Clownfish No Longer Eating, Swimming Vertical.

[YEGReef]

Tank is roughly 3 weeks old but was cycled with live sand and bottled bacteria.
Tank Perimeters:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5-10 ppm

2 Clownfish were introduced 3 days later and have been in the tank for a little less than 3 weeks. Started off perfectly fine, eating like pigs and swimming no problem.
Last week I noticed both clownfish had long white stringy poop, based online, wasn't a concern, blamed it on the high protein pellets, said I would feed more frozen shrimp...
Also 1 of them started swimming vertically the entire day, except when it was time to eat, would swim straight no problem. Again based online, was a clownfish thing, no concern.

Now for the past 48 hours I have noticed neither fish will eat anymore, they will almost like smell the food and do nothing with it, or spit out the food and do nothing.
1 is swimming fine, other is still vertical. So no eating, white poop and vertical swimming.

Is this parasitic? Worms?

Suggestions on the best and easiest method to fix them up, no coral in the tank, just rock with a goby and pistol shrimp.

Thank you!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Tank is roughly 3 weeks old but was cycled with live sand and bottled bacteria.
Tank Perimeters:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5-10 ppm

2 Clownfish were introduced 3 days later and have been in the tank for a little less than 3 weeks. Started off perfectly fine, eating like pigs and swimming no problem.
Last week I noticed both clownfish had long white stringy poop, based online, wasn't a concern, blamed it on the high protein pellets, said I would feed more frozen shrimp...
Also 1 of them started swimming vertically the entire day, except when it was time to eat, would swim straight no problem. Again based online, was a clownfish thing, no concern.

Now for the past 48 hours I have noticed neither fish will eat anymore, they will almost like smell the food and do nothing with it, or spit out the food and do nothing.
1 is swimming fine, other is still vertical. So no eating, white poop and vertical swimming.

Is this parasitic? Worms?

Suggestions on the best and easiest method to fix them up, no coral in the tank, just rock with a goby and pistol shrimp.

Thank you!

Please provide a Video of at least 20 seconds under white light intensity.
I suspect new tank issue and possible false readings as tank may be producing ammonia spikes and I suspect you are using API test kit which can be tricky/false. Dont worry about nitrites as it applies to freshwater unless sky high.
White feces often associated with mucus from foods offered and the behavior you describe may be brook but video will disclose.
If Brook, some signs are loss of color, loss of appetite, unusual swim pattern, elevated breathing, mucus on body, hiding and swimming at surface. I would also encourage you to take a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at

 

[YEGReef]

Please provide a Video of at least 20 seconds under white light intensity.
I suspect new tank issue and possible false readings as tank may be producing ammonia spikes and I suspect you are using API test kit which can be tricky/false. Dont worry about nitrites as it applies to freshwater unless sky high.
White feces often associated with mucus from foods offered and the behavior you describe may be brook but video will disclose.
If Brook, some signs are loss of color, loss of appetite, unusual swim pattern, elevated breathing, mucus on body, hiding and swimming at surface. I would also encourage you to take a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at

I have 2 videos I took earlier today, please let me know if you need more video.
The colours still look vibrant, no signs of mucus, and no surface swimming either. But you are correct about the API test, can purchase a different set to be sure though.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have 2 videos I took earlier today, please let me know if you need more video.
The colours still look vibrant, no signs of mucus, and no surface swimming either. But you are correct about the API test, can purchase a different set to be sure though.

Imgur cant be expanded and hard to see bodies with the blue lighting (white is best) but in the lower video, this is representative of a weird swimming pattern mentioned earlier associated with brook. Start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
Since a formalin solution is often not available for immediate use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.
With the advanced stage of this- I recommend immediate quarantine of all inhabitants and leaving display without fish for 4-6 weeks.
A quarantine system if you dont have one can be as easy as a second hand tank from a thrift store or as simple as a starter tank kit from Walmart which has most of the essentials

 

[YEGReef]

Imgur cant be expanded and hard to see bodies with the blue lighting (white is best) but in the lower video, this is representative of a weird swimming pattern mentioned earlier associated with brook. Start with a prolonged 60 minute bath of ruby rally pro then at a lower concentration in a quarantine tank. The longer the fish are exposed to the treatment, the more effective it will be at eliminating this issue.
Since a formalin solution is often not available for immediate use, temporary relief can be achieved by giving the fish a FW bath or dip in water same temperature as display tank. Even though this treatment will not cure the disease, it can help to remove some of the parasites, as well as reduce the amount of mucus in the gills to assist with respiration problems.
Treatment is best done in a QT tank using either quick cure (more effective but now harder to find) or Ruby Rally Pro. Ruby takes a little longer and initial treatment generally takes 2-3 days to really start going to work.
With the advanced stage of this- I recommend immediate quarantine of all inhabitants and leaving display without fish for 4-6 weeks.
A quarantine system if you dont have one can be as easy as a second hand tank from a thrift store or as simple as a starter tank kit from Walmart which has most of the essentials

So an update on the clownfish, I was preparing the quarantine tank as advised and awaiting some meds online as no LFS sells meds.

However 2 days ago (Sunday), woke up and the clowns were back to acting perfectly fine and normal. No more fast breathing, eating like pigs again and the one fish isn't constantly swimming vertically anymore. Yesterday same thing, eating well and looking well and this morning before work, they seemed fine. Haven't seen any white stringy poop yet, but their colors seem vibrant and no mucus anywhere either.

So I'm a bit conflicted on what I should do next? I purchased Fritz Paracleanse and was thinking of maybe doing that in case they had something parasitic or would that just stress them out if they're doing fine now.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So an update on the clownfish, I was preparing the quarantine tank as advised and awaiting some meds online as no LFS sells meds.

However 2 days ago (Sunday), woke up and the clowns were back to acting perfectly fine and normal. No more fast breathing, eating like pigs again and the one fish isn't constantly swimming vertically anymore. Yesterday same thing, eating well and looking well and this morning before work, they seemed fine. Haven't seen any white stringy poop yet, but their colors seem vibrant and no mucus anywhere either.

So I'm a bit conflicted on what I should do next? I purchased Fritz Paracleanse and was thinking of maybe doing that in case they had something parasitic or would that just stress them out if they're doing fine now.

Possible mucus in the gill area often relieved with simple water changes and increased water flow
A video in future may show something