What Now???

blennyluv

blennyluv

Member
i added some new fish that i ordered from here, mainly a clean up crew. a lawn mower blenny (so ugly hes cute, and fairly big!) and a bi color blenny. anyway, one brittle star seems dead, the other started moving this morning, hes weak, but alive,
my question is about my clown. beth, if you read this please reply (and anyone else who knows)
he was fine last night, he has had some problems in the past week but was eating and looked to have a clean bill of health last night wheni turned out the lights to release the new fish. this morning he was on his side laying on top of the skimmer, and when i shooed him out of there he spun in cirlces!!! he went to the bottom and spun in cirlces real fast and when he finally stopped he is by a rock breathing really hard. i checked my water levels and no change, the trates are at about 10 is all. but didn't bother him before!
:help: :help: :help: :nervous:
also, how long before i know for sure if the star fish is dead?
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
A dead starfish will get very stiff.
This clown...how long have you had him? Did you notice any fighting or harassing? How are the fins, torn, ragged? Use a magnifying glass and give the clown a good once over to see if you see any wounds.
And, I'm assuming the clown was laying on a submerged part of the skimmer?
 
blennyluv

blennyluv

Member
well, he got very very pale and he finally died, good grief, i teared up flushing him. no signs of injury and so far the new fishes seem very docile, the bi color blenny sort of took over the grammas area, which might be good cuz he was getting kinda ornery. he looked perfect, i checked him over good. i just dont have any idea. weird. should i get another clown fish for the other one? he seems to be looking for "Little" (we name our fishes) and he followed him around when he was swimming all crazy. will he get depressed and die?
the star fish seems to be floppy still, but has not moved yet. has good color so far. how long do they do this for?
is it normal for a lawnmower blenny to change colors? he blends with the rock so well, as big as he is you can miss him. i really expected a little fish, he is 4 inches anyway. wow. i didn't realize they have the effect of fangs
the bi color blenny spit stuff out. is he making a home?
thanks for all your input
oh yeah, i have bugs on the surface of my water, the look like little spiders. and some are like little worms, kinda. any ideas?
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Sorry to hear your loss. Where the 2 clownfish paired? How old is the one that is still alive? How long have you had them? What "problems" did the other clown have?
New fish that have just arrived from shipping will take about a wk to fully acclimate and you will note color changes from darker to the fishs' normal color.
 
blennyluv

blennyluv

Member
i don't know how old he is, he is about 2 inches, the other (the one that died) an inch and a half if that tells you anything, i don't know if they had paired, bought them from the pet shop together and they seemed to like each other, the other one is eating and stuff still, following the gramma around.
I have had them 2 weeks today. when the little clown came in he was fine, then he quit eating for like 5 days. he just swam in the current and watched the food go by. got really skinny, clamped fins and stuff, didn't move when the gramma would bite at him. then one day he started eating and in a day or so he looked g reat, then he got those spots on him, one on his eye and some down his spine and what looked like a scratch on his jaw with skin chunks, but he was eating good and i fed him brine soaked in a little garlic juice and it cleared up and he looked perfect. he was in perfect shape for like 3 or 4 days when all went bad.
the star fish moved off the rock today, hes alive. i was ready to bag him, good thing i didn't.
so what do you think went wrong with "little"?(clown)
our pet shop is getting fish today and in our one horse town it doesnt happen often, thats why i was wondering if i should get another.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
What spots are you talking about? You never mentioned that in previous post.
I would not add fish after a fish death.
 
blennyluv

blennyluv

Member
well, first he got a white spot by his eye, and that went away, then he got 3 or 4 little white spots, they resembled ich, that went in a line along his spine, like under his dorsel a bit. both sides of him, once he started eating really well it all went away.
sorry about not mentioning it, i had posted before when he first got them and forgot i had not mentioned them to you. i am thinkingyou may have responded to that post but not sure.
i am not getting any response to what those dang little bugs are on the surface of my water. may have to do some research,
know of any links??
 
blennyluv

blennyluv

Member
there r 2 diff kinds. i have one of each on my finger very small. the first is apparently the first stage. skinny, tan with a darker color on each end. the other has the same color body, more green i guess, with really frail appendages that seem to stay straight up. i cant tell if they are moving. its almost knat like in appearance. this is just too weird. hope they wont hurt my fish. maybe i need a surface feeding fish that will eat them.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Why don't you use your net to see if you can scoop them out of there, then see if they return.
It could be that some house bugs were in need of water and went the tank, but then died with the salt water. Or you could have had some sort of dye off of critters in the tank.
Oh, and just a tip, keep your surface water really moving with circulation. Aim a powerhead up at the surface water.
 
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