Once again I'm freaking out, clownfish acting weird!

vetteguy53081

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10 4. I just finished setting up a 5g FW dip tank with a heater and a HOB for aeration. Keeping a close eye on the temp. LFS guy told me add prime and a "buffer"...I have prime but no buffer, I do have baking soda but no practical way to check pH, only a probe in my DT. Also making up batch of saltwater. Will match alk and temp. Picking up a formalin blue and "something else" mixture at 12pm tomorrow, taking a sick day to rush home and treat clownfish. I'll read over your instructions, many times over tonight. I did add a BTA recently and LFS guy told me it could also be from a "stupid" clownfish being too aggressive with the anemone and not brook since I've only added inverts and corals. I'm debating holding off on the FW dip, instead closely monitoring fish through the night. Do you think I'm handling the situation appropriately? For the umpteenth time, I really appreciate you, Vetteguy53081. U always come through for me!!!!
bAKING SODA works and no need to match alk but do match salinity. Its brook, not from anemone
 

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I've had the pair for close to 3 years... haven't added a fish in 2 1/2. Added a BTA about 3-4 months ago and she's been getting pretty aggressive with the anemone recently...I will gladly take another video if you need it
Just want to emphasize that this fish is very ill, if it is Brooklynella hostilis the prognosis is poor to grave based on his appearance and breathing effort in this video. That other clown probably has the best chance to survive since it is not as lethargic as the one in the corner, but you should definitely get to treating them quickly. The way that brook reproduces makes it a very fast killer (faster than both "ich" and "velvet") from hours to a few days depending on how quickly you caught it. Good luck! Hope the odds are in your favor!
 

Jay Hemdal

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BTW I don't have wild clowns. That are tank raised from 3 years ago
I just watched the video. My take on it is that both fish have some lesions. I cannot tell if they are Brooklynella or not, nobody can really be 100% on that. The history of the fish points away from it being Brook, but I've had issues where people say they've had a clown for years, but then didn't mention that they just added some inverts from a tank that had clownfish in it (so your harlequin shrimp could have been the vector). The minor extent of the lesions also points away from Brook - a clownfish that is laying on the bottom due to Brook should have sheets of mucus peeling off by that point.

In the end though, I would treat both fish for Brook. The FW dip and formalin will also help with other issues.

Jay
 
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Klyle

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Does anyone know how much baking soda i should add to 5g of freshwater to raise pH? Just picked up some methylene blue + konoplex mixture from LFS.. headed home to try and save my fish
 
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Klyle

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Well it looks like if I'm going to treat this fish I'll have to pull my tank apart. Shes not having any of it. Don't know if this will change anyone's advice but she's looking better today than yesterday, if that's possible. Still hanging out at the bottom except when her bf bothers her or I chase her with the net. She does look thinner in the stomach to me, but thats all I can phsycially notice. I have the lights off so it's hard to tell if the white spots are worse or improving... I'm not really looking for different advice or anything, just going over my thoughts in this post. Have both a fw dip tank and methylene blue tank set up, temps and salinity matched. Between work and this, its been a very hectic day so far and I'm just resting my brain. Oh, plus some a##hole blew up the Georgia Guidestones, I just found out. Soooo ready for this day to be over
 

Jay Hemdal

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Does anyone know how much baking soda i should add to 5g of freshwater to raise pH? Just picked up some methylene blue + konoplex mixture from LFS.. headed home to try and save my fish

In most regions, tap water has a pH of above 7.8 You do not need to add buffer for a FW dip. In many cases, I don't even bother to dechlorinate, the fish are simply not in the water long enough to hurt them.

Who suggested methylene blue and Kanaplex? Methylene blue is old school and rarely used any more. Kanaplex is a decent broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic, but I'm not seeing much here that indicates this is a bacterial infection.

Jay
 
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Klyle

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In most regions, tap water has a pH of above 7.8 You do not need to add buffer for a FW dip. In many cases, I don't even bother to dechlorinate, the fish are simply not in the water long enough to hurt them.

Who suggested methylene blue and Kanaplex? Methylene blue is old school and rarely used any more. Kanaplex is a decent broad spectrum, gram negative antibiotic, but I'm not seeing much here that indicates this is a bacterial infection.

Jay
My lfs did...I hate to call out the store but I will say they're in Minneapolis and closely associated with BRS. At the moment I have a 5g FW set up for a 5 min dip and then a 20g with the MB and kanapkex. I've been having a heck of a time trying to net the fish so my neighbor is going to stop by after work, about an hour, and we will try to double-team her with nets. If that fails, I will have to remove some rocks from DT. So if u were me and only had access to what I've stated above, would u go ahead with the MB/K treatment after the FW dip? Its all i have for the night but If needed, I am able to take off work tomorrow and instead go with the formalin treatment. All I can say is the clown does not look any worse today, but I know that doesn't mean much
 
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Klyle

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My lfs did...I hate to call out the store but I will say they're in Minneapolis and closely associated with BRS. At the moment I have a 5g FW set up for a 5 min dip and then a 20g with the MB and kanapkex. I've been having a heck of a time trying to net the fish so my neighbor is going to stop by after work, about an hour, and we will try to double-team her with nets. If that fails, I will have to remove some rocks from DT. So if u were me and only had access to what I've stated above, would u go ahead with the MB/K treatment after the FW dip? Its all i have for the night but If needed, I am able to take off work tomorrow and instead go with the formalin treatment. All I can say is the clown does not look any worse today, but I know that doesn't mean much
 

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Cell

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I don't know either of our local reefing stores to have experts in fish treatment and diagnosis even close to the likes of which we have here on R2R.
 
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Klyle

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I don't know either of our local reefing stores to have experts in fish treatment and diagnosis even close to the likes of which we have here on R2R.
Dude I'm my very uneducated opinion, I totally agree with you. Between Jay and Vetteguy, I only want to do what they say. But the lfs guy seemed way more educated than myself, and after completely describing my situation...and being broke as a joke until tomorrow, that's what they sent me home with. Although the being broke thing wasn't discussed so I don't think this was suggested as a budget option. Unfortunately, this is the situation I'm in and all I have to work with until tomorrow. At which point I'll gladly spend any amount of money to properly handle the situation. And one other thing, I will never EVER EVER put one more thing in my tank without having a complete qt system set up. I'm so disappointed in myself at the moment.
 

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My lfs did...I hate to call out the store but I will say they're in Minneapolis and closely associated with BRS. At the moment I have a 5g FW set up for a 5 min dip and then a 20g with the MB and kanapkex. I've been having a heck of a time trying to net the fish so my neighbor is going to stop by after work, about an hour, and we will try to double-team her with nets. If that fails, I will have to remove some rocks from DT. So if u were me and only had access to what I've stated above, would u go ahead with the MB/K treatment after the FW dip? Its all i have for the night but If needed, I am able to take off work tomorrow and instead go with the formalin treatment. All I can say is the clown does not look any worse today, but I know that doesn't mean much
Could you take some new videos of the fish? With @Jay Hemdal 's initial doubts about this being Brook, and your update that the fish seems a little more active but definitely not worse, it might help to rule in/rule out some diseases. Jay can correct me if I'm wrong but what I have read about the disease progression of Brook, is that it is very fast due to the reproductive rate of the organism. This along with a much larger presence of mucus is what partly helps differentiating it from Oodinium infections, which sometimes present similarly. I don't know the downsides of methylene blue treatment but if this is something less aggressive it might be worth waiting until you have the right medications. If it is not brook, then the treatment could be totally different altogether.
 
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Klyle

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Could you take some new videos of the fish? With @Jay Hemdal 's initial doubts about this being Brook, and your update that the fish seems a little more active but definitely not worse, it might help to rule in/rule out some diseases. Jay can correct me if I'm wrong but what I have read about the disease progression of Brook, is that it is very fast due to the reproductive rate of the organism. This along with a much larger presence of mucus is what partly helps differentiating it from Oodinium infections, which sometimes present similarly. I don't know the downsides of methylene blue treatment but if this is something less aggressive it might be worth waiting until you have the right medications. If it is not brook, then the treatment could be totally different altogether.
 

ReefLife_Guy

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In my opinion this looks like a very different fish from the previous video. I don't mean to be so needy but can you upload a couple more short clips like this, in particular when she is more still and you are zoomed in. Its hard for me to tell at least but the breathing effort doesn't look as bad as it did in the previous video.

These videos are super helpful by the way! There are things @Jay Hemdal and others will notice about the fish's appearance and behavior that most hobbyists won't catch right away. I think good quality videos like this are one of the most helpful things in diagnosing remotely like this along with a good detailed history.
 

Cell

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Looks like a clown doing clown things like hanging out in random areas. Sometimes they will seemingly choose the corner of a tank as a host for a bit.
 
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Klyle

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In my opinion this looks like a very different fish from the previous video. I don't mean to be so needy but can you upload a couple more short clips like this, in particular when she is more still and you are zoomed in. Its hard for me to tell at least but the breathing effort doesn't look as bad as it did in the previous video.

These videos are super helpful by the way! There are things @Jay Hemdal and others will notice about the fish's appearance and behavior that most hobbyists won't catch right away. I think good quality videos like this are one of the most helpful things in diagnosing remotely like this along with a good detailed history.
 
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Klyle

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In my opinion this looks like a very different fish from the previous video. I don't mean to be so needy but can you upload a couple more short clips like this, in particular when she is more still and you are zoomed in. Its hard for me to tell at least but the breathing effort doesn't look as bad as it did in the previous video.

These videos are super helpful by the way! There are things @Jay Hemdal and others will notice about the fish's appearance and behavior that most hobbyists won't catch right away. I think good quality videos like this are one of the most helpful things in diagnosing remotely like this along with a good detailed history.
I feel like I'm the one being needy! I'm super grateful for everyone taking time to try and help her through this!!
 

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