Clownfish are dying!
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Reef Pests
Forum Description: Discussions of known Reef pests, remedies, and ongoing studies.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=78101
Printed Date: April 17 2024 at 9:13pm
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Topic: Clownfish are dying!
Posted By: aporter360
Subject: Clownfish are dying!
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 7:08pm
Ugh, so now the second of my 200$ phantom pair is dead :( Im really not sure whats going on.. no fighting, visible parasite. I have been feeding them alot... like they had pretty round bellies for a while so i cut back.. but they start off swimming lower. then they start hovering over one spot on the bottom not being very active for a few days... then all of a sudden just bam.. floating somewhere.. but this one was doing better than the other.. he was out swimming about and eating happily just a few hours ago. Wasnt showing nearly as many signs as the last one, and in fact was doing better than before! Wondering if i should be worried about the mocha picasso i put with the one that just died... but he looks very healthy and is very active.  ------------- 54 gallon rimless mixed EA sump 1 year running |
Replies:
Posted By: Krazie4Acans
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 7:23pm
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You say nothing about your tank parameters, nitrates, ammonia, phosphates, temp age of tank, other fish in the tank, other animals in the tank, cleaning habits in and around the tank. All of those could give clues as to what is going on. ------------- My ocean. 90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63568&title=krazies-nano-paradise" rel="nofollow - Tank Thread: |
Posted By: aporter360
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 7:45pm
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Ahh yes, well tank is in pretty darn nice condition. No ammonia nitrite, and probably very low nitrate. Low phosphate assumed also because I have very little algae growth. Temp is held around 76.8 currently. It is on the apex table. Tank is about 3 months old. I have a naso tang, just added flasher wrasse. bicolor blenny, banggai cardinal, Twin spot goby, just added a yellow goby. 1 chromis, other just disappeared. I call it the rule of chromis, get 2, expect 1 to make it. Looked like it wasn't doing too well either, only had it for about 3 days. Looked like it had taken a beating or something. But was added after other clown died. Running a UV sterilizer, I keep the inside of the tank very nice, and make sure we don't allow any aerosol or anything to get into the tank. I have birds which have very sensitive respiratory systems so I know all about using smelly things and chemicals around birds and tanks. I have been doing a bit of research and it appears to be some sort of Octomita/Hexamita, other internal protozoan and possibly worm parasites, or worms. It seemed to be internal with the chronic round gut. Saw a few stringy white poops a few times, but not much... It was several weeks with the round gut and only recently did they start acting weird. Before they were swimming around just fine. Heres tank thread http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=77272&title=pilots-54gal-rimless-build" rel="nofollow - http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=77272&title=pilots-54gal-rimless-build ------------- 54 gallon rimless mixed EA sump 1 year running |
Posted By: Marcoss
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 7:57pm
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Not to tell you what to do, but I wouldn't assume. Phosphates could be high and the algae is just getting started. Seems like a big fish load in just a 54G tank. It's odd that just a few fish are dying and not the others though. 3 months is really new too. ------------- RedSea Max S400 - 90G Rimless Frag Tanks x2 - 185 Lookdown Bin |
Posted By: Krazie4Acans
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 7:59pm
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So you added 4 new fish just recently? All at the same time? That could be the reason in a quite new 54 gallon tank. ------------- My ocean. 90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63568&title=krazies-nano-paradise" rel="nofollow - Tank Thread: |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 8:34pm
| I have phosphate test if you want me to test it. I live in murray also, call or text 8016316058. Also could do nitrate, alk, cal |
Posted By: aporter360
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 8:36pm
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I added the naso in September, and then the female clown died about 2 weeks ago, then I added the wrasse a few days ago along with a nano yellow goby. The twin spot was added about a week ago also. So it was a gradual introduction. That's true though, I shouldn't assume. However I don't have test kits for those, so maybe I will take in a sample to be tested tomorrow. I do have algae growth and I did actually let it get to the point where I had to do deep cleaning with a metal scraper, so there is some nitrate or phosphate, however it doesn't accumulate very quickly and theres no explosion in hair, cyano, diatoms or other algae. Im running biopellets so that may be why its not very high. Corals are doing much better too and growing and coloring up from a large transport. ------------- 54 gallon rimless mixed EA sump 1 year running |
Posted By: aporter360
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 8:37pm
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Maybe ill hit you up badfinger. I have cal and alk tests, been watching those very closely trying to dial in my doser. But that's about it. ------------- 54 gallon rimless mixed EA sump 1 year running |
Posted By: aporter360
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 8:50pm
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Some pics http://s36.photobucket.com/user/aporter361/media/IMG_4427_zps73mz8gmu.jpg.html" rel="nofollow"> http://s36.photobucket.com/user/aporter361/media/IMG_4428_zpshudg86it.jpg.html" rel="nofollow"> http://s36.photobucket.com/user/aporter361/media/IMG_4429_zpsicf5agmv.jpg.html" rel="nofollow"> http://s36.photobucket.com/user/aporter361/media/IMG_4430_zpstb9ykgyd.jpg.html" rel="nofollow"> ------------- 54 gallon rimless mixed EA sump 1 year running |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 8:50pm
| I should be up tonight for awhile, if need be |
Posted By: aporter360
Date Posted: November 02 2015 at 8:58pm
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Not a terribly bad emergency. I just want to know a bit more so I can watch my other clown. The other fish are happy as clams and eating like pigs.. so im not really worried right now. Just kind of confused ------------- 54 gallon rimless mixed EA sump 1 year running |
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: November 03 2015 at 6:32am
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If you believe it's an internal parasite, Prazipro is reef tank safe...minus feather dusters and coco worms. ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: November 03 2015 at 8:49am
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Seems to me more like a bacterial or viral infection. The pics of the dead fish show a reddish tinge of color on the upper half of the body. It looks like a sunburn but it's more likely an inflammation caused by disease, perhaps exacerbated by light. I wonder if tank bred/raised Clownfish are more prone to infectious diseases? It makes sense to me, because so many from each brood are surviving, weaker clownfish are growing to maturity and ending up in our aquariums. In the wild, the survival rate for clownfish, I've heard, is no more than 5%. I believe the reason why clownfish lay 100-500 eggs is not only to allow some to survive predation, but that many don't survive disease.
Also, if I were keeping expensive fish, I'd be using ReefdUp's quarantine procedures on all new fish. Also, I always try to wait a couple weeks after a fish death, before I add another fish, just to be sure the remaining fish are not infected with a communicable disease. Also, looking at the pics in the build thread, to be frankly honest, I believe that tank is definitely too new to support many fish. It's not just the pollution levels, it's the mature growth of all kinds of animal and plant life that makes a reef aquarium environment healthy enough to aid with the health of the fish. Sorry for your loss. Aloha, Mark  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: November 03 2015 at 9:13am
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I don't have much to add... but anemonefish can be really fragile like that. Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: November 03 2015 at 11:34am
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Generally an internal bacterial infection will present as more streak-like, not a uniform appearance. Internal bleeding will do that, and the fins look like the result of aggression. Stringy poop can occur from a lot of things...including a bland or steady diet. What were you feeding? ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: aporter360
Date Posted: November 04 2015 at 11:07am
Thanks all for the info. I would have replied earlier but i was dealing with a tree falling on my house yesterday. Things seem to be taking a turn for the worse!  I do agree with alot of your points. Im trying to keep things steady and it was going well but this was just a suprise. ------------- 54 gallon rimless mixed EA sump 1 year running |
Posted By: pronsp
Date Posted: November 04 2015 at 3:50pm
| It looks awful bloated to me as well. So sad. I don't know where you got them, but when you are ready to buy more there are a couple of great places that sell tank raised. But that clearly would be in the distant future. Sorry for the loss that sucks! |