New fish, fins clamped

[dmh41532]

The clown I got in today is at the bottom with its dorsal fin clamped. I did a drip acclimation, I did see it eat, but not sure if I share should be concerned or if it is just stress from shipping.

 

[saltyphish]

@Humblefish

 

[mochaclownlover]

Can you post a picture?

 

[dmh41532]

Unfortunately , this is the best I can get.

 

[mochaclownlover]

He appears to be fine,it was probably just stress

 

[dmh41532]

I'm concerned about its rapid breathing. At first I thought the O2 was low so I added a small air pump.

 

[mochaclownlover]

how long has he been in the tank?

 

[mochaclownlover]

How long has he been in the tank???

 

[dmh41532]

Since 11am give or take, the other fish seem fine.

 

[mochaclownlover]

where did you order him from? any idea how long he was in the bag??

 

[dmh41532]

This order came from coral imports, from what I can tell, the order shipped around 230 pm pacific and arrived here at 1015 am give or take a few mins.
Two of the bags had slightly brown/yellow water and smelled odd. I sent an email to the seller.

 

[Humblefish]

I am more concerned about the rapid breathing than the clamped fin. You say you received him from an online source (which means he was in transit a long time) and drip acclimated him. How long did you do the drip acclimation for? And if it was longer than 30 mins, how did you neutralize the ammonia that had inevitably built up in the bag?

 

[mochaclownlover]

how long was the drip acclimation?

 

[mochaclownlover]

Hopefully it's just stress.

 

[dmh41532]

I did 30 min drip. It made it through the night, so perhaps it was stress from shipping. It appears to be swimming a bit, though they aren't eating yet

 

[mochaclownlover]

He probably won't eat for a day or two

 

[dmh41532]

The clown seems to be bothered by the tank light, so I turned it off and just left the room light on, and it looked alittle less stressed, so I guess I need to acclimate it to the lighting

 

[Humblefish]

If you start noticing redness around the gills, that's probably due to ammonia burn. See more info below.

Ammonia Burn/fish injuries:

Symptoms - This appears as redness around the gill areas. The cause is exposure to ammonia, which can happen during acclimation, quarantine, or when a fish is placed in an aquarium which has not been completely cycled. Prolonged ammonia exposure can damage a fish’s gills, liver and kidneys, usually resulting in death within a few days.

Treatment options - Malachite Green or Methylene Blue, used either in a quarantine tank or as a bath treatment. Both help heal wounds, including gill damage from ammonia poisoning. For eye and other injuries, you can also dose Epsom salt (1 tablespoon per 5 gals). Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, making it reef safe.

 

[dmh41532]

I'm not seeing any signs of ammonia poisoning.for the clown, it seems to be lighting that is causing stress. What is a good way to acclimate it? I have t5 over my qt, but a stong metal halide over the display.

 

[mochaclownlover]

try sticking duck tape or an other kind of tape, over parts of the splash guard on the fixture, and over a period of days,remove more and more of the tape till the light is tape free.