Clownfish acting strange

[djm]

Hi all,
I’ve had my ocellaris for almost 3 months, all has been going well but today his behaviour has been very strange. His mouth has been moving rapidly and he almost seems in a daze. All morning he has been hiding under part of my rock work and has only ventured out this evening. He’s not eating today either.

My parameters are;
Temp: 25c
Salinity: 1.025sg
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0.5
Phosphate: 0.03
Calcium: 435

I’ve managed to get a video of him this evening.

any ideas?

 

[Jekyl]

@Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081

 

[vetteguy53081]

I cannot see video as I’ve been traveling to 3 cities on a jet with no WiFi
Going off your descriptions, first thing I’d attack is water quality. I think I can safely suggest that all those zero readings are via an API test kit?
Rapid breathing, low oxygen is another concern and opportunity for a water change.
Does the clown have any unusual itching/twitching swimming behavior, loss of appetite, hazy appearance around the face and gills or mucus around its body?

 

[djm]

I cannot see video as I’ve been traveling to 3 cities on a jet with no WiFi
Going off your descriptions, first thing I’d attack is water quality. I think I can safely suggest that all those zero readings are via an API test kit?
Rapid breathing, low oxygen is another concern and opportunity for a water change.
Does the clown have any unusual itching/twitching swimming behavior, loss of appetite, hazy appearance around the face and gills or mucus around its body?

Test kits I’m using are Salifert apart from the nitrite which is an API test kit.
I’ve been doing weekly water changes and did a 20% change this afternoon. The tank has another Darwin Ocellaris which is acting normal, I thought they had paired up but have spent all day at different ends of the tank.
loss of appetite today, no hazy appearance or mucus, perhaps the occasional jerky movement here and there.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Test kits I’m using are Salifert apart from the nitrite which is an API test kit.
I’ve been doing weekly water changes and did a 20% change this afternoon. The tank has another Darwin Ocellaris which is acting normal, I thought they had paired up but have spent all day at different ends of the tank.
loss of appetite today, no hazy appearance or mucus, perhaps the occasional jerky movement here and there.

This may be the beginning of brooklynella. Most similar symptomatically to Signs of ich, this is also a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset, fish may scrape up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus.Very quickly the fish will become lethargic with jerky motion , refuse to eat, and its colors will fade.
You can safely give it a freshwater dip for about 4-5 minutes with temperature the same as tank in a clean container. Add a pinch of baking soda for the ph.
This step offers temporary relief and if it seems to improve after dip- then you know.
Another thing- any signs of white stringy poop? If so, may be an internal issue and prazi pro will be the answer.
Finishing lunch and our return is 2 1/2hrs. I’ll have no WiFi access

 

[Sharkbait19]

If there are no signs of parasites maybe it got stung by something? Sometimes clowns hurt their jaws by biting on corals or nems.

 

[djm]

This may be the beginning of brooklynella. Most similar symptomatically to Signs of ich, this is also a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset, fish may scrape up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus.Very quickly the fish will become lethargic with jerky motion , refuse to eat, and its colors will fade.
You can safely give it a freshwater dip for about 4-5 minutes with temperature the same as tank in a clean container. Add a pinch of baking soda for the ph.
This step offers temporary relief and if it seems to improve after dip- then you know.
Another thing- any signs of white stringy poop? If so, may be an internal issue and prazi pro will be the answer.
Finishing lunch and our return is 2 1/2hrs. I’ll have no WiFi access

Thanks for the advice, it’s much appreciated. I will try a freshwater dip tomorrow. He isn’t gasping at the surface for air, he actually seems to be staying closer to the bottom than usual.

 

[djm]

If there are no signs of parasites maybe it got stung by something? Sometimes clowns hurt their jaws by biting on corals or nems.

I did add a hammer coral to the tank about a week ago.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi all,
I’ve had my ocellaris for almost 3 months, all has been going well but today his behaviour has been very strange. His mouth has been moving rapidly and he almost seems in a daze. All morning he has been hiding under part of my rock work and has only ventured out this evening. He’s not eating today either.

My parameters are;
Temp: 25c
Salinity: 1.025sg
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0.5
Phosphate: 0.03
Calcium: 435

I’ve managed to get a video of him this evening.

any ideas?

The fish is breathing very fast and there is a milky cast to the fins, but not the body. One possible diagnosis is Amyloodinium, velvet. Does the darwin clown still look good and is eating?

Jay

 

[djm]

The fish is breathing very fast and there is a milky cast to the fins, but not the body. One possible diagnosis is Amyloodinium, velvet. Does the darwin clown still look good and is eating?

Jay

Hi Jay, yes the Darwin is doing fine, active and eating.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi Jay, yes the Darwin is doing fine, active and eating.

Ok, watch the Darwin carefully and give the first one a FW dip as soon as you can. It won’t cure it but it will buy you some time.
Jay

 

[djm]

Unfortunately neither fish made the night.

I’m really gutted especially as the Darwin looked completely healthy and was eating. This was my first go at saltwater, everything was going well since setting up but now I feel like throwing the towel in.

 

[djm]

This morning I have also found a lot of tiny white bugs on my glass which I have never noticed before, are these Copepods or is this anything to do with the death of my 2 clowns?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

This morning I have also found a lot of tiny white bugs on my glass which I have never noticed before, are these Copepods or is this anything to do with the death of my 2 clowns?

Those are copepods. The general rule is this: if its living on the fish it's a parasite, if it's living on the glass it is harmless. With copepods, there is a species that will attack fish, but it doesn't kill them, and is only seen in older established tanks.

Based on the quick time frame from symptoms to death, and the rapid breathing, it WAS Amyloodinium, velvet - sorry! You'll need to leave your tank with no fish in it for at least 45 days. I would urge you to quarantine all new fish going forward, or buy pre-quarantined fish.

Jay

 

[djm]

Those are copepods. The general rule is this: if its living on the fish it's a parasite, if it's living on the glass it is harmless. With copepods, there is a species that will attack fish, but it doesn't kill them, and is only seen in older established tanks.

Based on the quick time frame from symptoms to death, and the rapid breathing, it WAS Amyloodinium, velvet - sorry! You'll need to leave your tank with no fish in it for at least 45 days. I would urge you to quarantine all new fish going forward, or buy pre-quarantined fish.

Jay

Hi Jay,

thanks for the advice. I’m so disappointed that my clowns got sick.

just so I can understand a bit more at try to prevent this happening again, I have had the clowns for close to 3 months. They have been healthy up until yesterday.
Would velvet not have occurred sooner than this if they were already infected when I got them from the LFS? If having them for 3 months before getting sick wouldn’t they have got past the quarantine stage?

these were supposedly pre-quarantined fish when I bought them.
Only things I have introduced recently was a Mexican turbo snail from the same LFS as I got the clowns which was about 3 weeks ago and a hammer coral about a week ago. Hammer was dipped prior to going into the tank. Could either of these have introduced velvet?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Yes, anything with water on it can act as a fomite and carry disease into your tank. Some dealers don’t house fish in their invertebrate systems and those are a safer bet.
Jay