Sick clownfish

[ardabaran]

One of my clownfish has been acting very lethargic, hiding behind the tank, not very responsive to feedings. Sometimes she gets out of the hiding spot, swims around a bit and goes back. Even when she is swimming she is very very slow. She looks like she is about to die.

Behind the rocks she looks like she keeps falling asleep and waking up all the time. You can see it in the video.

she also lost significant amount of weight, I can almost see her spine. Also she looks much more pale.
I didn't notice any marks or mucous on her.


Corals and other clown are doing fine
water parameters are normal.

What could be causing this ? I have had them over 3months now.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I'm sorry, I couldn't tell much from the video. All I could see was the clown seems to be breathing a bit too rapidly. I wonder if my computer was the issue - the file was huge, at 85 mb, but when I played it, it was all choppy and unfocused.

How is the other clown doing?

Jay

 

[ardabaran]

Hi Jay, thank you so much for your help. Other clown seems to be very happy, she is thriving(by the way i dont know which one is male or female)

I tried feeding mysis and she started swimming around(sloowly) but almost didn’t eat at all, maybe just a little.

Only thing I notice other than her actions was the significant weight and color loss...
I am mixing 2 gallons of water now for a water change (tank is 10gallons)

Here is another video recorded lower resolution and shorter, hope this helps

 

[ardabaran]

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks, that worked better. Not good news I'm afraid - your original observations are correct - the fish is severely emaciated. There is no coming back from that point, fish do not store fat well, and during episodes like this, they use their liver for food energy, and that can't be fixed. The fish is breathing rapidly, so that is a sign that the problem has become systemic. The only wild card is what I think is see regarding cloudy skin (the pale color you mentioned). That can be a symptom of external infections - something you definitely want to protect your other clownfish from.

Jay