5 year old clown sick? Edit: 1.5year later it's back

[Kayman]

So I was able to find the Triple Sulfa but when I got home we decided it was best to let her go. I got kind of emotional on the drive home just thinking about doing it. It's kinda funny how much of a connection we can have with a fish. Went with clove oil and then into the freezer and it seemed peaceful enough I guess 😕

 

I feel pretty bad, like I failed her in some way but I guess I'll have to learn from this as I move forward.

 

Thanks again to everyone that helped me through this! I know I didn't do it all perfectly as suggested so thank you for still helping me out! I gave her a good look over and I can't really find anything specific. Her gills look healthy and the black marking behind her gill looks to actually just be her markings and not any kind of damage. So I guess I'll never know exactly what it was.

 

Pour one for Alice tonight everyone, thanks again!

 

[Humblefish]

 

Just remember, there are worse things in life than death. Suffering without end is one of those things.

[IceParrot]

So sad when a fish passes 😥

 

Especially one that old. I just had a fish jump yesterday so you are not alone. RIP Alice

[sadie]

you def tried all you could to save her.  So sorry you had to go through this.  😪

[Kayman]

16 hours ago, IceParrot said:

So sad when a fish passes 😥

 

Especially one that old. I just had a fish jump yesterday so you are not alone. RIP Alice

Oh man Alice actually was probably the cause of a few fish jumps I had early on before I had a good fitting top. It's really a bummer, sorry for your loss!

 

1 hour ago, sadie said:

you def tried all you could to save her.  So sorry you had to go through this.  😪

Thanks for the kind words! Definitely learned a lesson on getting up a QT and how to use meds. Hopefully it was just some kind of bacterial infection that got out of control. So far the other two fish are still looking good at least!

[Kayman]

Welp about a year and half later and we have another sick clownfish hmm. Bad timing too as I'm moving in a few weeks and was planning on putting my fish in QT while setting up a bigger system.

 

The younger clown, Sarge, from before is now the bigger female. It's again been about a week, maybe a big longer, without really eating and not leaving her duncan coral. I got her out and into QT just now. Still trying to catch the smaller clown, Apa, but no luck yet. The other fish I have an orchid dottyback I'll have zero luck with until the move.

 

So Sarge hasn't been eating and not catching food well similar to Alice but thankfully more active still so hopefully I can save her this time. Apa the smaller male I have seems to have flared gills but that may just be is normal look as he's been active and eating normally but I will try and get him out.

 

Sarge also has what look like sores on his left front cheek/chin and a smaller sore developing on the right side, pics below. I have done 2 doses of Prazi to the tank over the last week and have Furan-2, E.M Erythromycin, Metro, Kanaplex in my house. Any ideas what I should start with?

 

Thanks!

 

[Kayman]

@Humblefish

 

Hey, sorry to bug you but any ideas? On the 14th I started Furan, Metro and Kanaplex. I also tried a 5min FW dip but didn't reveal anything. She's still not eating but the sores may be getting slightly better? It's all rather similar to what happened before with my last clown.

 

I had planned on getting them into QT and treating all my fish when I move in a week and then leaving the tank fallow for 2 months just to do a restart but guess she had other ideas.

 

[Humblefish]

@Kayman It's pretty rare to see HLLE in clownfish, but have you eliminated all possible causes of that: https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/403845-hlle-head-lateral-line-erosion/

 

Assuming it is something bacterial, combining Cipro + MB in a bath treatment is the strongest treatment I have found:

 

Ciprofloxacin (Best administered via 1-2 hour bath treatment. Dosage is high: 250mg per gal. Repeat every 24 hours for 7 days. Methylene Blue can be added to increase efficacy.)

[Kayman]

7 hours ago, Humblefish said:

@Kayman It's pretty rare to see HLLE in clownfish, but have you eliminated all possible causes of that: https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/403845-hlle-head-lateral-line-erosion/

 

Assuming it is something bacterial, combining Cipro + MB in a bath treatment is the strongest treatment I have found:

 

Ciprofloxacin (Best administered via 1-2 hour bath treatment. Dosage is high: 250mg per gal. Repeat every 24 hours for 7 days. Methylene Blue can be added to increase efficacy.)

Thanks! Yeah not sure on the HLLE, I don't have anything to test stray voltage but looking at pictures it doesn't seem to match up too much in my opinion.

 

I ordered some Rally and Safety Stop yesterday so those should arrive soon do you think I should try those? Is the Cipro just a going to do a better job than the Furan and EM Erythromycin?

 

She seems to be breathing heavier and swimming around on her side more today and bumping into the sides of the tank a lot. 

[Humblefish]

16 hours ago, Kayman said:

I ordered some Rally and Safety Stop yesterday so those should arrive soon do you think I should try those? Is the Cipro just a going to do a better job than the Furan and EM Erythromycin?

Of those two, doing daily Rally baths (1 teaspoon per gallon of saltwater) will yield better results for treating a bacterial infection.

[Kayman]

3 hours ago, Humblefish said:

Of those two, doing daily Rally baths (1 teaspoon per gallon of saltwater) will yield better results for treating a bacterial infection.

Thanks I'll give that a try when it shows up!

I plan on moving the tank in 2 or 3 weeks to my new house and I plan on catching the other 2 fish as well and getting them separated from the display for awhile. Any recommendations on what I should do with them while I have them isolated? Was thinking I would do the Safety Stop bath before getting them into QT and then maybe more Prazi but then wasn't sure what else to treat them with since they don't have any major symptoms. The clown still in the display has the slightly flared gills but is still behaving normally and the Dottyback looks fine when I can see her and is also still eating normally. Have had both of them for about a year and a half.

Thanks!

[Humblefish]

On 4/23/2021 at 2:56 PM, Kayman said:

Any recommendations on what I should do with them while I have them isolated?

I would try dosing Kanaplex + Metroplex. I've had pretty good success treating clownfish with oddball bacterial diseases by using those two medications.