Looking for advice on clownfish

[harveys_harvest]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to get some advice because I'm honestly stumped.I have a 29-gallon BioCube reef that's been running for several month. Over the last week, I've unfortunately lost both of my captive-bred clownfish.

Both clownfish passed white stringy feces before they died. The first clownfish was withdrawn in a cave for about 2 days and then it died. The second clownfish was still eating TDO pellets and swimming normally before I left for the weekend. When I returned, it was gone. I searched the display, rear filtration chambers, and around the tank but couldn't find it.

One additional observation: after I repositioned my wavemaker, the first clownfish became much less social and spent most of its time hiding in a cave instead of swimming in its usual area. I'm not sure whether that was related or just a coincidence, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.

My current water parameters are:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: ~5 ppm
Salinity: 1.026
Temperature: 78°F

The only fish remaining is a tailspot blenny, which is active, eating well, and appears healthy.

I've attached a video of the clownfish before it disappeared and a photo of the blenny. Sorry for the poor photo and video quality.

I'm not trying to jump to a diagnosis, but I'm hoping to learn from those with more experience.

Based on the photos, does this sound more consistent with internal parasites, a bacterial infection, stress, or something else?

My main questions are:
Would you recommend treating the remaining blenny or simply observing it?

Should I leave the tank fishless for a period of time before adding another fish?

Is there anything else you would recommend checking?

Thank you in advance for any advice. I really appreciate it.

 

[winxp_man]

Pics and videos should be under bright white light.

What can be observed in the video, you can’t see much aside from the fish swimming frantically. And such swimming can be a few things for sure. But without clear view of the fish’s body, it’s hard to see what is going on.



How long have the fish been in the tank?

What else was introduced before the fish started showing issues?

Stringy white feces would indicate parasites, but can also easily have been stringy white feces can also be related to diet. Depending on how it looked. As in how stringy.

Any of the main 4 disease will make a fish hide in a tank.

Where the fish yawning excessively?

Where the fish breathing fast at all times?

Where the fish flashing/scratching on sand or surfaces?

Where there any signs you can recall such as cloudy eyes?

How are the current fish in regard to these question?

 

[harveys_harvest]

Pics and videos should be under bright white light.

What can be observed in the video, you can’t see much aside from the fish swimming frantically. And such swimming can be a few things for sure. But without clear view of the fish’s body, it’s hard to see what is going on.



How long have the fish been in the tank?

What else was introduced before the fish started showing issues?

Stringy white feces would indicate parasites, but can also easily have been stringy white feces can also be related to diet. Depending on how it looked. As in how stringy.

Any of the main 4 disease will make a fish hide in a tank.

Where the fish yawning excessively?

Where the fish breathing fast at all times?

Where the fish flashing/scratching on sand or surfaces?

Where there any signs you can recall such as cloudy eyes?

How are the current fish in regard to these question?

I will definitely keep that in mind for next time. Thank you for the questions

1. The original clownfish was added on June 17. It had a partner, but the partner jumped out about 3 weeks later. I added it another clownfish on July 13. I added a tailspot blenny on July 16 I made sure my water parameters were good each time I added a new fish.

2. Before the first clownfish started showing issues, I don't believe I introduced anything besides the replacement clownfish and later the blenny. My corals and inverts had already been in the tank.

3. The first clownfish had white stringy feces before it died. I can't remember if it happened more than once. It was eating normally until the day before it died, when it refused food and hid in a cave for about 48 hours before passing.

4. I don't recall either clownfish yawning excessively, breathing rapidly, flashing or scratching against rocks or sand, having cloudy eyes, white spots, or excess mucus while they were alive.

5. The mucus-like coating I mentioned was only noticed after the first clownfish had died, so I'm not sure if that was related to the cause of death.

6. The current fish, my tailspot blenny, is acting completely normal. It's active, eating well, and I haven't noticed rapid breathing, flashing, yawning, cloudy eyes, or any other signs of illness.
Water parameters have been good throughout.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I will definitely keep that in mind for next time. Thank you for the questions

1. The original clownfish was added on June 17. It had a partner, but the partner jumped out about 3 weeks later. I added it another clownfish on July 13. I added a tailspot blenny on July 16 I made sure my water parameters were good each time I added a new fish.

2. Before the first clownfish started showing issues, I don't believe I introduced anything besides the replacement clownfish and later the blenny. My corals and inverts had already been in the tank.

3. The first clownfish had white stringy feces before it died. I can't remember if it happened more than once. It was eating normally until the day before it died, when it refused food and hid in a cave for about 48 hours before passing.

4. I don't recall either clownfish yawning excessively, breathing rapidly, flashing or scratching against rocks or sand, having cloudy eyes, white spots, or excess mucus while they were alive.

5. The mucus-like coating I mentioned was only noticed after the first clownfish had died, so I'm not sure if that was related to the cause of death.

6. The current fish, my tailspot blenny, is acting completely normal. It's active, eating well, and I haven't noticed rapid breathing, flashing, yawning, cloudy eyes, or any other signs of illness.
Water parameters have been good throughout.

Mucus feces in clownfish is fairly common, and can be a sign of severe disease or just a dietary imbalance. In your fish, the mucus feces was combined with a distorted swimming motion.

Did this all start after you added the second clownfish?


I wrote up the various causes of this in fish, trouble is, there is no way to know which of these issues caused the problem, but of the list, protozoan or coccidia are the two common causes of clownfish dying (the former is difficult to treat and the latter cannot be treated).


Excess mucus in fish feces:

This will present as white or light colored, stringy fecal material that often hangs from the fish’s anus for a longer than normal period. There are a number of different causes for this, some benign, others very serious. Without access to a microscope, there is little that can be done to diagnose this issue effectively.

Idiopathic mucus feces: this fancy term is just to describe white mucoid bulky feces of no serious consequence, but of an unknown cause. Some suspicion is that this can be caused by changes in diet or diets high in fats.

Starvation: Fish that have no food moving through their bowels may excrete white mucoid feces with little bulk to them. The primary diagnostic for this issue is evident in that the fish won’t been seen to be eating. Resolving the anorexia is of course the prime focus to resolve this issue.

Bacterial infection: internal bacterial infections can cause stringy feces as well. While some of these may resolve on their own, medicated foods containing a broad spectrum, gram negative oral antibiotic may be required.

Metazoan infections: multicellular worms are often blamed for mucoid feces, but in reality, they are almost never the root cause for this, and really, can only be diagnosed through looking for their ova in fecal samples. Fish can harbor tapeworms and nematodes without producing mucoid feces.

Protozoan infection: Hexamita and related diplomonad flagellate protozoans very frequently cause white stringy feces, especially in newly acquired clownfish. Metronidazole is the most frequent treatment for this issue. It can be dosed orally at 25 mg per kg of fish body weight, or 5 g in a kg of food. However, it is a very bitter medication, and some fish will refuse to feed on food containing it. It can be dosed in the water at 25 mg/l, but this is more effective in treating marine fishes, as freshwater fish do not “drink” aquarium water.

Coccidia: These microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled parasites are common diseases in dogs and cats. In fish, they cause epithelial necrosis of the gut, enteritis and the copious production of mucus (Noga 2010). These cannot be diagnosed without microscopic examination, and there is no well researched cure for this in fishes, although Toltrazuril has been tested.

Constipation: This malady is often given as a cause for stringy feces, but it is not as common as one would think. When it is seen, the feces are usually dark, not light in color. Often touted as a “cure for constipation”, many aquarists add Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) to the aquarium’s water – do not do this in marine aquariums, its use is primarily as a tonic/dip for freshwater fish. Seawater formulas already contain between 7 and 19 grams of magnesium sulfate per gallon (depending on the recipe). NSW magnesium level is around 1200 ppm and sulfur is around 840 ppm. Some benefit might be seen using it as a dip in additional concentrations, but adding a small amount to a marine aquarium itself has no benefit. Epsom salts do have some possible benefit when mixed into the food as a 3% by weight adjunct. Another commonly heard remedy for constipation is; “feed fresh peas”. This is an effective cure for fancy goldfish and Malawi cichlids that develop constipation and bloating. Again, overextrapolation has marine aquarists trying to feed peas to carnivorous fish, etc. The best method to enhance gut motility in fish is to feed frozen adult brine shrimp – not as a permanent diet, just long enough to get the constipation resolved.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to get some advice because I'm honestly stumped.I have a 29-gallon BioCube reef that's been running for several month. Over the last week, I've unfortunately lost both of my captive-bred clownfish.

Both clownfish passed white stringy feces before they died. The first clownfish was withdrawn in a cave for about 2 days and then it died. The second clownfish was still eating TDO pellets and swimming normally before I left for the weekend. When I returned, it was gone. I searched the display, rear filtration chambers, and around the tank but couldn't find it.

One additional observation: after I repositioned my wavemaker, the first clownfish became much less social and spent most of its time hiding in a cave instead of swimming in its usual area. I'm not sure whether that was related or just a coincidence, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.

My current water parameters are:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: ~5 ppm
Salinity: 1.026
Temperature: 78°F

The only fish remaining is a tailspot blenny, which is active, eating well, and appears healthy.

I've attached a video of the clownfish before it disappeared and a photo of the blenny. Sorry for the poor photo and video quality.

I'm not trying to jump to a diagnosis, but I'm hoping to learn from those with more experience.

Based on the photos, does this sound more consistent with internal parasites, a bacterial infection, stress, or something else?

My main questions are:
Would you recommend treating the remaining blenny or simply observing it?

Should I leave the tank fishless for a period of time before adding another fish?

Is there anything else you would recommend checking?

Thank you in advance for any advice. I really appreciate it.

If feeding mysis and /or brine shrimp, this often mimics internal issues. Based on body mass and eating, is likely the case

 

[harveys_harvest]

I will definitely keep that in mind for next time. Thank you for the questions

1. The original clownfish was added on June 17. It had a partner, but the partner jumped out about 3 weeks later. I added it another clownfish on July 13. I added a tailspot blenny on July 16 I made sure my water parameters were good each time I added a new fish.

2. Before the first clownfish started showing issues, I don't believe I introduced anything besides the replacement clownfish and later the blenny. My corals and inverts had already been in the tank.

3. The first clownfish had white stringy feces before it died. I can't remember if it happened more than once. It was eating normally until the day before it died, when it refused food and hid in a cave for about 48 hours before passing.

4. I don't recall either clownfish yawning excessively, breathing rapidly, flashing or scratching against rocks or sand, having cloudy eyes, white spots, or excess mucus while they were alive.

5. The mucus-like coating I mentioned was only noticed after the first clownfish had died, so I'm not sure if that was related to the cause of death.

6. The current fish, my tailspot blenny, is acting completely normal. It's active, eating well, and I haven't noticed rapid breathing, flashing, yawning, cloudy eyes, or any other signs of illness.
Water parameters have been good throughout.

Mucus feces in clownfish is fairly common, and can be a sign of severe disease or just a dietary imbalance. In your fish, the mucus feces was combined with a distorted swimming motion.

Did this all start after you added the second clownfish?


I wrote up the various causes of this in fish, trouble is, there is no way to know which of these issues caused the problem, but of the list, protozoan or coccidia are the two common causes of clownfish dying (the former is difficult to treat and the latter cannot be treated).


Excess mucus in fish feces:

This will present as white or light colored, stringy fecal material that often hangs from the fish’s anus for a longer than normal period. There are a number of different causes for this, some benign, others very serious. Without access to a microscope, there is little that can be done to diagnose this issue effectively.

Idiopathic mucus feces: this fancy term is just to describe white mucoid bulky feces of no serious consequence, but of an unknown cause. Some suspicion is that this can be caused by changes in diet or diets high in fats.

Starvation: Fish that have no food moving through their bowels may excrete white mucoid feces with little bulk to them. The primary diagnostic for this issue is evident in that the fish won’t been seen to be eating. Resolving the anorexia is of course the prime focus to resolve this issue.

Bacterial infection: internal bacterial infections can cause stringy feces as well. While some of these may resolve on their own, medicated foods containing a broad spectrum, gram negative oral antibiotic may be required.

Metazoan infections: multicellular worms are often blamed for mucoid feces, but in reality, they are almost never the root cause for this, and really, can only be diagnosed through looking for their ova in fecal samples. Fish can harbor tapeworms and nematodes without producing mucoid feces.

Protozoan infection: Hexamita and related diplomonad flagellate protozoans very frequently cause white stringy feces, especially in newly acquired clownfish. Metronidazole is the most frequent treatment for this issue. It can be dosed orally at 25 mg per kg of fish body weight, or 5 g in a kg of food. However, it is a very bitter medication, and some fish will refuse to feed on food containing it. It can be dosed in the water at 25 mg/l, but this is more effective in treating marine fishes, as freshwater fish do not “drink” aquarium water.

Coccidia: These microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled parasites are common diseases in dogs and cats. In fish, they cause epithelial necrosis of the gut, enteritis and the copious production of mucus (Noga 2010). These cannot be diagnosed without microscopic examination, and there is no well researched cure for this in fishes, although Toltrazuril has been tested.

Constipation: This malady is often given as a cause for stringy feces, but it is not as common as one would think. When it is seen, the feces are usually dark, not light in color. Often touted as a “cure for constipation”, many aquarists add Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) to the aquarium’s water – do not do this in marine aquariums, its use is primarily as a tonic/dip for freshwater fish. Seawater formulas already contain between 7 and 19 grams of magnesium sulfate per gallon (depending on the recipe). NSW magnesium level is around 1200 ppm and sulfur is around 840 ppm. Some benefit might be seen using it as a dip in additional concentrations, but adding a small amount to a marine aquarium itself has no benefit. Epsom salts do have some possible benefit when mixed into the food as a 3% by weight adjunct. Another commonly heard remedy for constipation is; “feed fresh peas”. This is an effective cure for fancy goldfish and Malawi cichlids that develop constipation and bloating. Again, overextrapolation has marine aquarists trying to feed peas to carnivorous fish, etc. The best method to enhance gut motility in fish is to feed frozen adult brine shrimp – not as a permanent diet, just long enough to get the constipation resolved.

Its possible my second clownfish had something. Why did the second clownfish not die first?

 

[harveys_harvest]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to get some advice because I'm honestly stumped.I have a 29-gallon BioCube reef that's been running for several month. Over the last week, I've unfortunately lost both of my captive-bred clownfish.

Both clownfish passed white stringy feces before they died. The first clownfish was withdrawn in a cave for about 2 days and then it died. The second clownfish was still eating TDO pellets and swimming normally before I left for the weekend. When I returned, it was gone. I searched the display, rear filtration chambers, and around the tank but couldn't find it.

One additional observation: after I repositioned my wavemaker, the first clownfish became much less social and spent most of its time hiding in a cave instead of swimming in its usual area. I'm not sure whether that was related or just a coincidence, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.

My current water parameters are:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: ~5 ppm
Salinity: 1.026
Temperature: 78°F

The only fish remaining is a tailspot blenny, which is active, eating well, and appears healthy.

I've attached a video of the clownfish before it disappeared and a photo of the blenny. Sorry for the poor photo and video quality.

I'm not trying to jump to a diagnosis, but I'm hoping to learn from those with more experience.

Based on the photos, does this sound more consistent with internal parasites, a bacterial infection, stress, or something else?

My main questions are:
Would you recommend treating the remaining blenny or simply observing it?

Should I leave the tank fishless for a period of time before adding another fish?

Is there anything else you would recommend checking?

Thank you in advance for any advice. I really appreciate it.

If feeding mysis and /or brine shrimp, this often mimics internal issues. Based on body mass and eating, is likely the case

Noted, I did feed them mysis shrimp a few days before they showed the white feces

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Its possible my second clownfish had something. Why did the second clownfish not die first?

That's pretty rare, but it can happen. Generally, if a new fish brings a disease into a tank, and it is carrying an active infection, it succumbs first, or soon after the older fish in the tank begin showing signs of disease.

 

[harveys_harvest]

Its possible my second clownfish had something. Why did the second clownfish not die first?

That's pretty rare, but it can happen. Generally, if a new fish brings a disease into a tank, and it is carrying an active infection, it succumbs first, or soon after the older fish in the tank begin showing signs of disease.

Fair enough. That makes sense to me