EMERGENCY! CLOWNFISH PROBLEM!

[Taipan88]

I have a single pair, I have seen the other clown bullying this one quite a bit, could this be the problem? I witnesses the other clown ramming it when it was on its side.

Are they the same size? or is one bigger than the other?


Ich could be the cause, However we will need better pics I cant tell if there is ich on the fish or its just some of the white detritis the clown is laying in. ( be best to confirm there )
That being said, if you have ich in your tank it will be on your other fish as well. In my experience tangs and angels get it faster than clowns ( who have a thicker slime coat )
Ich has other tell tale signs as well, scratching. Have you noticed this at all? You should have seen it in the days leading up to the sudden lethargic clown.

From my experience, Clowns are slower with ich, where as a tang can be utterly covered in 24 hours.

I'm currently battling an ich outbreak. ( tip kids, use DIFFERENT NETS for QT and DT )
Currently my entire stock is in a QT tank being treated for Ich. ( they were cured 2 weeks ago ) However due to the initial outbreak being in my DT, it is now going to sit fishless for 3 months to allow any ich eggs to expire. Something which I suggest you follow if you do confirm its Ich, nothing worse than doing QT for a month only to drop the fish into the DT to be infected again.

 

[Taipan88]

Looks like bulling is potentially the cause.

No hard feelings Snotty

 

[ReefGuy1234]

Hello everybody, I have a pair of clownfish that we’re doing great for a couple of months, however now one of them is laying on its side and breathing rather erraticly, is also has no appetite. Everything else in the tank is fine, including the other clowns and anemones, so I know it’s not a random nutrient spike, could anybody help me!

Maybe you accidentally or somehow ended up with two female. Make sure you are 100% sure there’s only one female. That’s my best guess but other than that I don’t know. Hope you figure it out and good luck!

 

[Taipan88]

Maybe you accidentally or somehow ended up with two female. Make sure you are 100% sure there’s only one female. That’s my best guess but other than that I don’t know. Hope you figure it out and good luck!

That was going to be my next comment.. Unlikely, but not impossible.

However, I would suspect there would be major aggression from the very start.

 

[clownfish07]

I have no idea, going to separate and see if that helps, will update! Fingers crossed!

 

[Taipan88]

I have no idea, going to separate and see if that helps, will update! Fingers crossed!

Good luck man, I hope you get a win out of this.

If it helps, Coke bottles make great isolation chambers if cut in half.

Or just those cheap as Aqua one breeders....

Another reason as to why the clown looks to be exhausted to me is that it does look thin, and sunken in spots.
Clowns are constantly swimming with that iconic up and down motion we love them so much for.

No food / Low access to food and constantly fighting flow will exhaust the fish.

If you're going to isolate to a whole other tank, try lowering the salinity just a bit.

All my fish in the QT tanks are WAYYY under what would be considered Correct salinity. It lowers their stress surprisingly enough.
1.015 to be exact, which is what I checked last night. I would go as low as 1.010 to make ich cysts explode.

Obviously this is done over the course of a few days, however I would recommend isolating the fish first as a priority, with lower flow.

 

[clownfish07]

Good luck man, I hope you get a win out of this.

If it helps, Coke bottles make great isolation chambers if cut in half.

Or just those cheap as Aqua one breeders....

Another reason as to why the clown looks to be exhausted to me is that it does look thin, and sunken in spots.
Clowns are constantly swimming with that iconic up and down motion we love them so much for.

No food / Low access to food and constantly fighting flow will exhaust the fish.

If you're going to isolate to a whole other tank, try lowering the salinity just a bit.

All my fish in the QT tanks are WAYYY under what would be considered Correct salinity. It lowers their stress surprisingly enough.
1.015 to be exact, which is what I checked last night. I would go as low as 1.010 to make ich cysts explode.

Wow, that’s pretty low, thanks for the advice, hopefully the clown pulls through!

 

[Taipan88]

Wow, that’s pretty low, thanks for the advice, hopefully the clown pulls through!

I hope is does too man, its a pretty fish.

If you do end up running into Ich in the future I would recommend the lowered salinity approach coupled with Medication.
While using medication alone I felt that I was constantly fighting outbreaks and that they were getting lower and lower in severity with every dose.. However this was slow, dead slow.
Lowering the salinity + dosing medication.. I seen a drastic change within 48 hours. Basically no new spots...
Where as previously, I would kill 100 spots to have 70 return in 24 hours.

 

[clownfish07]

I hope is does too man, its a pretty fish.

If you do end up running into Ich in the future I would recommend the lowered salinity approach coupled with Medication.
While using medication alone I felt that I was constantly fighting outbreaks and that they were getting lower and lower in severity with every dose.. However this was slow, dead slow.
Lowering the salinity + dosing medication.. I seen a drastic change within 48 hours. Basically no new spots...
Where as previously, I would kill 100 spots to have 70 return in 24 hours.

Alright, not entirely sure if it’s ich yet, going to qt and observe, really don’t want to lose this fish, I named it and everything

 

[Taipan88]

Alright, not entirely sure if it’s ich yet, going to qt and observe, really don’t want to lose this fish, I named it and everything

You'll be right..
And look if it does go up **** creek, chalk it up as a learning experience. Even us veterans make mistakes.

**** I was drinking the other day and decided to do a water change.... WITHOUT turning off the ATO..
guess what dumped 10l of RO into my tank... the ATO.

 

[clownfish07]

You'll be right..
And look if it does go up **** creek, chalk it up as a learning experience. Even us veterans make mistakes.

**** I was drinking the other day and decided to do a water change.... WITHOUT turning off the ATO..
guess what dumped 10l of RO into my tank... the ATO.

Yikes, that doesn’t sound fun, yeah it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t make it, appreciate the positive outlook! Makes me feel a little Better

 

[Taipan88]

Yikes, that doesn’t sound fun, yeah it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t make it, appreciate the positive outlook! Makes me feel a little Better

We all make Mistakes mate, its what gives life its ups and downs.
Its how you recover from your mistakes that makes you worth ya salt.

 

[clownfish07]

We all make Mistakes mate, its what gives life its ups and downs.
Its how you recover from your mistakes that makes you worth ya salt.

The fish has an a very small stomach, thinking bullying might have been the cause, we will see I suppose, it’s breathing is less erratic since being separated, so good sign maybe. Also thanks for all the support

 

[clownfish07]

Update, the fish didn’t make it , I believe it was a swim bladder issue as it was having trouble swimming properly and it had a slow decline in swimming quality, but it’s a good learning experience and there is only one way to go and that’s forward

 

[Vested]

Update, the fish didn’t make it , I believe it was a swim bladder issue as it was having trouble swimming properly and it had a slow decline in swimming quality, but it’s a good learning experience and there is only one way to go and that’s forward

Thanks for the update, sorry to hear rip

 

[Taipan88]

Update, the fish didn’t make it , I believe it was a swim bladder issue as it was having trouble swimming properly and it had a slow decline in swimming quality, but it’s a good learning experience and there is only one way to go and that’s forward

Hey Mate, Thanks for the update.
Look you did well, were able to identify a problem, confirmed with help and tried your best to mitigate the problem.
After that there is nothing you can do and its all in the power of the fish to pull through from that point.

 

[clownfish07]

Hey Mate, Thanks for the update.
Look you did well, were able to identify a problem, confirmed with help and tried your best to mitigate the problem.
After that there is nothing you can do and its all in the power of the fish to pull through from that point.

Yep, got my other clownfish a new buddy and he seems to enjoy the company, thanks for all the help, hopefully this won’t happen again

 

[jmichaelh7]

I watched my current clownfish bully a new clownfish to the last breathe . I didn’t know until it was too late .

Never the less , it could be bullied and stressed until it dies.

did it die

 

[clownfish07]

I watched my current clownfish bully a new clownfish to the last breathe . I didn’t know until it was too late .

Never the less , it could be bullied and stressed until it dies.

did it die

Yes, it did end up dieing, believe it was a swim bladder issue

 

[Taipan88]

I have a particularly nasty and mean platinum snowflake clown who has a split lip from fighting..