SICK MAROON CLOWN

[sp314]

Hi I am new to the saltwater hobby. I have a had my pair of gold nugget maroon clowns for about a year now and they have seemed to be healthy up until today. My male clown if sitting on the bottom of the tank not moving, not eating and is breathing heavy. The female is very active breathing normal and eating fine so I don’t know what the problem is. I’ve been watching it for a 3 days now and am stuck. I tested my water as well and everything seems okay. If anyone has some advice or suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[fishguy242]

Hi ,welcome to the reef ...
let' get some expert help here , #fishmedic
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...sease-treatment-and-diagnosis-section.775547/

 

[ReeferHD]

@Jay Hemdal #fishmedic

 

[sp314]

Some details about the tank


Temperature:78
Salinity :35 or 1.025
Ph: 8.2-8.4
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate:0-5ppm
Ammonia: 0.25-0.5ppm

test kit is api marine saltwater master test kit

I just had done a water change on the tank one week ago and added Fritz zyme 9 when changing. Which is what I always have done and has always been okay.

tank size is 60 gallons and it’s just sand rocks and fish. It’s been set up for over a year. Since June 2021.

I just added some matrix carbon by sea Chem as well as ammo lock by api today to help the ammonia. Is there anything else I should do to try and help my male clown ? Thanks again.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The female clown is breathing a bit fast as well, just not as fast as the male. There is a lot of free-floating food in the tank. The female isn't going after that, so you need to add less food at any one time, and always siphon out the excess food (unless you have lots of CUC that you need to feed).

I suspect that the ammonia is a false positive - API kits can do that. Unless the tank has been grossly overfed, you won't have ammonia in a tank that's been set up for this long.

What other animals are in the tank?

Jay

 

[sp314]

The female clown is breathing a bit fast as well, just not as fast as the male. There is a lot of free-floating food in the tank. The female isn't going after that, so you need to add less food at any one time, and always siphon out the excess food (unless you have lots of CUC that you need to feed).

I suspect that the ammonia is a false positive - API kits can do that. Unless the tank has been grossly overfed, you won't have ammonia in a tank that's been set up for this long.

What other animals are in the tank?

Jay

Thanks for the response. The food in the water was cause I just fed them cause I read online to try and feed them. The non eaten food was removed in 4 min. I only have the pair of clowns in the tank.that’s all I have ever had in the tank aswell. Is there something I should do or just wait and see?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for the response. The food in the water was cause I just fed them cause I read online to try and feed them. The non eaten food was removed in 4 min. I only have the pair of clowns in the tank.that’s all I have ever had in the tank aswell. Is there something I should do or just wait and see?

The rapid breathing is really serious, I don’t think you should just wait and see. Do you have access to Metroplex? That could be something to try, in case this is an internal or external protozoan issue.
Jay

 

[sp314]

The rapid breathing is really serious, I don’t think you should just wait and see. Do you have access to Metroplex? That could be something to try, in case this is an internal or external protozoan issue.
Jay

I don’t have access to metroplex. Thanks for the help. All my lfs are closed till tomorrow. They close early. I dont know what to do. I added more surface movement by moving my powerhead and outlet from the sump.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I don’t have access to metroplex. Thanks for the help. All my lfs are closed till tomorrow. They close early. I dont know what to do. I added more surface movement by moving my powerhead and outlet from the sump.

Yes - additional aeration may help alleviate the symptoms.
Jay

 

[fishguy242]

Yes - additional aeration may help alleviate the symptoms.
Jay

a fresh water dip ?

 

[vetteguy53081]

a fresh water dip ?

fish is already distressed. A FW dip can stress it to the point of fatality

 

[vetteguy53081]

With use of Api test kit, your results are likely higher than shown and I would do a 20% water change and add air stone for added Oxygen. In addition, I would suggest taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at.
I will never trust a $7 badge or $25 master kit to sustain hundreds of dollars in livestock.

 

[sp314]

Yes - additional aeration may help alleviate the symptoms.
Jay

Okay thank you. Tonight I’ll just have to keep and eye on him. I added a air stone. I’ll go tomorrow to my lfs and see what they have for medication. He’s now lying on his side on the sand by the rock shown in the video. Hope he makes the night. Thanks for all the advice and help.

 

[sp314]

With use of Api test kit, your results are likely higher than shown and I would do a 20% water change and add air stone for added Oxygen. In addition, I would suggest taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at.
I will never trust a $7 badge or $25 master kit to sustain hundreds of dollars in livestock.

Tomorrow when I go to my lfs I’m gonna take water with me. Thank you for the advice.

 

[sp314]

With use of Api test kit, your results are likely higher than shown and I would do a 20% water change and add air stone for added Oxygen. In addition, I would suggest taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at.
I will never trust a $7 badge or $25 master kit to sustain hundreds of dollars in livestock.

 

[sp314]

So I just got back from my lfs and they told me my water is perfect. Nitrates are spot on. I am in Canada and we don’t sell any medications anymore really unless they are herbal. My lfs just said to watch and hopefully he makes it through.

 

[sp314]

Should I do a water change even though my parameters are okay ?

 

[sp314]

With use of Api test kit, your results are likely higher than shown and I would do a 20% water change and add air stone for added Oxygen. In addition, I would suggest taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at.
I will never trust a $7 badge or $25 master kit to sustain hundreds of dollars in livestock.

Hi there. So I just got back from my lfs and they told me my water was perfect. My nitrates were spot on and nitrite are zero. The female clown is still doing okay. Should I perform a water change even though my water quality is okay ? Thank you

also I have a bottle of fritz zyme 9. Would adding that maybe help the male ?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi there. So I just got back from my lfs and they told me my water was perfect. My nitrates were spot on and nitrite are zero. The female clown is still doing okay. Should I perform a water change even though my water quality is okay ? Thank you

also I have a bottle of fritz zyme 9. Would adding that maybe help the male ?

You can add fritz at 1-1.5ml per 10 gallons after you do a water change which I agree with. Do you happen to know what test kit they used? If Api, , I am not comfortable with those numbers

 

[sp314]

You can add fritz at 1-1.5ml per 10 gallons after you do a water change which I agree with. Do you happen to know what test kit they used? If Api, , I am not comfortable with those numbers

I’m not quite sure what kind of test they used. It was not a api kit I know that. I’m gonna do a 20gallon water change and add the fritz and hope that helps. Really appreciate all the helpful people.