nitrite/ammonia readings are. Also, how long has this tank been setup?

technocolor · Feb 16, 2015

sorry it has taken so long to reply i've been crazy busy with school. anyway bad news. the next morning after i posted i woke up to a dead fish... my water parameters have stayed about the same throughout i'll leave them at the bottom of the post. the guy at my lfs said that it probably wasnt my fault because my water parameters were ok. this take has been up for about 4 months. i just went to the lfs today and got an orchid dottyback and i see some odd things with him as well. i dont think he is sick but he looks furry and or lumpy? idk i'll make a new post about that. also there is a hitch hiker that is kinda like a tentacle monster, and i'll make a post on that as well.

water parameters
nh3 : 0.25 ppm
no2- :0ppm
no3- : 10ppm
ph: ~8.4
do(o2):~2ppm

ReelRednekReefer · Feb 16, 2015

Ammonia in even at low levels is toxic to fish. If your tank still has ammonia either it is not yet cycled or the bacteria colony is not strong enough to support the bioload.
How old is the tank? How was it cycled?
IME a tank is cycled when it can reduce 2-3ppm ammonia within 24hrs without detectable nitrites.

saltyphish · Feb 16, 2015

Ammonia is .25 ppm? That is not good. Sounds to me like your tank is not completely cycled. I would not add any fish until your Ammonia, and Nitrates are reading 0.

Humblefish · Feb 16, 2015

Good advice above. You are putting fish in an uncycled tank with unstable parameters. That usually ends badly.

Reefing Madness · Feb 16, 2015

Humblefish said:
Good advice above. You are putting fish in an uncycled tank with unstable parameters. That usually ends badly.

Agreed

technocolor · Feb 17, 2015

0.25 ppm was a rough estimate as my color preception is not as good as some people's. (that is why i am a musician and not a graphic artist :b) but i did a 30%water change a day or two before those results. i did graph the cycle process and i got the peaks and all, and then i waited another week or two before i added fish after the cycleing was 'done'. the way i cycled my tank was i put food in there and let it decompose.