Should I be concerned or patient? New clownfish

[oreocookie]

I’m making my second attempt at adding my first fish to my 12 gallon AIO. The first clownfish had no interest in food that I could see, and endlessly tried to swim up the back wall, barely moving up or down. He jumped out of the tank while I was at work after I’d had him less than a week.

I waited about a week and a half (based on other circumstances) and did a water change before trying again. Last Thursday evening I added 2 small clowns. At first both were exploring the tank and coming right up for feeding. Since Sunday, neither of them is moving around the tank very much and I haven’t seen either of them eating (I’m not removing “extra” food in case they go after it as it floats around.)

Initially, my question was going to be “should I be worried they aren’t healthy or are they still settling in to their new environment?” but in taking some video of each of them, I noticed one is not using their right fin at all, which doesn’t seem normal at all.

Salinity keeps creeping up (just checked it as 1.028), so will do some more frequent water changes to bring that down. Ammonia is <0.15 and nitrites are 2. Temp is 76.8.

Any thoughts on what’s going on with either of these two or what I need to fix (besides getting salinity down a bit)?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Nitrite's are not important, what is the nitrate level?

Are you topping off your tank with freshwater? Water evaporates causes the salinity to increase. It doesn’t need water changes it needs fresh water topped off to cover the evaporation. An auto top off system is one of the best additions for your tank that you can add.

How old is your tank? Can we see a full tank picture?

 

[oreocookie]

I set up an auto top-off at the beginning of last week, and really enjoying not having to do it manually. In this case I figured water changes would be a more controlled way to bring salinity down than removing say a cup of water and letting it top off with fresh.

Nitrates are showing 50ppm, but how do I know that isn’t also showing me that I have nitrites present? Either way, a water change is in order.

Tank has been running since mid January. I’ll try to take a pic of the whole tank in morning when I’ve got more light to work with.

 

[Tahoe61]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/
BRS 52 weeks is also a good resource.

 

[W31Olds]

After viewing your video, your clowns are very sick. Once eating, Clowns rarely go off feed unless there is a problem. Respiration rate is abnormally high. Clamped Fins are a bad sign. Salinity is not the problem, however you should lower it to help them breath. This looks like a case of Brook and needs to be treated with Ruby Rally Pro. Until you get the Medication, I would do a water change and add an Airstone ASAP.
@Jay Hemdal
@vetteguy53081

 

[oreocookie]

After viewing your video, your clowns are very sick. Once eating, Clowns rarely go off feed unless there is a problem. Respiration rate is abnormally high. Clamped Fins are a bad sign. Salinity is not the problem, however you should lower it to help them breath. This looks like a case of Brook and needs to be treated with Ruby Rally Pro. Until you get the Medication, I would do a water change and add an Airstone ASAP.
@Jay Hemdal
@vetteguy53081

Thanks for that answer. Rally Pro has been ordered and with any luck will arrive tomorrow. Will pick up an air stone on my way home from work today and cross my fingers that it’s not too late for them.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks for that answer. Rally Pro has been ordered and with any luck will arrive tomorrow. Will pick up an air stone on my way home from work today and cross my fingers that it’s not too late for them.

Also - you might want to consider the source you are getting your clownfish from. They may have had issues when you bought them.

 

[oreocookie]

Also - you might want to consider the source you are getting your clownfish from. They may have had issues when you bought them.

Yes, that already crossed my mind. Either all 3 were sick when I got them, or the first one was and contaminated the tank for other 2 (not sure how long parasites and “fish germs” stick around). I doubt I’ll be getting anything living from them going forward.

 

[oreocookie]

A quick update, with a couple of related questions…

I started treatment with Rally Pro on Friday evening when I got home from work. One of the clowns was really not looking good that night, and while I was hopeful, I wasn’t expecting him to make it through the night. Saturday morning, he was nowhere to be seen. I checked the back chambers of the tank, even the floor, so I’m guessing that whatever is left of him is wedged in a spot I can’t see under the backside of my rocks. How bad for parameters is it going to be if his body rots there? I don’t think I have a choice, but want to be prepared.

I am cautiously optimistic for the other clown, as he’s moving around the tank more and is starting to show interest in food again.

Meanwhile, my tank has entered the ugly stage, and clean up crew are in order. I expect it’ll be at least next weekend before I head to a different LFS for that, but what are my considerations for adding them at this point? I don’t want to stress the clown, but I also don’t want to add any new creatures to a potentially unhealthy environment.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

A quick update, with a couple of related questions…

I started treatment with Rally Pro on Friday evening when I got home from work. One of the clowns was really not looking good that night, and while I was hopeful, I wasn’t expecting him to make it through the night. Saturday morning, he was nowhere to be seen. I checked the back chambers of the tank, even the floor, so I’m guessing that whatever is left of him is wedged in a spot I can’t see under the backside of my rocks. How bad for parameters is it going to be if his body rots there? I don’t think I have a choice, but want to be prepared.

I am cautiously optimistic for the other clown, as he’s moving around the tank more and is starting to show interest in food again.

Meanwhile, my tank has entered the ugly stage, and clean up crew are in order. I expect it’ll be at least next weekend before I head to a different LFS for that, but what are my considerations for adding them at this point? I don’t want to stress the clown, but I also don’t want to add any new creatures to a potentially unhealthy environment.

One small clownfish dying in a tank will not usually cause severe water quality issues, it will just be eaten by CUC or decompose. It's still a good idea to monitor the ammonia level just in case. If you see ammonia levels rise, then you'll need to perform partial water changes and try to keep it below 0.5 ppm

Adding new CUC at this point probably isn't too risky - but I would NOT add any new fish until this issue has resolved one way or another.