What is wrong with my clown fish?

yojianne · Jul 31, 2024

Hello,

I recently received a pair of clownfish as a birthday gift, and I am not sure how to properly care for them. They have been active and eating well for the past four weeks, but today I noticed that one of them is bent on the sand. I do not have the proper testing tools. Can you please tell me what the problem might be and how I can help my clownfish? Is there hope???

Thank you.

Jay Hemdal · Jul 31, 2024

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

The one clown is moribund, actively dying. Sorry, but there isn’t anything you can do for it. You now want to try and resolve any issues to protect the remains clown. For that, we need more background information. This post explains that:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

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I do have a question though: generally, you cannot keep two maroon clowns in the same tank unless they are paired up, otherwise they will fight. Were these sold to you as a pair? Were they in the same tank together at the store? It is VERY unusual for two maroon clowns of the same size to live together, because in paired clowns, the male is smaller.

yojianne · Jul 31, 2024

UPDATE: It's been 9½ hours since I posted... I thought my fish is dead by now. I was about to scoop it out but it swam away. It's still weak tho. Should I keep it in the tank or quarantine it?

They are NOT the same size. The other one that is active is smaller than the one that is weak. This pair was given to me.