clownfish pair sick or stressed from params?

[reefer_365]

Heres how it goes. Ive had my clowns for a little over a week, and they've been fine. I did a water change the morning before i got them, and one yesterday. My clownfish have been eating fine, but since yesterday afternoon, they only stay in the corner of the tank next to my powerhead. They are just swimming in place, and breathing very fast through the gills and mouth. I suspected brooklynella, but wouldn't it have showed up long ago? ive had them for over a week without any symptoms. Their colors aren't faded, no ick, slime, or blemishes on the skin or erratic swimming. Other than the fast breathing, they look normal. I know that anything you do in the tank can cause stress, and one thing ive done this week is add phosban to my tank. i immediately took it out last night, and found that the ph is low 7.8 as also is alkalinity, and also that the salinity is 1.020-1.021. Could the water parameters be causing the stress? They show no symptoms for disease. Im going to the LFS today to get some more buffer and salt. I hope this helps them. if it doesn't, could it be some sort of gill parasite that a fw dip could help?

 

Please reply, there are a lot of members out there and i all know that a lot of people could at least give me a suggestion, and dont tell me to search the forums because ive been searching them to death about brooklynea and clownfish disease for the last two hours and none of them apply to my situation

[zachxlutz]

I hate to ask, but just to be sure... what are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels?

[reefer_365]

ammonia and nitrites are zero, nitrates are 10-15ppm

 

p.s: no gasping at surface, secondary bacterial infection, or scratching

[reefer_365]

i just fed them. They show an interest in eating, they go up and look at it, but then they just ignore it and stay where they are. The other thing that's peculiar is that at night, they move from the spot and go up to the surface of the back of the tank, like they always do. Maybe this is not a parasite if some of their behavior is still normal?

[reefer_365]

bump

[reefer_365]

55 views and no more replies........ ........wow

 

please, any suggestions will be highly appreciated

[mullman]

I only have ONE clown.

 

BUT, at night he swims as you describe.

 

All night (I've check several times with a flashlight over several nights) he swims in one tiny area of the tank and breathes funny (asleep and swimming?)

 

During the day he is fine, but at night he is in a trance.

[NowSnow]

My pair don't swim at night, they wedge themselves between something, usually the powerhead and wont move. During the day though they are active swimmers, i would suggest getting your salinity up. It could just be their personalities as well, some clowns are just wierd.

[altezza]

im having the same problem...my clown is breathing very fast. stay in his BTA all the time and no have intest in eating at all.....

[reefer_365]

A few days after my post, i think they went into full blown brooklynella. For three days now, ive been treating with an all natural invertebrate safe pharmaceutical medicine called "PimaFix." Very slowly, they are improving day after day. Their secondary infection has cleared up, they are no longer gasping at the surface, their slimecoats look better, and their breathing seems a bit slower (yeah, im the kind of crazy person that counts how many times they breathe per minute.) lol

Also more active, swimming not as erratic. These results have happened very slowly, nothing immediate or highly noticable. Might try a fw dip later this weak. I still dont know if it's brooklynella, i think it's just some other gill parasite. They've survived for half a week without medication, so it's a treatable disease or im just lucky guy