New clownfish rubbing on PVC pipe all day

mia424

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Hello,

I just got these clownfish yesterday and today they have been rubbing against the same spot on a PVC pipe in the QT tank all day long, I have not seen them leave it at all. They are eating but won’t leave the pipe to go get food, they’ll only eat the food if it comes to them. I am unsure if this is normal behavior for clownfish or if they could have some sort of parasite they are trying to get off? I have attached a video to show exactly what they have been doing all day. Please let me know if anyone knows if this is normal behavior or not!!
 

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mia424

mia424

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Here are some pictures of what they are doing as well. I’m sorry for the poor quality, they are at a weird angle so it was difficult to get a clear picture.
A7EB5D74-3089-4193-8D12-597BAD80980A.jpeg
69B04B68-9C28-4322-8222-8D3FEC19C2EF.jpeg
B918B102-FFAB-4C4E-A48F-42DB21241CFE.jpeg
D0053294-AF74-4493-A98C-3EBFC1FEF5A8.jpeg
 

vetteguy53081

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Pics are somewhat fuzzy
Hanging at the pipes not unusual as it may be something they can retreat to but the rubbing is a sign of irritants such as ich or flukes
Pics are a little fuzzy to truly tell but having them in quarantine, are you treating the tank with anything?
 

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The video just looks like regular clownfish behavior to me. I didn't see any rubbing or flashing. Just a couple clowns hosting a pvc elbow.

I would still treat them with copper and prazi for 30 days in QT though, just to be sure. I QT all new fish just in case.
 
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mia424

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Pics are somewhat fuzzy
Hanging at the pipes not unusual as it may be something they can retreat to but the rubbing is a sign of irritants such as ich or flukes
Pics are a little fuzzy to truly tell but having them in quarantine, are you treating the tank with anything?
I am not currently treating the tank with anything, but I ordered PraziPro yesterday that should arrive on Sunday. I don’t see any white spots on them, so that makes me think it isn’t ich. I am wondering if they could have flukes because I have also seen them “yawning” a lot. Hopefully the PraziPro will help. I’m sorry for the fuzzy pictures, that was the best I could do as they were all turning out blurry :(

Thank you for your reply!
 
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The video just looks like regular clownfish behavior to me. I didn't see any rubbing or flashing. Just a couple clowns hosting a pvc elbow.

I would still treat them with copper and prazi for 30 days in QT though, just to be sure. I QT all new fish just in case.
I have prazi arriving on Sunday so I will treat with that, I wasn’t going to do copper as what I’ve read about it has made me a bit nervous since I’ve never done it before. If I were to treat with prazi and copper, what “schedule” do you recommend for using each one?
 

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I am not currently treating the tank with anything, but I ordered PraziPro yesterday that should arrive on Sunday. I don’t see any white spots on them, so that makes me think it isn’t ich. I am wondering if they could have flukes because I have also seen them “yawning” a lot. Hopefully the PraziPro will help. I’m sorry for the fuzzy pictures, that was the best I could do as they were all turning out blurry :(

Thank you for your reply!
Yawning is a sign of flukes. You can give them a 5 minute freshwater dip in water same temperature as quarantine tank which will offer temporary relief from flukes
 

LeftyReefer

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I have prazi arriving on Sunday so I will treat with that, I wasn’t going to do copper as what I’ve read about it has made me a bit nervous since I’ve never done it before. If I were to treat with prazi and copper, what “schedule” do you recommend for using each one?

Current Quarantine Protocol


I do my QT slightly different than the above in that I do the Prazi treatments at the same as the copper treatments, instead of waiting till after the copper to do prazi. I do 30 days in copper, with a dose of prazi on day 1, and then again every 9 days until the 30 days are up. then I do 2 week observation with no meds, and then into the DT as long as they stay clear of any issues. Prazi can lower O2 in the tank, so you always want to add an airstone or something while dosing it. I run an airstone 24/7 in my QT tank, along with a HOB filter breaking the surface and adding more flow.
 

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Hello,

I just got these clownfish yesterday and today they have been rubbing against the same spot on a PVC pipe in the QT tank all day long, I have not seen them leave it at all. They are eating but won’t leave the pipe to go get food, they’ll only eat the food if it comes to them. I am unsure if this is normal behavior for clownfish or if they could have some sort of parasite they are trying to get off? I have attached a video to show exactly what they have been doing all day. Please let me know if anyone knows if this is normal behavior or not!!

I don't see any flashing or scratching in the video - just the clownfish swimming tight against the surface like they are scared. May be from your filming them, or the lights might be too bright, or they just are nervous. The yawning can be a sign of flukes, but also can be a sign of particles in the water making the fish cough.

I see somebody already posted our quarantine protocol for you. IMO - the biggest danger with clownfish during quarantine is protozoan diseases, flukes are a bit more rare. Clowns handle copper very well if it is done properly - with a good test kit to monitor the levels.

Jay
 
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mia424

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Current Quarantine Protocol


I do my QT slightly different than the above in that I do the Prazi treatments at the same as the copper treatments, instead of waiting till after the copper to do prazi. I do 30 days in copper, with a dose of prazi on day 1, and then again every 9 days until the 30 days are up. then I do 2 week observation with no meds, and then into the DT as long as they stay clear of any issues. Prazi can lower O2 in the tank, so you always want to add an airstone or something while dosing it. I run an airstone 24/7 in my QT tank, along with a HOB filter breaking the surface and adding more flow.
Thank you for the link! Are there issues with using prazi at the same time as copper? I noticed the link says to do them separately so I just want to make sure there won't be any harmful side effects of using them together.
 
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mia424

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I don't see any flashing or scratching in the video - just the clownfish swimming tight against the surface like they are scared. May be from your filming them, or the lights might be too bright, or they just are nervous. The yawning can be a sign of flukes, but also can be a sign of particles in the water making the fish cough.

I see somebody already posted our quarantine protocol for you. IMO - the biggest danger with clownfish during quarantine is protozoan diseases, flukes are a bit more rare. Clowns handle copper very well if it is done properly - with a good test kit to monitor the levels.

Jay
One of them did seem to keep twisting and rubbing its side against the tube yesterday, but I was unable to capture that in the video. However, today they are acting just fine and aren't doing what they were doing yesterday, so maybe you were right about them just being nervous. I'll continue to keep an eye on them for any other signs and I'll work on getting what I need to treat with copper! Thank you for your help!
 

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Sorry to resurrect this thread.

Like yours, my clownfish that have been in QT for about 2 months started hosting one particular spot in tank about 2 days ago. They would stay here 95% of the time.



Not sure if related, but they occasionally have white stringy feces.

Is this normal behavior?
 

Jay Hemdal

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Sorry to resurrect this thread.

Like yours, my clownfish that have been in QT for about 2 months started hosting one particular spot in tank about 2 days ago. They would stay here 95% of the time.



Not sure if related, but they occasionally have white stringy feces.

Is this normal behavior?

That almost looks like they are nesting/pairing off. However, they also look a bit thin to me - are you feeding them enough?

Jay
 

Jay Hemdal

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I am feeding them twice a day. Will add another feeding of frozen.
Just try to avoid uneaten food - feed them frequently, in small amounts. When they stop eating, you stop feeding for that session.
Jay
 

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