Another Sick Clown

[rileyrayne]

My first fish were two tankbred false perc juveniles which I got after my tank had cycled and been up for about a little over a month. One of my clowns died after having them for a couple of months. I posted a topic here when the fish was sick http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=107240&hl= but no one could pinpoint what was wrong, so I posted over on RC (can't find my topic from RC, think it was deleted) and they thought that it was a bladder disease but weren't certain.

 

Well since then I've bought a mate for my surviving clown and everything has been going great up until today. I noticed that my older clown (the one I got after my tank cycled) is hanging down near the bottom and starting to make the "twitch" movements that I wrote about in the topic linked above. It's not severe yet. She'll swim out of her spot and out into the open for a second, twitch/spaz out and then dart back to the bottom under the powerhead, then repeat every so often. She also seems to be breathing heavier than normal. She doesn't make the movements when she's in her "spot", only when she leaves. I fed earlier and she ate and seemed to have perk up a bit.

 

This seems exactly like the beginning stages of what happened with my last clown and I want to fix it this time so any help would be greatly appreciated and if you know of some other forums that can help me, please list them.

[Reef Gator]

If it's brook, the only thing that will (maybe) get rid of it is formalin. 20 drops of 37%(I think?) formaldehyde in 1 gallon of SW for 45 minutes. Make sure you put an airstone in because formalin depletes oxygen. Repeat every other day until the symptoms go away.

[allenspidey]

Agreed. Had the same problems when I started with clowns. I was buying from the same LFS and constantly had problems just like you are talking. It turned out to be brook. I was treating for the wrong thing and they kept dying. After the 3rd one died and the 4th started getting sick I wanted answers. Treaded with formalin every other day for about 10 days and that fish does great. It had it pretty bad too. Try the formalin baths and see what happens.

[rileyrayne]

I really don't think it can be Brooklynella because there isn't a slime coating discoloration. Will formalin be ok to use on the fish even if it turns out it isn't brooklynella, and is it safe (I've heard some bad things about it)? If so, which type/brand of formalin do you recommend?

[rileyrayne]

It's getting worse. She's unable to control herself now. She keeps fluttering her fins but she can't stay upright, so she just sort of floats on her side or upside down and then does the violent "whirling" motion. I'm beggggggging you guys, there has to be someone out there that has any experience with this sort of thing.

[allenspidey]

I would still vote for Brook. Mine didn't have all the classic signs but did go through what you said. Swim to the top and then fall back to the bottom. Maybe even lay on its side. When they get to that stage its over. Sorry but its too late. Still try the formalin bath for about 30-60 minutes. It may even die in the bath but its worth a try.

[rileyrayne]

Thanks for the reply

 

I'm going to do the formalin dip later today and continue quarantining the clown and hope for the best. I'm going to go ahead and place the healthy clown in the quarantine tank, too, just to be safe. So here's my next question: Assuming it IS a parasite, how long will it take for the parasite to die off in my tank since there won't be any fish in there? And what's the best way to prevent them from coming back? I do weekly water changes with RO, keep all of my levels in check and that's why I don't understand why this is happening.

[rileyrayne]

Spidey and Reef Gator - thank you for the replies, but I'm sort of disappointed that no one else offered some insight into this. Maybe it's just a rare sort of thing?

 

I've been reasearching the conditions of my clownfish non-stop for the past two days and I've only found one case that sounds similar to mine. It was on WetWebMedia. Someone else purchased a couple of clownfish, when suddenly one of them started spinning in rapid circles with a tumbling motion; hitting anything that's in the way. Bob Fenner replied saying, "If other fish/es not malaffected it's likely not the environment but this specimen per se... Perhaps a developmental disorder. How to put this... fishes aren't as "done" in terms of neurological progress as mammals when they appear "older"... your one fish may have a genetic anomaly that is now just expressing itself"

 

That interests me because I've been asking myself if something like that is possible. The fact that the only two fish I've had this problem with are two clownfish I bought from a store I no longer shop at concerned me. For the record, I called that store last night to ask the manager some questions about their livestock. He isn't certain where he gets his "tank bred" ocellaris clowns from - distrubitor name OR origin.

 

It's really discouraging and heartbreaking seeing this "mystery" condition occur right out of the blue for a second time - not just because I make certain that my parameters are always in good conditions and my water changes are done exactly on time with quality RO and the right SG - but because I get attatched to these fish very easily.

 

UPDATE ON THE FISH: She's still in the quarantine tank and not any worse, but not any better, either. It looked like she was eating when I fed her, but it was hard to tell because she was having a really hard time controlling the violent tumbling. I'm really out of ideas and hate to see this happening, so I'm thinking it's time to consider euthanizing the fish.

 

Thanks for reading