New clown problems

[JanvEeckelen]

Hey Guys. 

 

I am new on this forum, so I will introduce myself first. My name is Jan and I am from holland (so excuse me for my English I hope it will suffice). After reading a lot for months I finally dived in the saltwater world. I have over 30 years of freshwater experience and always wanted my own reef tank. Now time permits so... you guys will understand. 

 

As always I prepared very well (at least in my opinion), but I still encountered a problem. My tank is a 30 gallon which is up and running for two months now and was cycled using Red Sea Reef Mature. My parameters were steady for several weeks and about one week ago I bought my first clownfish. Two beautiful clownfish (first generation tank bred). After introducing them in my tank the small one ate directly but the larger one was a bit afraid. The day after I fed them again and since then the larger one is eating like a pig and the smaller one is not reacting to whatever I introduce. (Pellet food, brine shrimp, mysis and a marine mix freezer food) the first day I noticed some white feces by both clowns however I never saw this again. (Stress?)

 

After gathering a lot of information over the last week I bought prazipro (which takes 10 days to arrive at my doorstep). Do you guys have any suggestions what I should do. At first I hoped he was just to nervous to eat but now I think something is wrong. Especially since the larger one is behaving perfectly! 

 

My parameters are:

zero amonia 

zero nitrite

2 nitrate 

salinity is 35

Temp 26 degrees Celsius 

kh around 10

ca 450

mg 1400

 

i know I made a big mistake by not quaranteening the fish. Believe me... this will NEVER happen again. So the second question I have is: what meds should I use when quaranteening a new fish. 

 

Thank you guys in advance! 

[seabass]

Welcome to Nano-Reef.com.

 

Your English is very good.  Sorry to hear that the smaller clownfish is not currently eating.  It's not that unusual for new fish to do this; and he's not in immediate danger by not eating for several days.  However, I'd like to see him start eating soon.

 

If you can turn down the lighting a little, that might help him acclimate.  You might also try turning the pumps off while you feed.  Hopefully he'll start eating any day now.

 

If all goes well, the larger fish will become the female and will be the dominate fish of the pair.  She will typically eat more than the male and will sometimes keep him from eating as much as she does.  However, the male will usually still get some food.

 

I doubt that quarantining would have gone any differently.  However, now that you have some fish, you should quarantine any new fish.

 

Some people will treat healthy fish in quarantine just as a precaution.  However, I usually just watch them for any signs of disease, and treat only if needed.

[JanvEeckelen]

Thank you for your reply. I already hoped it was due to the stress of moving him to my tank. However, I started to worry since it is over a week already. I will try turning down the lighting tomorrow. (It is almost 12 o'clock at night here). I will keep you up to date if something changes. In case you guys have more advice, I would really appreciate it. . Sleep well! 

[wazupjames]

It would definitely help to know what his current activity level is. Is he sitting in one place, exploring at all, heavy breathing, bloated look, swimming oddly, darting, scratching etc. 

 

I would definitely try dimming the lights and turning the pumps off when feeding. Sometimes a little garlic in the food can entice them to eat. 

 

Hope he starts eating soon!

[Clown79]

Welcome

 

It could be just stress of a new home, it may also be the other clown.

 

My female clown chases away the male when he goes for food so he gets a lot less than her.

 

The white poop can be due to mysis or a parasite.

 

Is there any other odd behaviour? 

 

If you do treat the fish, do it in a hospital tank. 

 

Btw, your English is perfect