I think i have a sick clown!

[reefinnewb]

I bought two True Percula clownfish on saturday. The one clown is eating and very active. The other one is kind of lazy and doesnt move too much. I have also had a hard time getting it to eat. There are no apparent lacerations, spots, or mucous on the clown, it looks very healthy. The only thing i notice is that the fins are a bit nipped. I suspect this to be from the other clown and the process of finding dominance. Oh i forgot to mention they are juvenile clowns. Probably only about 1.5 inches long. I have been feeding freeze dried cyclopeeze. Is it possible it is eating it and i cannot tell with the particle size being so small? I have also tried pellet but appears to be too large, as is mysis. Any help would be appreciated.

 

It does not appear to be brook as i believe it would have showed the signs already.

 

I have some paraguard from seachem on the way and hear good things about that so i am prepared if it were to come down with something.

 

Ok i forgot to mention that it doesnt really use its dorsal fin. It always has it down and today its color seems to be getting lighter. The black on it doesnt seem as vibrant. Should i leave it alone or put it in its own tank and see if i can get it to eat?

[SERAPHofSORROW]

QT this fish immeadiately. If it is sick you can dose with out medicating your display tank or other well fish. Also if aggression is the case then he will need space from his tormentors. My friend these problems only get worse and in my experience never fix themselves.

Good Luck

[Koral krazy (reefer 365)]

juvenile clownfishes at the LFS are funny that way. I've gone through many pairs of mass-bred common clowns and they die all with varying but strangely similar symptoms. Brook is somewhat rare at a good LFS, and a clean tank definitely helps to prevent it. I reccomend doing small 10% water changes every, and if you can, top off with fresh water to decrease the salinity. That will help the possiblility of parasites. By the way, the fading of colors is a sign of brook, however, it's not always a reliable tell-tale sign. It could just be stressed too. Do the gills look at all red or inflamed? Is it breathing heavy? Oftenly, brook may take a few days to show major symptoms. It's not always right away. You should try a fresh-water dip if it doesn't improve. Don't plan on it eating anytime soon, sometimes mine that even recover won't pick up onto their routine for at least 5 days.

 

Good Luck

[reefinnewb]

I have taken the clown out of the main tank and put him in qt. I dosed the qt with an anti parasited. The name escapes me right now. It starts with a p and has some z's in it lol. Seems to be doing a bit better. Im probably going to do another dose tomorrow. Then I have some melafix im gonna use to help the torn fins. Then just keep an eye on it and see if it improves.

 

The heavy breathing is no longer continuous. It sorta comes and goes which im taking as a good sign.

[thecowkid]

For what it is worth I would call the store that you purhcased them from and ask if they ever sell any wild caught clowns. If so you can bet that you sick little one is one of the wild ones. They are hard to get to eat. I just had one a few months ago that I couldn't get to accept anything. A Few days after I purchased it my friend the lfs owner called me to tell that his last shipment were wild and that they were dropping like flys. Needless to say I have a new free fish that is captive breed. Hopefull this helps. good luck