HELP! Clownfish stringy poop, not eating, fast breathing

[RaduNRV]

Hey guys and thanks for having me on this forum. I’m new to reefing but I already ran into an issue with one of my recently purchased clownfish. Two weeks ago bought a pair of clownfish somewhere around 3-4 months old (I think) and both of them were very energetic and eating like it was their last meal (pellets and Artemia with vitamins) however last week saw the female having some stringy white poop and was breathing kind of fast compared to the male. Spoke to a friend who advised me to keep an eye on her for the next days. 4 days ago she stopped eating and her breathing accelerated. Male is fine though. Had a look on the forum and thought that she might have parasites/ worms in her belly so as a first treatment started adding Metronidazole to the DT (no QT but definitely need to set one up) 2 days ago. Today I added the second treatment with metronidazole but I don’t see any improvements. Still not eating, rapid breathing, haven’t seen the stringy poop and she sits behind the rocks in the shadows. I’ve also added some pics with the fish. Any advice is more than welcome as I don’t want to lose her. Much appreciated!

Edit: as I was writing this post female has another small stringy poop and it seems that also the male started breathing a little more rapidly

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey guys and thanks for having me on this forum. I’m new to reefing but I already ran into an issue with one of my recently purchased clownfish. Two weeks ago bought a pair of clownfish somewhere around 3-4 months old (I think) and both of them were very energetic and eating like it was their last meal (pellets and Artemia with vitamins) however last week saw the female having some stringy white poop and was breathing kind of fast compared to the male. Spoke to a friend who advised me to keep an eye on her for the next days. 4 days ago she stopped eating and her breathing accelerated. Male is fine though. Had a look on the forum and thought that she might have parasites/ worms in her belly so as a first treatment started adding Metronidazole to the DT (no QT but definitely need to set one up) 2 days ago. Today I added the second treatment with metronidazole but I don’t see any improvements. Still not eating, rapid breathing, haven’t seen the stringy poop and she sits behind the rocks in the shadows. I’ve also added some pics with the fish. Any advice is more than welcome as I don’t want to lose her. Much appreciated!

Edit: as I was writing this post female has another small stringy poop and it seems that also the male started breathing a little more rapidly

Fish does not show sign such as thinness and may be due to feeding brine shrimp and mysis shrimp which causes excess mucus mimicking white feces/internal issues

 

[RaduNRV]

Fish does not show sign such as thinness and may be due to feeding brine shrimp and mysis shrimp which causes excess mucus mimicking white feces/internal issues

Thanks for the fast response. Should I stop feeding artemia then? And more importantly when will she start eating again if it’s because of the artemia?

 

[MnFish1]

Thanks for the fast response. Should I stop feeding artemia then? And more importantly when will she start eating again if it’s because of the artemia?

I think the breathing is the most important issue. White stringy poop will not cause 'fast breathing'. I would be concerned about a disease (velvet) or less likely flukes - or a chemical issue (ammonia)

 

[RaduNRV]

I think the breathing is the most important issue. White stringy poop will not cause 'fast breathing'. I would be concerned about a disease (velvet) or less likely flukes - or a chemical issue (ammonia)

chemical issue don’t think so as my parameters are good: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 5 nitrates. Salinity 35, PH 8 and Alk 7.5. Tank has 25 Gallons and the overflow and the wave pump are breaking the water surface very well + I’m also using a tunze 9001 skimmer so oxygen should be fine. However at the moment I’ve turned the skimmer and the UV off for the metronidazole treatment. Also checked her gills today from closeup but couldn’t see anything like mucus or flukes and was thinking that I could do a fwd but tbh I’m afraid that I’ll stress her to the point where she can’t take it anymore.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

chemical issue don’t think so as my parameters are good: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 5 nitrates. Salinity 35, PH 8 and Alk 7.5. Tank has 25 Gallons and the overflow and the wave pump are breaking the water surface very well + I’m also using a tunze 9001 skimmer so oxygen should be fine. However at the moment I’ve turned the skimmer and the UV off for the metronidazole treatment. Also checked her gills today from closeup but couldn’t see anything like mucus or flukes and was thinking that I could do a fwd but tbh I’m afraid that I’ll stress her to the point where she can’t take it anymore.

We see this a lot in new clownfish. There may be various causes; protozoan, bacterial or viral. Water quality issues can also cause this, but you’ve ruled that out.

I’m not clear as to the best treatment in this case. Sometimes it is isolated to a single fish, but here it seems to be both fish.

I don’t think a FW dip is going to help.

 

[RaduNRV]

Update: she’s still not eating and today I saw this white stringy poop coming out which has these big lumps in it. Also there’s something small and white attached to her above the left fin. I’m starting to freak out. Could this be worm infection?

 

[RaduNRV]

Just noticed something else. Three dots salt like on her side. Pics attached. Could be ich?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Just noticed something else. Three dots salt like on her side. Pics attached. Could be ich?

Those spots could be sand, or could be ich. Worst case is that it is ich, but that is not causing the stringy feces and not eating.

Typically, I dose metronidazole in the water to treat if this is the protozoan cause for this. However, you cannot dose that in tanks with coral or other invertebrates. You could try Ruby Reef Rally Pro, which is less effective, but a lot milder.

 

[RaduNRV]

Those spots could be sand, or could be ich. Worst case is that it is ich, but that is not causing the stringy feces and not eating.

Typically, I dose metronidazole in the water to treat if this is the protozoan cause for this. However, you cannot dose that in tanks with coral or other invertebrates. You could try Ruby Reef Rally Pro, which is less effective, but a lot milder.

Don’t have anything in the tank besides the two clowns. I already dosed twice metro. Any idea why the poop has lumps in it? Is she eliminating the parasites?

 

[RaduNRV]

Update: found her today acting really strange swimming chaotically in the tank with no direction what so ever. She was also having a white body sides and belly (pics attached). I decided to euthanize her as she was clearly going through a lot of pain and suffering.

 

[JustMarks]

Update: found her today acting really strange swimming chaotically in the tank with no direction what so ever. She was also having a white body sides and belly (pics attached). I decided to euthanize her as she was clearly going through a lot of pain and suffering.

so sad