Clown fish hiding- new Valentini puffer possible violent?

[macyjones1984]

Hi, Clown fish in third day of hiding. I've had a valentini puffer in my 30 gallon tank for about two weeks. I ran out of food for two days and my mandarin goby went missing. The first day I had the puffer, it devoured my emerald crabs. Now my typically belligerent clown fish (had for about a year, female) is hiding under rocks and in the coral and won't come out to eat. The water condition is fine. Her mate is fine, but sometimes sticking closer to her instead of swimming the tank. The behavior isn't about eggs as we've been through that repeatedly. Is there any possibility this puffer is causing trouble? Not sure what else to think.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Welcome to R2R!

What are your water parameters? Fine can mean different things to different people.

Also, do you feed your mandarin goby pods? A 30 gallon tank probably can't support the pod population it would need to thrive.

I don't think your puffer is the issue.

 

[macyjones1984]

Here is the clown fish. He's come out to eat & his swimming is pretty clunky, even considering his usual bobble. Still getting a little stuck in the bottom areas of the rocks. He's possibly got some white marks on his snout and also maybe his gills are protruding and reddish? Here are his pictures. The water was between 0.0-5.0 ppm on the nitrate card and pH was about 7.8. I am using the clear test tubes with activator drops. Thank you to whoever responded & ruled out the puffer fish. Her mate is very active and acting normally. I'm concerned and am leaving town on Saturday so very interested in seeing her improve.

 

[macyjones1984]

Welcome to R2R!

What are your water parameters? Fine can mean different things to different people.

Also, do you feed your mandarin goby pods? A 30 gallon tank probably can't support the pod population it would need to thrive.

I don't think your puffer is the issue.

Hi, I replied to my own post with the water parameters and pictures of the fish. (because I've never used this site & didn't know what I was doing) I very, very much appreciate your response. I've been away all day waiting to get back to you with a response. Thank you so much for caring!

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Thanks for the photos. It's still a difficult to say but I'd lean towards this being Brooklynella.

Brooklynella

Brooklynella hostilis What You Need To Know: * This is most often seen in clownfish, but it can afflict any fish. The fish’s skin will appear to be peeling or sloughing off, oftentimes causing excessive white mucous to form around the affected area(s). * Treatment of choice is a 45 minute...

www.reef2reef.com

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081 thoughts please

 

[vetteguy53081]

Here is the clown fish. He's come out to eat & his swimming is pretty clunky, even considering his usual bobble. Still getting a little stuck in the bottom areas of the rocks. He's possibly got some white marks on his snout and also maybe his gills are protruding and reddish? Here are his pictures. The water was between 0.0-5.0 ppm on the nitrate card and pH was about 7.8. I am using the clear test tubes with activator drops. Thank you to whoever responded & ruled out the puffer fish. Her mate is very active and acting normally. I'm concerned and am leaving town on Saturday so very interested in seeing her improve.

I see what may be imperfections on the body but hard to clearly see due to the blue light bouncing off the white portion of fish and video- you just fed and food particles are interrupting the focus. Please repost under White light intensity only. Brook is suspect but want to see clearly opposed to guessing.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi, Clown fish in third day of hiding. I've had a valentini puffer in my 30 gallon tank for about two weeks. I ran out of food for two days and my mandarin goby went missing. The first day I had the puffer, it devoured my emerald crabs. Now my typically belligerent clown fish (had for about a year, female) is hiding under rocks and in the coral and won't come out to eat. The water condition is fine. Her mate is fine, but sometimes sticking closer to her instead of swimming the tank. The behavior isn't about eggs as we've been through that repeatedly. Is there any possibility this puffer is causing trouble? Not sure what else to think.

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

I don’t see any signs of aggression on either clownfish and they are sharing food well with the puffer in the video.

Brooklynella is difficult to diagnosis on white clowns, but your dark clown isn’t showing any signs of it.

The female clown DOES have bilateral exophthalmia - popeye. This can be caused by obesity (she is a chunky monkey) but it can also be caused by a chronic mycobacterium infection (that isn’t treatable though.)

 

[macyjones1984]

Thanks for the photos. It's still a difficult to say but I'd lean towards this being Brooklynella.

Brooklynella

Brooklynella hostilis What You Need To Know: * This is most often seen in clownfish, but it can afflict any fish. The fish’s skin will appear to be peeling or sloughing off, oftentimes causing excessive white mucous to form around the affected area(s). * Treatment of choice is a 45 minute...

www.reef2reef.com

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081 thoughts please

Thank you for your post. I was told to give her a fresh water dip by another non-expert here in town. It looks like I can at least try finding the medications mentioned in the link you provided. She's still hiding out. Thank you so very much!

 

[macyjones1984]

I see what may be imperfections on the body but hard to clearly see due to the blue light bouncing off the white portion of fish and video- you just fed and food particles are interrupting the focus. Please repost under White light intensity only. Brook is suspect but want to see clearly opposed to guessing.

Yes, she won't venture out unless I add food, I added too much food to make sure she'd get any and this is really the first times she'd come all the way out. If I had an opportunity to get a better photo, I would have. All I've seen outside of this for the last several days and since is her face sticking out from the corals and rocks. If I catch her out, I will be grabbing my camera. Also doing another water change because of the extra food. I'll be gone for a week and I wanted to see food in her stomach before leaving. I'll do my best to get better conditions and maybe boost her out of there for a hopeful picture. Thank you very much for your thoughts.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yes, she won't venture out unless I add food, I added too much food to make sure she'd get any and this is really the first times she'd come all the way out. If I had an opportunity to get a better photo, I would have. All I've seen outside of this for the last several days and since is her face sticking out from the corals and rocks. If I catch her out, I will be grabbing my camera. Also doing another water change because of the extra food. I'll be gone for a week and I wanted to see food in her stomach before leaving. I'll do my best to get better conditions and maybe boost her out of there for a hopeful picture. Thank you very much for your thoughts.

Almost a sign of intimidation rather than bullying

 

[macyjones1984]

Almost a sign of intimidation rather than bullying

Something's changed. She was always the bully in there and even bit me at every opportunity.

 

[Alenya]

I have a valentini and clowns he has never shown any aggression towards any other fish in the tank. Hope your clown is okay.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Something's changed. She was always the bully in there and even bit me at every opportunity.

One test to confirm intimidation is to remove for about 30 minutes and see if behavior suddenly changes
If so, then you know puffer is an influence with this change