1 yr old clown swimming sideways

Hello, I have had this clown for a year and he has been fine til now. Yesturday I noticed him swimming on his side. All tests show to be good as they ever were, what could the problem be?
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
How is he doing aside from this? Eating, and behaving normally?
 
He is not eating and he was swimming irratically lastnight, swimming straight down and hitting the sand,,,plants ect,,and when I turned the light off he started acting normal,,,,I dont imagine he is going to be alive much longer,,,,he has NO signs of disease at all not spots or torn fins,,,nothing,,,
 
Does anyone else know about the possible cause on this,,,where is ol'rielable renogaw when you need his advise??? How is everyone this fine day??
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
It could be a bacterial infection. What are your water readings, and how is the fish breathing? Notice any red gills? Labored breathing?
 
I just checked the ph amonia nitrates and nitites and they all show to be good,,,the PH has always been a little low 7.8,,,the amonia was between 0ppm and .25ppm,,,the nitires was 0ppm,,,and the nitrates were 0ppm,,,,all means were taken a year ago to raise the ph I send alot of money trying to do this and it always just droped right back down to 7.8,,,All fish seemed to be fine all this time,,,but I did add a blue tang from my lfs and it died with in three days,,,over Christmas,,, but it had no sign of infection,,,it seemd to die of shock,,,no one told me about acclimateing anthing,,,but this blue tang did act crazy and stupid just like this clown is doing now,,,I hope this is more info to help solve this problem,,,,thanks for all the help so far,,,,more is needed,,,thanks again,,,,oh and the gills look fine and he does have labored breathing at times,,,he almost acts like he is blind,,,,no sighns of eyes looking unhealthy,,,when I feed he really goes crazy running into things,,,like he can smell the food but he cant see it to eat it to eat it,,,,should take him out and try to feed him manually???And how???
 

bonebrake

Active Member
Try to spot feed him directly in front of his face with a turkey baster after the other fish have had their fill so they do not get in the way.
 
I just took him out and put him in a small 4 cup container and put plenty of food in there for him and he found alot of it and I was pleased with him eating and then put him back in the tank,,,Is is possible that I could nurse him back to health this way,,,or is he a gonner anyway???Anyone ever heard or a fish just going blind all of a sudden???
 
I also found a very small hair like thingy hanging from him backside(anus). Do worms look like tiny hairs???How do you treat for worms if this is the case?
 

bonebrake

Active Member
I knew of one hobbyist who had a blind clown fish that she spot fed in the tank with a turkey baster for over year before it died of old age; she had it for six or seven years.
If you want to take him out to feed him, catch him with the cup inside of the tank so he is constantly underwater instead of netting him because the net could cause injury and extra stress which he does not need right now.
If what you see hanging out the back end is worms and not what normally comes out just let him continue to live in the tank; don't intervene with anything.
 
Ok I havent seen that little white hair thingy hanging again,,,maybe it has normal,,,I had to skint to see it. I have been netting him, but NOT taking him out of water,,,he will find the food and go nutz and eat like crazy,,,,he is NO LONGER swimming sideways,,,,he was just starving at that time I guess,,,,He is now doing well,,,Thank you for your info,,,,,,,
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Any ammonia can cause serious problems for fish. Why do you have ammonia, since your tank has been set up for awhile?
I would suggest addressing the ammonia asap via water changes, and finding out what is actually causing it. Leave the pH where it is at this point, but once the ammonia is take care of, bring the pH up to 8.0.
 
Just did a water change last week and these readings were right after,,,do I need a 50% water change??? Also I do have some ugly black or dark grey algae growing,,,,what do you think about useing H2O2 for cleaning it??? I have used this method before and everyone was ok after,,,but with a clown that is not all together,,,it probably wounldnt be a good idea right now,,,,Plu I have yet to see pictures of this algae and the accual name for it,,,,
 
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