help my buddy please!!

[kambiz]

i have had this sri lankan clown for 7 months now, he is the biggest fish in my 55 gal.
i was away for a couple of days, and when my friend droped by to feed my fish, he noticed that the clown was on the bottom of the tank, lying on its side, still breathing and alive but not very active..
it's been 4 days since, and still he is the same, does not come to the top to eat. i tested the water. it seems to be good.. my other damsels are fine also..
could my clown be getting ready to lay eggs?!!
it is so sad to see the shrimp and the crabs all hanging around and waiting for the clown to die so that they can "clean" it all up..
the clown looks perfectly healthy no marks, or any dots..
help my buddy please..

 

[holacanthus]

Take him/her out and out it in a q-tank! Then see if you can observe any, and i mean any problems! If you can't , take a water sample to a lfs to get tested and try a copper based medication, maybe he'll get better maybe he won't, good luck anyway!

 

[col]

One of my percs did the same, it was being bullied by other one.
It used to lie on it's side on sand.
It went on for a few days before back to normal.

 

[kambiz]

my gut feeling is that he has some sort of internal problem like something wrong with his swim bubble or something..
the water is tested. it's good. the other fish are doing well.
my clown is the largest (6") one in the tank and has never been bullied by anyone, so i don't think that's it..
what about natural causes? could he just be getting too old?
it's been 8 days since the problem was first detected, and still he is very much alive and breathing. he just gathers all his energy and swims for up to 5 seconds and then he drops to the bottom again and moves to his usual spot.
poor guy..