Maroon Clown Troubles

[w glint]

Hello everyone!!

I have a quick question! (perhaps not so much)
I just bought a small, about an inch long, Maroon Clownfish from the lfs, he had a fray on each of his front fins, and some slight frays on his tail because he was being nipped at by a damsel in the tank, but other then that he seemed to be the perfect specimen, he ate at the fish store and was quite active. After i brought him home he seemed to be crazy exhausted and 'rested' on the sand bed. he was sitting up right, still moving his fins around keeping him self righted but sitting on the sand bed. i figured he was just stressed from the move and was resting ( lights were out as to reduce stress ). So i checked on him periodicity throughout the night and now in the morning with the lights on, he is happily scooting around the tank. My question is about his swimming: he is swimming with his head up and his tail down, like he has a weight on his back side and is swimming 'up' to stay in the water column. Is this abnormal, or is it perhaps due to the slight fray in his fins? Also, every few minuets he will take a 'break' and go back down to the sand bed ad 'rest'. Any thoughts?

Water params:
0Amm
0nitrite
0-5 nitrate
75-76 F
1.023 salinity
Could it be O2 levels? all the other fish seem fine besides him. i did plop in an airstone in the sump and im running my skimmer minus the collection cup because i added some kordon Ich attack as a preventative for ich. I also dosed him with some 'aquatic stress relief' during acclimation which i did via drip four about 2 hours.
Speedy replies would be magnificent!

 

[mr. limpid]

How is breathing normal or rapid? You need to think about setting up a QT. Swimming in current can be a sign of ick in its gills. You wont know for sure until a couple of days to see if spots appear on body of your fish.

 

[w glint]

Breathing seems normal, maybe a little ont he heavy side. i do have a QT i can use, or rather a Q bucket haha. and i have Lifeguard i can medicate with. any other good meds that do the trick?

 

[mr. limpid]

No such thing as good ick meds, other than copper or hypo. Just a question why didn't you QT this new fish if you have a QT?

 

[w glint]

Well, the fish was in 2 weeks prior and was in QT there at the lfs and i didnt have mine set up at home so i figured why not. not the best decision, but i suposse its a learning experience. lol. what do you think is the best course for meds / treatment?

 

[mr. limpid]

Depends is it show sign of ick (white spots on body) check all fish, this may take several days to appear. If it never appears on any fish then you missed the bullet this time. If not then you must QT all fish and treat with copper or hypo (i prefer hypo). I would nothing for now. Good Luck

 

[w glint]

Ok, so update time: The clown frequently swims around but always goes back to resting on the bottom in 1 specific corner. so far i have not noticed any signs of ich on the other fish, and it does seem his fins may be showing some signs of re-growth.
Most concerning is his swimming. He swims around the tank every so often but when he does, he does so with his head up, and tail down, like he cant keep his back end up. BUT, when he strays to close to my damsels lair, he is promptly chased away and does so in a semi-normal fashion, not so much in the 'lateral' way. What could this be?
Side note: is there a way to upload videos in posts? if so ill get a quick video of him swimming and post it up.
I did pick up some Coppersafe and Melafix today and am standying by for treatment, i think im going to wait 1 more day to look for ich one last time. Any thoughts on how i should go about treatment / handling the situation?
Also, he seems to be feeding well: eats at both daily feedings: Cyclop-eze in the morning and mysis in the evening - both soaked in Selcon.

 

[w glint]

Anyone?

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by W Glint http:///t/390639/maroon-clown-troubles#post_3460942
Ok, so update time: The clown frequently swims around but always goes back to resting on the bottom in 1 specific corner. so far i have not noticed any signs of ich on the other fish, and it does seem his fins may be showing some signs of re-growth. This is good. How chewed up were they in the beginning?
Most concerning is his swimming. He swims around the tank every so often but when he does, he does so with his head up, and tail down, like he cant keep his back end up. BUT, when he strays to close to my damsels lair, he is promptly chased away and does so in a semi-normal fashion, not so much in the 'lateral' way. What could this be? My clowns actually swim like this a lot. It's fairly normal to see and not too much to worry about as long as the rest of the behavior is normal. If he's constantly returning to the same location, this is where it's set up it's territory, it's using the sand bed in the corner as it's host, just at it would with an anemone. Some clowns choose corals, a specific spot on a rock, the return pump, etc. Maroons tend to like to fluff up sand, so it's not uncommon to see the behavior you're seeing.
Side note: is there a way to upload videos in posts? if so ill get a quick video of him swimming and post it up. photobucket or youtube
I did pick up some Coppersafe and Melafix today and am standying by for treatment, i think im going to wait 1 more day to look for ich one last time. Any thoughts on how i should go about treatment / handling the situation? Coppersafe was a waste of your money. As Mr. Limpid mentioned, there is no such thing about a copper medication that works. The only two treatments for ich are hypo-salinity (the safer route) and copper (can really stress out a sick fish). Neither should be done in your main tank, you need to do it in a QT. I would not treat with anything unless there are physical signs of an infection/infestation.
Also, he seems to be feeding well: eats at both daily feedings: Cyclop-eze in the morning and mysis in the evening - both soaked in Selcon. This is good. He's (or we should be saying she's) eating.

 

[w glint]

I will try to get a video up later so we can all see his crazy swimming! His fins were not too bad, he had a good cuck out of his front dorsal fin and his two lateral fins are a bit frayed. i worry that it started as a trauma induced fray-ing to fin rot. hopefully not thought.
Also, i got coppersafe because it was the only copper-based medication at the LFS. i think there might be a miss-communication here, but i thought coppersafe is a copper medication?
Also, could the sitting on the bottom ALL THE TIME be a sign of a problem? perhaps a swim bladder problem? i just cant imagine that he always wants to sit on the sand all day long.

 

[mr. limpid]

Besides those 2 foods try adding more variety in its diet (any of the blended frozen foods) plus add some vegetation like emerald green of formula II.

 

[coreman9]

I bought two maroon clowns and the obvious female, found an anemone and was fine. The smaller male went and found a corner on the sand bed and would lay there until feeding time or his lady came by, then he would perk up and swim around. This went on for several weeks until recently he was staying in his spot more and more till the other night i fed them, he swam up ate a bite, then croaked. The female is doing awesome still and the corals and shrimp are as well. Just something to watch out for, it was almost like he gave up the will to live.

 

[w glint]

^ Oh no, that's terrible! Hopefully that's not the case here, hes still got some fire in him. Hopefully he keeps on truck'in, i have high hopes for him. So far hes eating good, and swimming more and more everyday.