sick maroon clown

[newreefers]

my maroon clown is not looking well. no white spots so I don't think it is ich, he is breathing hard, not eating, and his color is off, almost like it is fading. Any ideas? I tested my water and all params are right on target. All other fish are doing great.

 

[beth]

How long have you had him?
Notice any swelling or redness in the gill area?

 

[newreefers]

I have had hm 2.5 weeks, no swelling, no redness, looks a little thin, but he won't eat, doesn't matter what is offered. even garlic didn't entice him. his color looks a little more faded now, I still see no white spots to indicate ich.

 

[beth]

No telling what the problem is. Could be a bacterial infection. Has he ever eaten?
What are you offering?

 

[newreefers]

yes, he has been eating all along. just stopped eating yesterday. Offered flakes, brine, shrimp, all with and without garlic to no avail.

 

[newreefers]

white spots appearing, going to move him to the qt for hypo. do you think I cought it in time?

 

[newreefers]

he is in the qt. on one side of him there is a white spot that is 1/2" long and 1/8" high. it looks like someone took sandpaper to him. his little strip is missing in this zone and has zero color here. Does this sound like ich? I have never had a fish with ich. It doesn't look like sugar or sand, just one large area, no other spots. He is really breathing hard now, probably stressed him out a lot getting him out of the big tank, had to dismantle everything in it and chase him for about 10 min. should I turn the light out for a while on the qt tank?

 

[newreefers]

this is what it looks like. also, I just fed and he did not eat again.

 

[newreefers]

^

 

[beth]

No, not ich. Is that fading spot look stringy or slimmy at all, or is the color just faded.
What are your water readings in your tank?
It may be a bacterial infection. Maracyn Two for Saltwater Fish for 5 days, double the recommended dose for the full 5 days.

 

[newreefers]

doesn't look slimy or stringy.
amonia 0
trites 0
trates less than 10
ph 8.3
temp 80
sg 1.018 - was aiming for hypo - should I slowly bring this back up since this is not ich?
It's only 5:30 in the morning now, as soon as the lfs opens I will go get the meds. Should the lfs carry these meds? If not where should I look for them?
Will the meds hurt liverock? My qt tak for some reason had high trates, the tank he is in was being set up for a nano, but had the best water quality so I put him in there. All that is in it is ls and lr.
Sorry about so many questions, first sick fish in 6 years, making me a little crazy.

 

[ivanfj]

I just bought my fish last week and it has kinda the same problem too. I gave the LFS an email to ask them if I can possibly get a refund or exchange for another fish but then they kinda avoided my question by saying other things like MAYBE HE ATE BUT YOU JUST DIDN'T SEE IT (Just a little pissed off) The LFS I usually go to, they even say they guarantee healthy and EATING fish. My other fish are all eating so I guess it's not really the water problem. My sick fish "shits" alot too.

 

[newreefers]

This is what Beth told me to do. Maybe it will help your fish too.
"That white spot looks very bad. If you can QT, you will be better able to actually see what is going on. It is definitely not ich. If you don't have a hospital tank already set up, then you will need to really babysit a recently set up hospital to make sure that the tank does not have any ammonia or nitrite spikes.
The other thing I was thinking of was brooklynella, which is common to clownfish. Brook usually kills fast, however, wo treatment. You could do both treatments. With brook, you will need to place the fish in a small container with water from the tank [small bucket] that has an airstone in it. Use formalin to do formalin bathes for 45mins, every other day, for 5 treatments. You can easily do both treatments once the fish is in the hospital tank. Antibiotics in the hospital tank, lights off, do a water change just before each dose of Maracyn2 for SWF, double dose for 5 days. Then, remove the fish to also do the formalin bathes.
If the fish is too weak, then just do the antibiotic treatment for now."

 

[ivanfj]

Oman, that sounds very complicated but thanks. I will try to keep my fingers crossed and try to save him with my best effort.

 

[newreefers]

Well, I got back from the lfs with all the meds and my fish didn't last long enough to treat him. I'm totally bummed. At least one good thing came of it, I now have the meds on hand to treat if this ever happens again.