Clownfish not eating, breathing fast

[Kabel04]

My clownfish has been breathing very fast and not eating for seven days now. She's been staying out of direct light and staying in one place all day - sometimes swimming and sometimes laying down. Her appearance hasn't changed at all (no spots, nothing coming from gills) and it looks like she still has a full stomach.

The tank is 25+ years old. Nothing new added in many years. Other fish and corals are doing fine. All the parameters I have tests for look fine. I also did a water change the first day after she didn't eat.

Looking at other threads, I would think she's constipated but she's pooped a few times (that I've seen) so I'm not sure. Due to the age of the tank and the other fish being okay, I'm not so sure it's a parasite.
She's 16 years old. I really don't think it's old age because she was her normal self two weeks ago, but I feel I should mention it.

I haven't been able to catch her so far. Is there anything I can do for her?

I've linked a video of her breathing fast and attached the best picture I have of her poop. Please let me know if there's any other info that would be helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C1-mmvoJ_5o

 

[vetteguy53081]

My clownfish has been breathing very fast and not eating for seven days now. She's been staying out of direct light and staying in one place all day - sometimes swimming and sometimes laying down. Her appearance hasn't changed at all (no spots, nothing coming from gills) and it looks like she still has a full stomach.

The tank is 25+ years old. Nothing new added in many years. Other fish and corals are doing fine. All the parameters I have tests for look fine. I also did a water change the first day after she didn't eat.

Looking at other threads, I would think she's constipated but she's pooped a few times (that I've seen) so I'm not sure. Due to the age of the tank and the other fish being okay, I'm not so sure it's a parasite.
She's 16 years old. I really don't think it's old age because she was her normal self two weeks ago, but I feel I should mention it.

I haven't been able to catch her so far. Is there anything I can do for her?

I've linked a video of her breathing fast and attached the best picture I have of her poop. Please let me know if there's any other info that would be helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C1-mmvoJ_5o

At 16 years it can be old age but in this case, i see symptoms of brooklynella often labeled clown disease but dont see a lot of telltale signs. A few dots on the back supports the possibility of brook. Often a freshwater dip will offer the fish temporary relief but with its breathing rate, would not chance it.
Treatment will be a formalin based medication such as quick cure or else Ruby rally pro, both best in quarantine. Ruby takes a little longer to act and work though.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Brooklynella is highly unlikely IMO based on the info provided.

Confirming there were no major swing in water chemistry, fish aggression or possible pollutant?

@Jay Hemdal can provide better insight.

 

[Kabel04]

The white spot in the picture is particulate in the water. I took that picture from this video of her swimming https://youtube.com/shorts/V7b7nnoQebU?feature=share.

From my understanding (I'm not the one who does most of the tank maintenance), it's possible the tank was getting too much calcium from both Kalkwasser and Sea-Lab Formula 28. That would have started a few months ago when the Formula 28 was first introduced (we kept adding the normal amount of Kalkwasser). None of the tests available at the store measure calcium so I can't check it.
We stopped adding Kalkwasser right before the water change.
[Edit: Stopped adding it after she had been breathing fast and didn't eat for a day.]

This probably isn't relevant, but one of the other tomato clowns in the tank was really bullying her mate for a few weeks, but nothing that directly affected this fish. They don't really interact though since their homes are four feet apart. That's the only fish aggression I can think of.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The white spot in the picture is particulate in the water. I took that picture from this video of her swimming https://youtube.com/shorts/V7b7nnoQebU?feature=share.

From my understanding (I'm not the one who does most of the tank maintenance), it's possible the tank was getting too much calcium from both Kalkwasser and Sea-Lab Formula 28. That would have started a few months ago when the Formula 28 was first introduced (we kept adding the normal amount of Kalkwasser). None of the tests available at the store measure calcium so I can't check it.
We stopped adding Kalkwasser right before the water change.
[Edit: Stopped adding it after she had been breathing fast and didn't eat for a day.]

This probably isn't relevant, but one of the other tomato clowns in the tank was really bullying her mate for a few weeks, but nothing that directly affected this fish. They don't really interact though since their homes are four feet apart. That's the only fish aggression I can think of.

I think this is simply organ failure due to "old age". I put that in quotes because with these old fish, if you do a necropsy, you find lesions on the organs, that if cultured, turn out to be Mycobacterium, fish TB. That bacteria is present in literally every aquarium, but doesn't harm the fish unless there is some predisposing factor like old age. Another possibility is fatty liver disease - less common in clownfish, but end stage is the fish stops feeding and breaths quickly. The white material in the video is most likely mucus, from the fish not feeding for some time.
Can you see how the fish's spine shows, and it swims kind of stiffly? Those are two other symptoms of "old age" in clownfish.

16 years is a really good run for a clownfish. It is highly improbable that Brooklynella could have been hiding in the tank and suddenly become active. Even marine ich, better known for doing that, has some time limits. I also don't see it being related to the calcium - that would affect all fish more or less equally, and if it was really skewed, your invertebrates and corals would show issues I think.

Sorry, I don't see any treatment for the fish though.

Jay

 

[anabechara]

Could you update us on your clown?

 

[Kabel04]

She has less energy now. Her breathing is the same and it's easier to see her spine. No other visual changes.
She spends most of her day now laying in the corals she sleeps in and will get out once or twice each day to swim around the tank. She's also still interested in watching what goes on outside the tank. If there's a person she can see, she'll prop herself up and watch them just like she would before she got sick, even if it means she has to swim a bit to stay propped up.
Yesterday, she had a thin light green poop about an inch long (picture attached). She also swam over to where she would normally go for dinner and waited there until we put in some food. She avoided all the big pieces but did eat three flake crumbs. Didn't eat today, though.

At this point I'm just trying to make sure she's comfortable.

 

[anabechara]

She has less energy now. Her breathing is the same and it's easier to see her spine. No other visual changes.
She spends most of her day now laying in the corals she sleeps in and will get out once or twice each day to swim around the tank. She's also still interested in watching what goes on outside the tank. If there's a person she can see, she'll prop herself up and watch them just like she would before she got sick, even if it means she has to swim a bit to stay propped up.
Yesterday, she had a thin light green poop about an inch long (picture attached). She also swam over to where she would normally go for dinner and waited there until we put in some food. She avoided all the big pieces but did eat three flake crumbs. Didn't eat today, though.

At this point I'm just trying to make sure she's comfortable.

Thank you for the update! Godspeed to the little clown.