New Clownfish Dying

[chivobp]

Yes that should help

 

[W31Olds]

Your Clown is breathing extremely fast and they do not eat copepods. What are you using to measure salinity? I took a look at you video and don't know how your bubbler works but I would prop open the lid ASAP and leave it open. Since I QT I don't use drip acclimation. I Just ask the LFS or the online vendor what they keep their tanks at and match the QT tank. If your LFS was running low Salinity shame on him for not telling you, especially as someone new to SW fish.

 

[idionne207]

I second checking salinity. When I first started, I was using a probe from Amazon. I didn’t know better and just trusted it. FOR MONTHS, my salinity was reading out at 1.025 but after buying a spectrometer it was 1.036 or ~47 ppt… lost so many corals and didn’t understand why (my clown was also pretty unhappy). Anyways, kinda specific case, but just a word of caution to second guess the readings your equipment shows. You can buy 35 ppt solution to make sure your device is properly calibrated, or have a lfs or another reefer test your water.

 

[singwithmylife]

Your Clown is breathing extremely fast and they do not eat copepods. What are you using to measure salinity? I took a look at you video and don't know how your bubbler works but I would prop open the lid ASAP and leave it open. Since I QT I don't use drip acclimation. I Just ask the LFS or the online vendor what they keep their tanks at and match the QT tank. If your LFS was running low Salinity shame on him for not telling you, especially as someone new to SW fish.

I have a Hanna electronic salinity tester and I calibrate it weekly. I also have a refractometer, and a hydrometer and I compare them periodically to be sure.

I found a ton of sources that said clowns do eat copepods before I put them in. I figured it couldn’t hurt.

The lid doesn’t sit flush on the tank. It’s lifted all along the back and sides so it allows a ton of airflow.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I don’t know. I’ll ask tomorrow morning. The guy from the shop has been trying to help too. He has been great. I was wondering about that and wishing I had checked and took some to run parameters on before I started the drip. Lesson learned. Does that mean I get to level up now?

I'm just trying to rule out one common cause for a clownfish to have issues right after arrival....

Once the fish has been moved over, there is no benefit to adjusting the salinity downward to match the dealer's tank unless it is done within a few hours.

 

[W31Olds]

Sounds like you have the Salinity covered. I use a Hanna also. Really tiny clowns would eat Copepods, however, anything sold online or in LFS should not require Pods. It would cost a fortune to feed a clown Pods anyway. Ask your LFS Guy what Salinity he runs in his Tanks. Your case looks like osmotic shock.

 

[singwithmylife]

I'm just trying to rule out one common cause for a clownfish to have issues right after arrival....

Once the fish has been moved over, there is no benefit to adjusting the salinity downward to match the dealer's tank unless it is done within a few hours.

Yeah, I really want to know what’s caused this. Those poor fish. I feel awful! I don’t want to make the same mistake again.

The orange fish is still alive but struggling. Is there anything else I can do to help it or is it just a waiting game at this point? I’m still waiting to hear back from the store about their salinity.

 

[singwithmylife]

Sounds like you have the Salinity covered. I use a Hanna also. Really tiny clowns would eat Copepods, however, anything sold online or in LFS should not require Pods. It would cost a fortune to feed a clown Pods anyway. Ask your LFS Guy what Salinity he runs in his Tanks. Your case looks like osmotic shock.

Yeah, I just put them in because he wouldn’t eat anything else and I figured it couldn’t make anything worse. then if he wanted to eat some they would be fresh and not just sitting there rotting.

I’ve asked and am just waiting to hear back from the LFS guy. He’s been really nice and said he’d replace them. I’m just so sad. They’re so tiny and so beautiful. I hate that they might have suffered.

 

[Fish Fan]

@Jay Hemdal
@vetteguy53081
@MnFish1

Do you have any advice for the OP going forward from here?

Thanks guys!

 

[vetteguy53081]

@Jay Hemdal
@vetteguy53081
@MnFish1

Do you have any advice for the OP going forward from here?

Thanks guys!

Without seeing fish hard to depict but can stem from acclimation, genetics, aggression, as examples

 

[singwithmylife]

@Jay Hemdal
@vetteguy53081
@MnFish1

Do you have any advice for the OP going forward from here?

Thanks guys!

The LFS guy just got back to me. He runs at 1.018 to 1.020. It’s osmotic shock. How can I help him? Do I just sit tight and don’t change anything else?

 

[singwithmylife]

I'm just trying to rule out one common cause for a clownfish to have issues right after arrival....

Once the fish has been moved over, there is no benefit to adjusting the salinity downward to match the dealer's tank unless it is done within a few hours.

The LFS guy just got back to me. He runs at 1.018 to 1.020. It’s osmotic shock. How can I help him? Do I just sit tight and don’t change anything else? How should I go about acclimating them in the future?

 

[W31Olds]

If I plan on Quarantining a fish or fish I will ask what the LFS or On-Line vendor keeps his Tanks at them match my QT Tank accordingly. I no longer Drip acclimate but do match Temp to allow the bags to equalize. I usually leave them in the Lower Salinity for the QT Period and then raise the salinity slowly during the observation period over a couple of days to match my DT. Only problem is beware if you buy inverts as they are normally shipped at a higher Salinity. The fish Medics are the subject matter experts on the Forum and probably have useful links to the detail on how they do it.

 

[singwithmylife]

If I plan on Quarantining a fish or fish I will ask what the LFS or On-Line vendor keeps his Tanks at them match my QT Tank accordingly. I no longer Drip acclimate but do match Temp to allow the bags to equalize. I usually leave them in the Lower Salinity for the QT Period and then raise the salinity slowly during the observation period over a couple of days to match my DT. Only problem is beware if you buy inverts as they are normally shipped at a higher Salinity. The fish Medics are the subject matter experts on the Forum and probably have useful links to the detail on how they do it.

Thank you so much!!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you so much!!!

I dont think this is osmotic shock . How did you acclimate fish?
Matching salinity is an important step yes, but seems to be more to this

 

[W31Olds]

vetteguy, those clowns were so tiny and maybe a little thin. Might be a good idea for the OP to change the water in the QT Tank before they get their replacements.

 

[Uncle99]

It would take me about 2-3 days to get. Fish from 1.018 to 1.024 without any respiratory stress.

If the fish is in distress, you can lower salinity very quickly provided you maintain temp.

This will ease the situation.

Increases more than .002 per day can be fatal or at least, very stressful.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The LFS guy just got back to me. He runs at 1.018 to 1.020. It’s osmotic shock. How can I help him? Do I just sit tight and don’t change anything else? How should I go about acclimating them in the future?

It does sound like osmotic shock is at least a contributing factor here. There isn’t anything to do now - if you lower the salinity, it will just add stress.

Here is an article I wrote on fish acclimation:

Acclimation Methods

Acclimating Animals to Aquariums Jay F. Hemdal c.2020 Introduction to acclimation techniques Most beginning aquarists hear that they must “acclimate” any new animals they add to their aquarium. Acclimation (sometimes termed...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[myminireef18]

I am new to saltwater but have had large freshwater tanks for years. I know salt is a totally different ballgame. I started my 20 gal. display tank about a month ago. It is cycled but currently empty. I also have a 10 gal. quarantine tank.

Yesterday I bought two baby storm clownfish, one black and one orange, from my local fish store. He had them for several weeks in the store and had been holding them for me. They seemed fine at the store.

I brought them straight home and floated them in the tank for 20 min. to adjust to the temp then drip acclimated them for about an hour until the water ratio was 1 to 1. I then moved them by hand into the quarantine tank. I washed my hands with super hot water no soap for several min. prior to moving them and was extremely gentle.

My quarantine tank has no substrate, just a submerged filter with a bubble feature, a heater, and two black pvc elbows to hide in.

As soon as I got them into the tank the black one started laying down on its side on the bottom and breathing heavily. I turned off all the lights thinking it was just super stressed and left the room calm and quiet. It seemed to improve but was still laying down a lot. The orange one was hanging out by the black one a lot but was at least not laying down.

I checked my parameters yesterday morning and again today and they have not changed. They are:

Ph - 8.1
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 0
Salinity - 1.024
Temp - 76.8 F

This morning I let the lights do a low level program and tried to feed them some mysis shrimp (frozen). The black one got the zoomies for a minute and was gasping for air at the top and then laid down on the bottom and died. The orange one is still hanging out at the bottom and not swimming around much. I think I saw it eat a tiny bit. I don’t want the orange one to die! What do I do? I can’t figure out what’s wrong.

It could be stress, if they are babies you should probably also turn off the light for the first 4 to 5 hours, then gradually bring dim light on. Everything else seen fine. Oh your tank look bare, they like a hiding place to rest. put some PVC tube in their so they feel safe., or live rock.

 

[myminireef18]

I am new to saltwater but have had large freshwater tanks for years. I know salt is a totally different ballgame. I started my 20 gal. display tank about a month ago. It is cycled but currently empty. I also have a 10 gal. quarantine tank.

Yesterday I bought two baby storm clownfish, one black and one orange, from my local fish store. He had them for several weeks in the store and had been holding them for me. They seemed fine at the store.

I brought them straight home and floated them in the tank for 20 min. to adjust to the temp then drip acclimated them for about an hour until the water ratio was 1 to 1. I then moved them by hand into the quarantine tank. I washed my hands with super hot water no soap for several min. prior to moving them and was extremely gentle.

My quarantine tank has no substrate, just a submerged filter with a bubble feature, a heater, and two black pvc elbows to hide in.

As soon as I got them into the tank the black one started laying down on its side on the bottom and breathing heavily. I turned off all the lights thinking it was just super stressed and left the room calm and quiet. It seemed to improve but was still laying down a lot. The orange one was hanging out by the black one a lot but was at least not laying down.

I checked my parameters yesterday morning and again today and they have not changed. They are:

Ph - 8.1
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 0
Salinity - 1.024
Temp - 76.8 F

This morning I let the lights do a low level program and tried to feed them some mysis shrimp (frozen). The black one got the zoomies for a minute and was gasping for air at the top and then laid down on the bottom and died. The orange one is still hanging out at the bottom and not swimming around much. I think I saw it eat a tiny bit. I don’t want the orange one to die! What do I do? I can’t figure out what’s wrong.