Clownfish rapid breathing and loss of color

mvw2210 · 02/14/2013, 02:24 PM

Good morning!

I am hoping that some of you might be able to help with our clowns.

We picked up two tank bred clowns, the LFS said they were percs however they do not have the very heavy blank lines in front of the white bump seen on most true precs. They both did very well after acclimation and were swimming and eating fine for a few days. The little clown started to develop an ich problem. A few days later we had a heater malfunction and the temp rose to 94 as the heater did not shut off.

Since the heater malfunction the ich seems to be gone however the little clown sits at the bottom of the tank, in a corner vertically or sideways at the top breathing very quickly.

This morning he was sideways at the top and seemed to have lost his color. It has been about 5 hours since then and his color has returned however he is still at the bottom of the tank and does not be able to fight the current in the tank so is hiding under a rock.

There seems to be no mucus build up around the gills. We have been feeding mysis or flakes once a day, this is only a sliver of a cube at a time. The most recent feeding we tried with Garlic X-treme with no luck.

Tank is a 10 gallon with a HOB style refugium. WE have two large live rock outcroppings with little caves for hiding in. There also some hermits, two torcus snails and two other snails which I cannot remember the name of atm.

PH: 8.0
Amonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 15ish
Temp: 78

I have a feeling it is too late for our little guy but I hope we can save him and ensure she does not get sick as well.
Thank you all for any input.

mvw2210 · 02/14/2013, 02:29 PM

Sorry forgot to answer a few of these.

How old is this aquarium? ----Since ammonia and nitrates reached 0, 3 weeks. Tank was setup early January.

What is SG of this aquarium? How measured? ----1.022 on average

When was the last fish added to this aquarium? ----01/30/13

Was it quarantined? If so, how? And how long? Was it prophylactically treated? How? ----No quarantine they are the only fish in the tank

Mrscribbled · 02/14/2013, 04:45 PM

Ich does not appear than disappear. Read the stickies above to understand its life cycle, then you'll know the importance in quarantine. I suspect the clown will most likely die sorry to say, do you have a spare tank to set up as a hospital tank? This will need to be done and the display fallow 12 weeks.

What kind of heater are you running? Marineland? I really like Ehiem heaters.

mvw2210 · 02/14/2013, 05:15 PM

Thank you, by disappear i meant it is no longer showing on the fish. Was hoping that the 94 temp killed it all off since other posts mentioned it cannot live in temps above 82-88 (depending on the poster)

The heater was an Ehiem Jager heater. The one with the red and blue ring for temp.

I have a feeling he is not long for this world however am worried we will lose the larger one as well. Since he lost coloration and does not have mucus around the gils I was hoping to see if anyone may know what this is as it does not sound like velvet as well. Would this simply be ich causing the discoloration?

Regarding the hospital/quarantine tank I am working to get this setup asap.

Mrscribbled · 02/14/2013, 05:19 PM

High temps only work with fresh water ich. I'm suprised that heater malfunctioned like that.

MrTuskfish · 02/14/2013, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrscribbled

High temps only work with fresh water ich. I'm suprised that heater malfunctioned like that.

I agree. The ich is still there. Some ocean reefs commonly have water temps reach the lower 90's.

02/14/2013, 02:24 PM	#1
mvw2210 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 3	Clownfish rapid breathing and loss of color Good morning! I am hoping that some of you might be able to help with our clowns. We picked up two tank bred clowns, the LFS said they were percs however they do not have the very heavy blank lines in front of the white bump seen on most true precs. They both did very well after acclimation and were swimming and eating fine for a few days. The little clown started to develop an ich problem. A few days later we had a heater malfunction and the temp rose to 94 as the heater did not shut off. Since the heater malfunction the ich seems to be gone however the little clown sits at the bottom of the tank, in a corner vertically or sideways at the top breathing very quickly. This morning he was sideways at the top and seemed to have lost his color. It has been about 5 hours since then and his color has returned however he is still at the bottom of the tank and does not be able to fight the current in the tank so is hiding under a rock. There seems to be no mucus build up around the gills. We have been feeding mysis or flakes once a day, this is only a sliver of a cube at a time. The most recent feeding we tried with Garlic X-treme with no luck. Tank is a 10 gallon with a HOB style refugium. WE have two large live rock outcroppings with little caves for hiding in. There also some hermits, two torcus snails and two other snails which I cannot remember the name of atm. PH: 8.0 Amonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 15ish Temp: 78 I have a feeling it is too late for our little guy but I hope we can save him and ensure she does not get sick as well. Thank you all for any input.

02/14/2013, 02:29 PM	#2
mvw2210 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 3	more info Sorry forgot to answer a few of these. How old is this aquarium? ----Since ammonia and nitrates reached 0, 3 weeks. Tank was setup early January. What is SG of this aquarium? How measured? ----1.022 on average When was the last fish added to this aquarium? ----01/30/13 Was it quarantined? If so, how? And how long? Was it prophylactically treated? How? ----No quarantine they are the only fish in the tank

02/14/2013, 04:45 PM	#3
Mrscribbled Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,669	Ich does not appear than disappear. Read the stickies above to understand its life cycle, then you'll know the importance in quarantine. I suspect the clown will most likely die sorry to say, do you have a spare tank to set up as a hospital tank? This will need to be done and the display fallow 12 weeks. What kind of heater are you running? Marineland? I really like Ehiem heaters.

02/14/2013, 05:15 PM	#4
mvw2210 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 3	Thank you, by disappear i meant it is no longer showing on the fish. Was hoping that the 94 temp killed it all off since other posts mentioned it cannot live in temps above 82-88 (depending on the poster) The heater was an Ehiem Jager heater. The one with the red and blue ring for temp. I have a feeling he is not long for this world however am worried we will lose the larger one as well. Since he lost coloration and does not have mucus around the gils I was hoping to see if anyone may know what this is as it does not sound like velvet as well. Would this simply be ich causing the discoloration? Regarding the hospital/quarantine tank I am working to get this setup asap.

02/14/2013, 05:19 PM	#5
Mrscribbled Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,669	High temps only work with fresh water ich. I'm suprised that heater malfunctioned like that.