VW_TDI_02 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I picked up two black percula clownfish yesterday and there appears to be something wrong with one of them but I'm really not sure. If you look at the larger one you can see that the gills look to be flared out and you can see a bit of orange underneath. The smaller one is fine but idk about the big one. They haven't eaten yet but it's only been less than 24 hours so I'm not really worried about that yet. [Edit] Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all at 0 too. Link to comment
CJJon Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Impossible to tell from those pics. Could be anything from ich to rearing issues during the larval stage (which can result in flared gills). Any other signs of distress? Heavy breathing, scratching or flashing, etc.? Still not eating? Link to comment
VW_TDI_02 Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 Nothing that I've been able to see. Definitely no flashing. They've just been swimming around in a circle following the current around the tank. I tried feeding them 3 pellets and they just stared at them as they fell to the bottom. Yea, I only have my phone camera so the pictures aren't very good. Out of those three the best would be the the reflection in the first pic. There you can see how the bottom of the gill plate kind of bulges out and the orange gills are visible. Link to comment
CJJon Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 High nitrite in the water during larval stages can cause that. It would have been evident since it was very small though. Did you get it at a LFS, online breeder, some guy named Chic at the back of the Denny's? Did it come with the issue or did you notice it after you aquired? Try some different foods maybe mysis or clams? If it is a defect and not disease related, it should have been culled at the breeder. Link to comment
VW_TDI_02 Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 I didn't notice it until I got home and put them into my tank and started really looking at it. No nipped fins or anything like that and no other signs of illness. I got it from a LFS but not a big chain like Petco/Petsmart. I have some frozen Hikari Mysis shrimp. I'm assuming one of those cubes will be way too much for just these two fish. Any recommendations for how to feed them this? Obviously should thaw it but I'm wondering about the quantity. I doubt they will eat anywhere near even half of it so don't want to dump so much in at once. I do have two other freshwater tanks that will probably devour the spare but I was wondering if there was any way to save it for another feeding. Link to comment
CJJon Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I take a sharp knife and slice chunks of the cube. I then have a milk jug cap that I put the shavings in. Then I pipette up some tank water and cover the chunks and let them thaw on my desk. Put the leftover cube back in the freezer. One of those pill trays the old folks use works great for keeping them (and others) in the freezer. Once thawed I wash my hands well with a non-bacterial soap and take a pinch and feed it into the tank. Turn the pumps off a few minutes before so the water is still so they can nab the food easier. You can also freeze live clams you buy at the grocery store and shave bits of them off and thaw as above. They will eat clams. Did you see them eat at the store? Always good to see them feed before purchase and take note of what it is they are eating. You might want to contact the store and ask about what they were feeding (and the possibility of the flared gills being a defect rather than illness/infection). Link to comment
VW_TDI_02 Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 Alright so I got them to eat!! I ended up just thawing out a whole cube of mysis shrimp in a shot glass. I poured some tank water into the shot glass and let it sit for a little bit. After a minute or so I used my turkey baster to add some into the tank. I tried it first with the powerhead off and I saw the smaller one eat right away. The food got a bit away from them and I added a tiny bit more where it would cross by the bigger one and within seconds he/she was munching away on the newly added shrimp. I then turned the powerhead back on and I could see them trying to pick stuff out of the water current. The water flows in a circular pattern with the powerhead in the back left corner facing the front glass about a third of the way from the left. This causes a nice counter clockwise current in the tank with places with different flow speeds. It also allows the food to be carried back to them. Since I already thawed that whole cube, I went over to my 40 gallon freshwater tank and my ten gallon freshwater tank and gave some to each tank. I still have a good bit left in the shot glass that I may feed later on tonight or just save for tomorrow. I know when I was at the store I asked what brand mysis shrimp they recommend and they said that Hikari was what they use. I've used Hikari in the past and had good success so I bought that too. In regards to the fish with the flared gills, as long as he is eating and swimming around in a normal fashion then i'll definitely keep him. Gorgeous color and I'm much less nervous now that I saw him eat. He probably had the flared gills while he was at the petstore but it was one of those things where I just got excited and forgot to check for that. I looked and made sure none of them had ich or torn fins and they all looked great so I didn't even think to ask them to feed them either. Tomorrow I think I'll mix in a few pellets in the shot glass and get them soaked so that they will sink down with the mysis shrimp. Hopefully get him to eat some pellets as well. [Edit] Oh, and I made another thread in regards to food preparation for the frozen foods. I really like the idea of just shaving off chunks (1/16" thick??) and just saving them. I'm thinking a razor blade should be able to cut right through it. Link to comment
CJJon Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Oh, and I made another thread in regards to food preparation for the frozen foods. I really like the idea of just shaving off chunks (1/16" thick??) and just saving them. I'm thinking a razor blade should be able to cut right through it. Great! I just use a kitchen paring knife and a paper plate as a cutting board. I usually quarter the cube, use one quarter and then plunk the rest in the pill container in the freezer. You may need more or less. I also use kitchen shears to cut away a cube at a time from the sheet. That way I don't goober up the foil on the next cube. Link to comment
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