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Coral Vue Hydros

2 clowns 1 red gills? Video included


dandelion

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I bought a pair of clownfish from a local reefer today at a frag swap. It was probably a good 5-6 hours before I got home to acclimate them into my QT. I noticed one of the clowns was breathing very rapidly, and the hills are bright red. I kmmediately thought ammonia poisoning. But the other clownfish is completely normal.

 

Given the emgergency of the situation I dosed prime and did a fast acclimation. I put the clown in once salinity and temperature matched. Now the clown is just lying on the bottom of the tank. His's mate is swimming by him and nudging him probably trying to cheer for him. ?

 

Anyways, if it's ammonia poisoning, shouldn't both fish be affected?

 

 

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The fish seems to be doing slightly better. I left them in my QT overnight. They both left the wax melter which I leave in the tank as a hiding place. The sick one seems to have trouble staying afloat though. He has to constantly swim upward to prevent sinking. I peeped this morning and he's swimming around on the bottom of the tank.

 

i left the salinity of the QT at about 1.023-1.024. Having slightly lower salinity should increase dissolved oxygen for the injured fish. Given he is still rather active I hope he'll make a recovery.

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SelectedByNature

Aww so sad looking hope they make it.

 

It certainly doesn't look good... Normally Ammonia and rapid breathing would make sense but with the swimming issues the breathing is possibly just panic induced.

 

Hope the little fatties make it!

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Only one of them is affected though that's why I don't get how it can be ammonia poisoning. Forgot to save a sample of the transport water for testing. 

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22 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

:( 

 

Do you have an air stone and pump you could add to the tank? Gills still looking inflamed? 

I have a sponge filter in the QT but given the big bubble size I'm not sure if it effectively adds oxygen into the water.

 

But it is kinda active instead of just lying down being lethargic. It must still be getting sufficient oxygen for all that motion. I just hope there're not any other organ damages.

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Can anyone suggest whether I should just keep QT water pristine or should I try to medicate? I have prazipro, maracyn 2, chloroquine and cupramine. With him swimming around I can't really see if there're flukes. I'm thinking it's just inflamed.

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Christopher Marks

Has he been eating? It sounds like perhaps a swim bladder issue caused by whatever is effecting the gills. It may be worth trying to medicate the QT tank at this point, though I can't personally say what would be best.

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20 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

Has he been eating? It sounds like perhaps a swim bladder issue caused by whatever is effecting the gills. It may be worth trying to medicate the QT tank at this point, though I can't personally say what would be best.

 

He responded to food. He would swim up to the sinking pallet only to change his mind when he's about to take a bite. I take that as a good sign. He may just be not eating because of the new environment. 

 

I'll dose prazipro tonight and see if it helps. I do prophylactic prazipro anyways. Not sure if it'll do much though. 

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I would definitely add a powerhead or an airstone. You want to ensure there is sufficient oxygen as prime effects oxygenation. 

 

Is there anything else besides the red gill? Is the fish rubbing/flashing against anything? Brookynella often starts at the gills and causes rapid respiration.

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4 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I would definitely add a powerhead or an airstone. You want to ensure there is sufficient oxygen as prime effects oxygenation. 

 

Is there anything else besides the red gill? Is the fish rubbing/flashing against anything? Brookynella often starts at the gills and causes rapid respiration.

Pretty sure now that it's ammonia poisoning during transportation. When I got home from work this morning the seemingly healthy one perished while the sick one still breathing fast and swimming up to prevent sinking. A "biopsy" shows very red gills as well.

 

Oh and no flashing or symptoms or ich velvet or brook either.

 

It's either the seller left the fish out in the container way before he set off, or he didn't put enough water for the relatively long trip from his home to the frag swap to mine, or a combination of both. 

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8 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

Sorry to hear :( 

I guess I should be bringing a bottle of seachem prime when I buy fish from 1+ hour away from now on. ?

 

Since its its most likely ammonia issue, I would wait before I put any medications in.

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I'm sorry to hear.

 

I've purchased fish from stores 1+ hrs away from home with no issue. i've never added prime and wouldn't if there is no water movement because it cn lead to the same issue. It will bind ammonia but it also cause oxygen to be depleted.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I'm sorry to hear.

 

I've purchased fish from stores 1+ hrs away from home with no issue. i've never added prime and wouldn't if there is no water movement because it cn lead to the same issue. It will bind ammonia but it also cause oxygen to be depleted.

 

 

Did they put the fish in a big bag with lots of water? Thinking back the guy who sold me the clown fish didn't put them in a very big container.  It's just a zip loc soup container that has a screw on lid with about 1/3 filled with water. I didn't think too much at that point coz I figured if fish can be shipped overnight a few hours wouldn't be a problem. Didn't think about the water volume though.

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26 minutes ago, jambon said:

Wondering if they have some type of parasite affecting there gills? Did you get a close look at the one that's wasn't so lucky?

 

I did open the gills of the dead one and looked. I didn't see any white spots or things moving. I probably should have grabbed a magnifying glass. I was just surprised the healthy looking one died first. Guess ammonia poisoning can be silent.

 

As for the sick one.... he is very sick. He's been lying on the tank bottom and breathing super fast since last night. He's a fighter though he's been swimming for 2 days before lying down. I kinda want to put him out of misery but he's still fighting so hard....

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