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Coral Vue Hydros

Diver's Paradise - The Original


Felicia

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So sad right now...

 

So my clownfish didn't make it. I thought I had gotten the brooklynella (I'm pretty sure that's what it was now) all cleared up and she was looking great with no signs of being sick. Then last night when I was feeding them, I noticed she was acting a bit funny and seemed to have some of the white gunk coming back. I added another dose of formalin immediately, but by this morning when I woke up she had died. It progressed REALLY fast, which is why I'm positive it wasn't ich. I feel so bad for the other clownfish since they were paired and he looks kind of lost now. Also, he's starting to show signs again, so I'm hoping I can get him cleared up. My other two fish still look great, but I'm sad to have lost the clownfish.

 

Now I've got a dilema because I need to replace the clownfish that died ASAP if I want the smaller one to pair back up. If I leave him alone too long he'll turn into a female and then I'll risk any new fish I add also being a female. I should probably get a new one this weekend, but if I do I'd have to put it in the QT tank which obviously has brooklynella in it. I can't believe 5 days of treatment last time didn't clear it up and that it came back. I'm not sure how long to treat this time to be sure it won't come back. Hmmm...If anyone has any input, let me know.

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what are the yellow corals?

 

I actually don't know. I was wondering that myself but I have not been able to find an id from searching the internet. They're some sort of bright yellow polyp I think.

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Hyposalinity or copper (cupramine is a form of copper) IME is the only 100% way to treat... Then again I've never tried QuICK cure in SW (it works great in FW though). It might not be a wise idea to change treatments mid stream though... Sometimes it can result in more stress...

 

Sorry to hear about the losses. I'm a huge proponent of QT systems because it really does save you a lot. It's not always even just one or two fish, but a whole system.

 

Anyways, I would hold off on the clown. Even if you got another one this weekend there's no guarantee they'll pair up. It'll take a while for your current clown to become a dominant female. Even when it does you could add another clown, just make sure it's a juvenile male and everything should be okay. So in summary there's no hurry here IME. I would still encourage you to do the research on their life cycles though as it's really interesting.

 

One more thing to remember is to keep doing water changes in the QT... You started the tank with little to no biological filtration, and on top of that the medication is likely not helping. So test the water and you'll probably be changing a few gallons every day. This is tricky to do with dosing medication, but weigh the outcomes, choose a treatment process, and stick to it until you can surely say it's working or not, then re-evaluate. If it's the parasite that killed the clown, then you may either need to check your dosing. If you're detecting any toxic compounds, then do water changes and continue to observe to make sure the formalin is working.

 

Good luck!

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Your dive pictures are amazing. I never think of the cold waters holding much beauty...but your pictures really proved me wrong! As much as I love the sea, it scares me, so what you do is something I will never find myself doing. I have no problem with snorkeling in the Caribbean though :)

 

I hope everything works out with your remaining fish!

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Hyposalinity or copper (cupramine is a form of copper) IME is the only 100% way to treat... Then again I've never tried QuICK cure in SW (it works great in FW though). It might not be a wise idea to change treatments mid stream though... Sometimes it can result in more stress...

Yeah the formalin was recommended by some sites on brooklynella and it seemed to be working. I guess I just didn't continue the treatment long enough and it came back. I was worried about overdosing all the fish though. This time I'll keep it up for a longer time to make sure its completely gone. Also, I agree that switching treatments in the middle could cause issues.

 

Anyways, I would hold off on the clown. Even if you got another one this weekend there's no guarantee they'll pair up. It'll take a while for your current clown to become a dominant female. Even when it does you could add another clown, just make sure it's a juvenile male and everything should be okay. So in summary there's no hurry here IME. I would still encourage you to do the research on their life cycles though as it's really interesting.

I have read quite a bit about their lifecycles, but no one seems to explain how long it takes a single clown to become a female. The issue is that I have been having a hard time finding juvenile clowns in my area. I finally found the one I have (that's still alive) to pair up with my adult clown (the one that died), but I'm not sure if I'll be able to find another juvenile. I figured if I can add a new adult before the juvenile has time to change sex that would be the easiest way to handle it.

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

Your dive pictures are amazing. I never think of the cold waters holding much beauty...but your pictures really proved me wrong! As much as I love the sea, it scares me, so what you do is something I will never find myself doing. I have no problem with snorkeling in the Caribbean though :)

 

I hope everything works out with your remaining fish!

 

Thanks! Yeah the kelp forests of California are beautiful and full of life. They're considered world class diving around the Catalina islands. I love diving, but it is definitely not for everyone. Snorkeling in the Caribbean is a good alternative and lots warmer! The water was 50 F when I went diving this past weekend.

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From what I recall, it takes somewhere around 2 years for a percula or ocellaris (most common) clownfish to mature enough to be able to change sexes. Additionally there has to be an environmental cue such as the lack of a dominant female or dominant/subordinate males.

 

I'm thinking that most of the captive bred livestock that we buy at the fish store are significantly under that age. So seriously I wouldn't be in a hurry to replace the clown that died... Feel free to continue researching or create a new thread though as there are some pretty knowledgeable clownfish people here that may have some more specific explanations.

 

Best advice for medicating that I didn't mention... dose exactly as it says in the bottle.

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From what I recall, it takes somewhere around 2 years for a percula or ocellaris (most common) clownfish to mature enough to be able to change sexes. Additionally there has to be an environmental cue such as the lack of a dominant female or dominant/subordinate males.

 

Great to know a bit more about the time frame for this. I knew the juvenile clown I have would eventually turn into a female if left alone too long, but I didn't know how long that took. Thanks!

 

Best advice for medicating that I didn't mention... dose exactly as it says in the bottle.

Yep, I'm following the directions on the bottle exactly. 1 drop per gallon each day for 3 days. Then a 25% water change is required before continuing treatment if needed. The once every 3 days water change seems to be working since I used the filter sponge and biological filtration media from the DT, so it was already seeded with plenty of live bacteria. I've also been adding bottled bacteria after each water change.

 

Although...I seem to be having a diatom bloom in my QT tank which is odd. There's brown crap all over the decorations I have for the fish to live in and all over the bare bottom of the tank.

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Like dendros?! wow

 

Yep, I think so from what I could find online. They're just some sort of cold water version. They look about the same, other than growing as single polyps and not a cluster.

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Hahaha The wife and I were going to do that tonight but we have too much running around to do. They look great though.

 

Thanks!

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Those pumpkins are great! I usually do a spider/web every year :)

 

So, I asked on the fluoresce thread already but thought I'd ask here too....where did you find the papaya cloves? I love them and want to add some to my tank!

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Those pumpkins are great! I usually do a spider/web every year :)

 

So, I asked on the fluoresce thread already but thought I'd ask here too....where did you find the papaya cloves? I love them and want to add some to my tank!

 

Thanks!

 

Just as a disclaimer, that photo isn't actually of the ones in my tank since I don't have a fancy camera to take pics like that, but they look the same. I got them from someone local who mentioned that they aren't a very common variety of cloves. I just have a tiny little frag, but its putting out new shoots pretty quickly, so maybe in a few months I can start fragging it and selling it on here.

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Thanks!

 

Just as a disclaimer, that photo isn't actually of the ones in my tank since I don't have a fancy camera to take pics like that, but they look the same. I got them from someone local who mentioned that they aren't a very common variety of cloves. I just have a tiny little frag, but its putting out new shoots pretty quickly, so maybe in a few months I can start fragging it and selling it on here.

I saw you replied on the other thread too..thanks! I would totally buy them from you if you ever have them for sale. I'll bug you again in a few months :) Those are beautiful!

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Those pumpkins are great! I usually do a spider/web every year :)

 

So, I asked on the fluoresce thread already but thought I'd ask here too....where did you find the papaya cloves? I love them and want to add some to my tank!

 

Oh, and btw, here is the craigslist ad for the guy I got them from. Maybe he could ship some to SoCal for a reasonable price. I've gotten coral from him a couple times and he's great. Always throwing in freebies. Just mention Felicia referred you :)

 

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/for/2671525761.html

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I'm sooo frustrated right now...my other clownfish was dead when I got home today. I did absolutely everything I could and apparently that wasn't enough. I'm positive it was brooklynella because ich does not progress that quickly. My clownfish was showing signs of having the disease yesterday, but was still eating and acting normal and I was dosing the medicine that supposedly works on brooklynella. He was still acting fine this morning when I left, but when I got back this evening he was dead.

 

My other two fish seem totally healthy. Does anyone know how likely brooklynella is to infect fish other than clownfish? Should I keep treating my firefish and YWG even though they seem healthy? Also, is leaving the DT tank empty the same as it is for ich? Is 6 weeks long enough, or is there something different I need to do?

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Sorry about your other clownfish :( I think I remember reading it can affect other fish but I'd have to google that to be certain. I hope you found some answers...if not, here's a bump for an answer.

 

On a side note, Micah wrote me back. NICE guy! He has never shipped before and is concerned with temps. He mentioned he's taking a family vaca. to SoCal. in early December and we could meet up and do the exchange then. In the meantime....I told him I found some of those cloves on philyouraquarium.com (nr sponsor) and made the purchase through them. Along with another goody :) Can't wait to get it this coming week!!!

 

Thanks for helping me with the cloves! You have a great local guy to buy from, I'm envious :)

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