Please help me!!!!!

[tiffster]

I got a tank raised clown yesterday from the LFS. He ate brine shrimp last night ad was checking me out through the glass. Everything seemed fine. This morning I woke up and his right fin is clamped and he has a stringy fungus looking stuff hanging off his right side. He is in a 55 gallon with sand and 75 lbs of rock. I did my first water change yesterday and then put him in. Water quality checks out. My question is what do I do. I can treat freshies all day long, but I have never ever had a sick salt water fish. I have rid ich and mela fix and a ten gallon tank filled with SW right now. I have a peppermint shrimp I could put in that might clean him, I don't know what to do. Please help me~~~
Tiff

 

[tiffster]

Okay, I guess that everybody is off drinking beer and eating hamburgers, bad timing for my fishie to get sick. Well, I put him in the ten gallon at 1.0200 SG at 80 F. dkh is 9 , can' t test for pH till tommorow, lost my test tube. It's all new water so no trites trates or amm. yet. I added the melafix because it treats fin rot, for his right tattered fin. He is breathing pretty hard, but most fish do when they get put into a new tank. I acclimated him for thirty minutes. I put in two fresh water ornaments that I washed really good with hot water. I will get PVC from lowes tommorrow if anybody sees a problem with the fresh water ornaments. Oh, I also put in a cup of crushed coral from my sump ( from the main reef tank, not the new one) If I should lower the salinity let me know. I don't think he has ich. Just the stringy stuff hanging from his fin. I can get formalin if I need to.

Tiff

 

[pbuck]

Try and keep the water moving with a small powerhead. Not too much, because it will aggrevate the fish. You have done the right thing by getting him out and medicating him. I have never used that kind of medication but I have had great luck recovering 2 of my true percula clowns. I only left them in the quarantine tank for a little less than a day and they were fine.

 

[thomas712]

Sorry but I'm not an expert here.
It sounds like your clown may have Brooklynella which is called a
clownfish disease
Small white spots on the sides and fins that enlarge, soon mucus and skin begin to come off leaving red raw loose scales.
This is a fast advancing disease and fish usually die within a few days.
Cooper treatments are ineffective against this parisite, the best know treatment is with Formalin.
Thats about all I know, do a search on Brookynella to verify. I'll do some more looking.
Thomas

 

[tiffster]

Thanks for your replies guys. I put in a small submesible filter rated at 75 gph. I cut the flow down to about half so he wouldn't have a hard time swimming. Yesterday he was trying to swim in the current from my 802 powerhead. I think that may be what did him in. He's less than an inch long and the current coming out of there is like a water hose turned all the way. You would think that with all the rock in there he would have tried to seek shelter, but nope.
I don't see any swollen gills or red scales but I will keep an eye out. For the time being it is just a tattered fin with "stuff" hanging off it. I will bring formalin home from work tommorrow and dip him to be safe. I was reading about Melafix on the internet and it has been successful at treating clownfish fry so we will see. I also defrosted some brine shrimp and chopped some garlic to put in it. It is in the fridge soaking for a while. Well, I 'm gonna go sulk now.
thanks again,
Tiff

 

[tiffster]

Do you guys think i should go get the formalin now? I am just worried that moving him to a new tank and dipping him for 45 min would be too much stress for one day. What do ya think?

 

[thomas712]

If you do nothing then I think your fish will die, like said before this disease moves fast. Clowns do like swimming into powerhead water just for fun, but it could also be a sign that it needs more oxygen. You have to do something so go and get the formalin, don't worry about the stress as he is in danger now, try to catch him without using a net, hurd him into a bag underwater if you can.
If it is truly Brooklynella then the best treatment is a series of formalin dips. One 45 minute dip every other day for a total of three treatments. Use 20 drops (1cc) per gallon of water in a DIP only. Use water from the display. Keep an airstone running in the dip or the formaldehyde will suck all the oxygen out of the water. Avoid using a net to move the fish. You can get formaldehyde (37%) at some per stores and pharmacies. You may have to ask for it and explain what you are using it for. Highly toxic, don't breath the fumes and use gloves. This is about the only good treatment for brooklynella and copper only makes it worse.
--from Terry B--
That is a quote from our experts;
simple to look up on this board like I did.
Thomas

 

[tiffster]

man you guys weren't kidding I fell a sleep on the couch and he is twice as worse as before. I went to work (petsmart) to get the formalin and we were out. Went to Walgreens and they said to go to Petsmart. Go figure. The saltwater store is closed until Tuesday. I could have sworn I pulled formalin off the shelf a few months ago, but I couldn't find it any where.
Well, I have rid ich that is made of formalin and malachite green. Should I go ahead and try it being that I have no other options? Melafix isn't helping a bit. Thanks guys,
Tiffany

 

[beth]

What is the ingredent in the rid ich??? And what percent are the ingredients?

 

[tiffster]

I just checked on him and he is gone. It really hits hard and fast. I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it my self. I see sick fish almost everyday, but nothing like this. Live and you learn I guess. I will be better prepared ( armed with formalin) next time I get a clown. Thanks for all your help.
Beth, for future reference Rid-ich is 4.6% formaldehyde (11.52% formalin) and .038% malachite green. Its supposed to be safe for saltwater fish and less harmful to scaleless fishes like loaches and catfish. I've used it once before on some tetras that got ich, but I've never had a sick marine fish before. Hopefully never will again.
Thanks again,
Tiffany

 

[thomas712]

For future reference the condition of Brookynella is mostly seen in wild caught clowns, next time go for a captive raised clownfish.
Thomas

 

[tiffster]

He was. The LFS has a system were all the tanks flow into each other and they had some clarkii clowns and a few others that may not have been tank raised. I got one of the false percs they've stocked up on since Nemo came out. I was planning on pairing him up with my false perc from my 25. I'm just really glad that I didn't put him in there (the 25) and get my other clown sick. I've had him, well probably her, for a year now. I would have been reeeelllly mad at myself and the LFS. Lesson learned.