my clown seems depresed????

[skiper gre]

I got two true perks that were paired. They have been in my tank for seven days now. This morning (there seventh day in the tank) the bigger one, female I think, was just hanging out on the bottom of the tank in a corner. When I came home same thing same place. She has good color but she is just swimming in the current staying in the same place. The male is staying near her but moving around much more. When I fed the fish she perked up a bit but I didn’t see her eat. She has just moved from her corner but still not near as active as the first two days just hanging out in a different area of the tank. What do you think?

 

[wocka]

that happened to mine a few days before they got ich.. happened to about 3 pairs of mine so i just decided to get a maroon clown and hes been healthy for a few months.. i dont know what causes the clowns to shut down either, :nope:

 

[thegrog]

A clown that does not eat is worrisome to me. The only other reason other than illness is that she is getting ready to lay eggs. Do you notice the male cleaning a rock or preparing a spot on a rock or flat surface somewhere? If so, you should notice a bunch of reddish-orange eggs the next few days. The female will have a fat-swollen belly too.
If this continues for several days (lethargic, not eating, and no eggs) you may have to QT the female and treat for infection. Watch closely for signs of ich.
Does she have white, stringgy poop? If so, she has an internal bacterial infection. Mine had that a few months back. I put her in a QT tank and treated it with antibiotics for 7 days and she started eating again. She is back in the main tank now and doing great! Whatever you do.... DO NOT treat your main tank with medication!!!! You will kill the live rock and sand!!
Good luck and post updates.

 

[skiper gre]

Yea maybe you’re right. She not is getting some white spots on her, they just showed up yesterday. She seems more active now. Last night I think she ate some. I feed frozen blood worms and small frozen brine shrimp. The brine is hard to see but she was swimming in the food cloud and it looked like she was going to town on the brine. The most active I have seen her in several days. I have a new purple tank as well I get the tang three days after the clowns. The tang has some small white spots on him to. Last night I saw him going to one of the cleaner shrimp and the shrimp seemed like it was picking at him. The tang is still super active and eats a lot at feeding and picking at the rock and algae all day.
I don’t have a quarantine tank. After this I will get one. Probably today. I am not sure what to do for now. It will take time for the new tank to cycle. Could this get better on its own? I think she ate last night, I will fix up a small amount of food again this morning

 

[skiper gre]

the tang

 

[skiper gre]

the tang looks worse in the pic. this is the other side of the clown.

 

[thegrog]

Your tank has Ich my friend. Get the fish to QT to treat ASAP. You don't need to cycle a QT tank. A simple 10-gallon tank with filter and heater will do. Barebottom is best as you can easily clean it up. Do a 10% water change DAILY! Put in a few peices of PVC pipe fittings for structure for the fish to swim in and out of.
Since you have introduced ICH into your tank, you will have to let it fallow else the ich will reinfect anything you put in there. It will be gone in 3-4 weeks.
Do a freshwater dip of the fish before QT, this will help out. Be sure to match pH and temp of the freshwater. Have it aerated as well. 5 min should do. Watch the fish closely for signs of distress and remove them ASAP if they go limp or try to fly out of the water.
I would get the tang it's own tank and one for your percs. The shrimp will be fine in your main tank. The tang is worse off and may need more aggressive treatemtn. Also, use a non-copper based med for the tang as they are more sensitive to copper than percs.
Good luck!

 

[skiper gre]

When feeding the fish this morning she again seemed like she was eating the tiny brine, she wouldn’t go for any of the blood worms. Also she has white stringy poop hanging.
Thanks for the info. Going to get two small tanks. She did have stringy poop this morning. When do you think about the other fish in the tank? I have three pajama cardinals an orange goby, lawn mower blenny and my favorite fish an African leopard ras they all look fine, I will keep posting up dates.

 

[thegrog]

Originally posted by skiper gre
When feeding the fish this morning she again seemed like she was eating the tiny brine, she wouldn’t go for any of the blood worms. Also she has white stringy poop hanging.
Thanks for the info. Going to get two small tanks. She did have stringy poop this morning. When do you think about the other fish in the tank? I have three pajama cardinals an orange goby, lawn mower blenny and my favorite fish an African leopard ras they all look fine, I will keep posting up dates.
Good move on the two new tanks. A little tip is if you have a filter cartridge from your main tank (that's disposable) and that's been in the tank for a week, replace it and cut it into a few peices. Then put the peices inside the HOT filter on your QT tank. There are bacteria in the filter that will help with the ammonia.
When treating in QT, remember NOT to use charcoal in the filter, it will just pull out your meds.
One of my percs had a similiar problem and I did a FW dip and then 7 days of antibiotic treatment as it sounds like an internal bacterial infection. Kendamycin or tripple sulfa is available at most pet stores.
With the ich, find a good ich med that does not have copper and treat the tang with it. Follow the instructions TO THE LETTER!!!
As for the rest of the fish, watch closely and move to QT at the first sign of infection (scratching, spots, not eating)
I probably don't have to say this, but I hope you learned the importance of proper quarantine for ALL FISH going into your tank. There is NO SUCH THING as a reef-safe ich med despite what they tell you.
Good luck and keep me posted.

 

[viper911]

Grog you seem like the guy to ask this question to. I lost 3 of my fish about 2 weeks ago to ich. All I have left in my tank is 1 damsel and he is not showing any signs of ich. He eats well swims like crazy and generally seems happy in the tank. My question is....Should I remove the damsel frm the tank to make sure the ich is gone or will I be ok. We do not plan on adding any fish for about 4 more weeks. Am I ok.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[thegrog]

Originally posted by Viper911
Grog you seem like the guy to ask this question to. I lost 3 of my fish about 2 weeks ago to ich. All I have left in my tank is 1 damsel and he is not showing any signs of ich. He eats well swims like crazy and generally seems happy in the tank. My question is....Should I remove the damsel frm the tank to make sure the ich is gone or will I be ok. We do not plan on adding any fish for about 4 more weeks. Am I ok.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Damsels are tough little fish. What kind of damsel?
There are two answers. First is that you should remove the fish for 4 weeks so that you are absolutely sure that the ich is gone. Ich is a parasite that has several stages. Your tank now has ich in its cyst (larval or egg if you will) stage. That stage can only last for 3 weeks or so (4 is for sure). It needs a host (fish) to continue on and go to the adult stage and reproduce.....thus you have ich. Your damsel may be getting little infections with it, but then shed them off and continue on with the cycle and your tank will still be infected.
Second answer is that your fish may be tough and resistant enough (some fish are more resistant than others) so that the cycle will end after 4 weeks. The problem is that you just can't be sure.
To be safe, I would QT the damsel (NO medication unless it has symptoms of ich) for 4 weeks. Then place it back into the tank and observe. Durring that time, COMPLETELY break down and dry the QT tank for a day or so then set it up for your new fish for their 4 weeks of QT before going in the main tank. If the damsel is dine after that time, and the new fish is DISEASE FREE for the 4 weeks, you should be in the clear.
Any more questions, email me
thejediray@aol.com
Good luck.

 

[mary]

I realize too many suggestions can get confusing, but had to mention that as I have had ich twice in my marine tank, always brought in by a new arrival, contrary to how I have been told , that IS how my clowns contracted it. I used Garlic Extreme in the tank for a week, putting in 10{90 gal. tank, 27 gal sump.} drops in the morning and soaking brine shrimp or flake food for an hour in several drops of Garlic Extreme, and feeding once a day. It has always rid the fish that contracted it of the ich. Maybe I am lucky, but is has worked not only for me but for many. I do have a very established tank with other problems which I am taking care of thanks to the many wonderful suggestions I have received from folks from these forums, but my fish are very healthy. You do not have to remove anything in the tank to dose. It is harmless. :yes:

 

[mary]

I did notice that the foodstuffs floating around the fish seem to be a bit much, more than a few fish can consume. I have learned that overfeeding is probably one of my worst habits and causes much of the problem I have as far as algea is concerned. Too much feeding can raise nitrates and phosphates and some fish if unused to it, can become ill. Might want some more ideas on that.

 

[skiper gre]

Thanks for the info Mary. I wouldn’t be suppressed if I have been overfeeding. I have a fairly large clean up crew. Ammonia trates and trites have been at zero. I was feeding more when my clown was sick. I would put come of everything in a shot glass before putting it into the tank hoping she would get something she liked. She didn’t make it. I never got a separate tank for medication. My guy at my LFS recommended a product called ICH ATTACK. He told me he has personally used it and it worked for him. He did say several of his corals took on a brown color but returned after he quit using the product. The spots on the tang have gone away and every thing in the tank seems to be doing OK. It says to dose for 7 days so I will keep on with it.

 

[jacob_poly]

I have had similar results with Garlic extreme as pointed out by Mary. I added a Yellow Tang a month or so ago to my main tank w/o quarantining. In a couple of days my blue tang had 3-4 white spots. But a few meals soaked with Garlic extreme and hte spots were gone. The quarantining option is the best no doubt though since that is a sure fire technique to get rid of ich.

 

[mary]

True! It would be great to have a quarintine tank. That is the best way of ridding ich, for good. To have to catch a fish from a tank filled with rocks and corals is a major , major upset for all inhabitants, and for me, so the garlic extreme was my choice and thank goodness ich hasn't taken on again, even with the addition of a couple of new fish. Once you have started a treatment you must stay with that particular one so good for you , you have found something that is working.