My Clownfish Keep Dying! Please Help!

MnFish1

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Sorry, in re-reading the thread, there is still a clownfish alive? Then the tank is NOT running fallow while that fish is still in there.
So would you recommend a quarantine protocol for the clown?
 

MnFish1

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I assumed ich for some reason, not sure why, it wasn't mentioned.

But I didn't know fish couldn't build immunity to brook or velvet, thanks for correcting me.
So - let's look at it this way - If fish can't build immunity to those things - there would be no fish in the ocean. I would say it's rare in a tank due to increased concentrations of organisms.
 

Lavey29

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I assumed ich for some reason, not sure why, it wasn't mentioned.

But I didn't know fish couldn't build immunity to brook or velvet, thanks for correcting me.
It's possible that some fish have better resistance to disease such as a mandarin with its heavy slime coat and having strong well fed fish can certainly give them strong immune systems to ward off disease but complete immunity to disease is probably not possible in my science was not my best subject opinion.
 

MnFish1

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It's possible that some fish have better resistance to disease such as a mandarin with its heavy slime coat and having strong well fed fish can certainly give them strong immune systems to ward off disease but complete immunity to disease is probably not possible in my science was not my best subject opinion.
I'm going to slightly disagree. If - a certain parasite killed every host - on an evolutionary basis, they would also be killed. So lets pretend (pretend numbers) - 100 fish get brook. It's not entirely 'for sure' that all of they will be killed. Thus - there is some immunity. And - apologetically, my science was pretty good with regards to microbiology and immunology/. (btW - the immune system is markedly improved with good nutrition)
 

Lavey29

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I'm going to slightly disagree. If - a certain parasite killed every host - on an evolutionary basis, they would also be killed. So lets pretend (pretend numbers) - 100 fish get brook. It's not entirely 'for sure' that all of they will be killed. Thus - there is some immunity. And - apologetically, my science was pretty good with regards to microbiology and immunology/. (btW - the immune system is markedly improved with good nutrition)
You explained it better but I think I said basically the same thing "some immunity " as you quote and I also stated is possible but not "complete immunity ". It's like a person who never got covid and never got the jab. They have "some internal immunity " but are not guaranteed to never aquire it. Some fish are much more prone to ich then others right?
 

Jay Hemdal

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So would you recommend a quarantine protocol for the clown?
Well, yes, since the other fish died from a probable disease, I think the remaining clown needs to be treated for the “best guess” disease cause.
 

MnFish1

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Well, yes, since the other fish died from a probable disease, I think the remaining clown needs to be treated for the “best guess” disease cause.
I was thinking it would make sense to use the usual copper followed by prazipro protocol.
 
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Makaveli

Makaveli

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Hello guys,

So the one fish (the initial clown from the start whose buddy got caught in the powerhead) is still doing well. I don't have a hospital tank setup or QT tank. What is the next best option? I am not adding any more fish at this point but if this fish is not treated and the disease (whichever disease it may be) still has a host (this clown) then the disease will just survive and I am wasting time. Even if I wait 45 days this way, there is no guarantee that the disease is gone because there is still a host in the tank. Can I treat the tank and what is the possible downside of this. There are no inverts or corals as of yet. Also, if I do treat the tank, when can I add corals?
 

Jay Hemdal

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Hello guys,

So the one fish (the initial clown from the start whose buddy got caught in the powerhead) is still doing well. I don't have a hospital tank setup or QT tank. What is the next best option? I am not adding any more fish at this point but if this fish is not treated and the disease (whichever disease it may be) still has a host (this clown) then the disease will just survive and I am wasting time. Even if I wait 45 days this way, there is no guarantee that the disease is gone because there is still a host in the tank. Can I treat the tank and what is the possible downside of this. There are no inverts or corals as of yet. Also, if I do treat the tank, when can I add corals?

The next best option isn’t really good, but if you wait 45 to 60 days after the last fish died, and if the remaining fish is fine, and if you buy pre quarantined fish, the risk is manageable. Treating the remaining fish and quarantining all new fish is a better option though.
 
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Makaveli

Makaveli

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If he has brook or velvet in the tank which is the most likely case then his last fish will succumb also in the near future. His immune system will only fight it off for so long. Saw it with my first 2 clowns.
@Lavey29 you were absolutely right. I was in the middle of setting up a hospital tank and today the last clown succumbed. Leaving the tank fishless for 45 to 50 days. I added a skimmer aeration also, Aqua Maxx Bullet 2 HOB. Also added a UV sterilizer. I had a thriving salt water tank years ago with no deaths so I guess I neve expected all of this. Can you direct me to a thread to figure out how long I have to quarintine new fish, process, etc.?
 

Lavey29

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@Lavey29 you were absolutely right. I was in the middle of setting up a hospital tank and today the last clown succumbed. Leaving the tank fishless for 45 to 50 days. I added a skimmer aeration also, Aqua Maxx Bullet 2 HOB. Also added a UV sterilizer. I had a thriving salt water tank years ago with no deaths so I guess I neve expected all of this. Can you direct me to a thread to figure out how long I have to quarintine new fish, process, etc.?
I'm sure @MNFish or @Jay Hemdal has a good thread on QT procedures. Basically copper and prazipro over a 30 day observation period. LFS does a pretty thorough in house QT and I've never had an issue with their fish so that is what I rely on now for multiple years.

 
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MnFish1

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I'm sure @MNFish or @Jay Hemdal has a good thread on QT procedures. Basically copper and prazipro over a 30 day observation period. LFS does a pretty thorough in house QT and I've never had an issue with their fish so that is what I rely on now for multiple years.

This is the correct protocol. It is 30 days of copper followed by 2 x prazipro 8 days apart, and you can also do a 2 week observation period thereafter. The whole procedure is documented in the link provided by @Lavey29. So - you could start the hospital tank/QT tank and QT fish during your fallow period. Again, read the whole procedure in the link - if you have questions feel free to ask
 

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