Clown Troubles

[Reefatarian]

About 2 weeks ago I purchased a pair of clowns that have been paired together for a long time. For 2 weeks these fishes seemed very healthy and hardy. 2 days ago however one of them started to swim very low to the sand and since yesterday is starting to tip to its side and barley swimming. everyonce in a while he will swim a around a bit but then goes back to the same spot and starts to "lay down" and when you think he's going to stop swimming he rights himself and keeps swimming. I think his underside is touching the sand. The other clown has not and does not leave his friends side the whole time except maybe to eat.

Ive tested the water and all levels look good. Around the same time that the clown started to do this our 6 line wrass vanished and we haven't seen him since. No body or anything.

What can I do? I don't have a tank to isolate him in right now, is this a disease in my tank or a parasite?

Please help its so sad to just watch this fish suffer and his friend will be so lonely if he goes.

 

[Anonymous]

Is there any other evidence of disease or parasites, like spots etc.? Eating OK? What kind of clowns are they? How different is your tank from their previous environment?

Healthy clowns can engage in some puzzling behavior, but that does sound anomolous.

 

[Reefatarian]

Percula clowns not big but not tiney. No big change in systems, every thing else in the tank seems to be thriving. One thing me and my girl friend saw the other night when the lights had gone off is a white small worm like thing swiming around. Then went back into the rocks, ive been reading everywhere i can but have not been able to idnetify this. Could there be parasites in the tank?

Only thing I have done new is slowy adding calcium to the tank other then that nothing new.

 

[zip_case]

How old is the tank?
What are you water parem?
Are there any other inhabitants?

 

[Anonymous]

I read something about partially deflated swim bladders earlier. Let me see if I can find it.

BRB,
po

 

[Anonymous]

Here we go-

From p. 117 of Clownfishes
by Joyce Wilkerson

Even after inflation, however, a young clownfish's swim bladder can become permanently deflated, causing the fish to sink. It can still swim, but only in a manner similar to a hawkfish, with its head inclined upward and its pectoral fins stroking mightily. Rapidly decreasin temperature may be the initiating cause. Full deflation is not reversible, but I have had success curing clwons with partially deflated swim bladders by increasing tank temperature and heavily buffering their water.

This probably doesn't apply because you said that your fish had been mated for a long time.

HTH,
po

 

[aquarist=broke]

The only time I have seen a clown like you described(touching the ground, laying on his side, then swimming etc..) was when I really stressed the hell out of it. I think that he really got freaked out when I spent half an hour moving rocks around. He was fine after a day or so. If your clown persists, maybe he is sick. Let's hope not..

 

[tdorey]

when you say they were paired for a long time, how long?

Maybe it could be cyanide? Sometimes it takes a while to hit.

Tim

 

[Reefatarian]

I read about the swim bladder disease in the Book, CMA by Robert Fenner and thought it could this. I have also identified the possibility of a Bacteria infection or a parasitic disease.

Thing is last Saturday I 5% water changed and cleaned the sides of the tank and adjusted the power heads im curious to know if he is just stressed but that was a week ago.

The two have been paired for a long time so the LFS told me (but you never know) we got them out of a show tank not from the lot.

I awoke today to find that some of my sand was turning a brownish color, Could this be Anaerobiosis. I took yet another water test before work and just like the other day all looked good.

All other animals, crabs, snails, starfish (basically the inverts) are all doing there thing and look good. Im very very puzzled, could the addition of calcium have this effect on the tank? That would be the only "new" thing I have added.

Ive been contemplating giving the clown a quick dip, but dont know if i would just make things worse.

?????

 

[Anonymous]

The calcium additions shouldn't be harming anything, assuming your doses are reasonable and not causing a big pH swing. The brown stuff growing on your substrate is probably dinos or other algae-type growth that most tanks go through at times, I suspect we can rule that out as well.

FW dips don't sound like the way to go in this case, unless you can see visible parasites/white spots (even then some folks feel they just add additional stress to the fish).

So that leaves us the stress and bladder issues discussed above; I sure don't have a better idea. Maybe someone else will add some more helpfull info here.

I hope it gets better!

 

[Reefguide]

Take a good look at him, does he have trouble keeping still in the water column? If he cant stay still without sinking, you for sure have a swim bladder issue IMO. Is the problem clown a female? My female percula did somethiing similar while laying her eggs. It looked like she was laying down but that was only because she was laying her eggs and tending to them on a rock near the bottom. The male did most of the caring for the eggs but she ocationally helped. Have you seen them "mouthing" teh rocks maybe? How long has his been going on?

 

[Reefatarian]

Since tuesday, we thought this, and it maybe true, at night they both go to the corner of the tank where they always have gone when all lights have gone out. But in the morning there back to the same spot with the one clown (dunno if its male or female how can you tell?) swimming in the same spot where she or it has made a indention in the sand. The other nibbles on the rock closest to them yes.

When I feed, the troubled clown moves around for food but never swims higher then a few inches off the sand and then back to the same spot.

 

[Reefguide]

Sounds more and more like you clowns may have laid eggs. The male rarely leaves the egg site. The female tends to be bigger than the male, but no always. Look for the area where the "mouthing" is occuring and see if you see eggs. If you do congrats, your a daddy !!

 

[Reefguide]

BTW I'm sure 100% of the people here will agree with me that if aren't familiar with clowns spawning behaviors you think all hell is breaking loose. Clowns act very, very strange when spawning.

 

[Lady Godiva]

Reefatarian,
I am having the same problem with one of the clown fish I just bought on Wednesday.

What was the outcome for you?

Can you tell me where did you get your clowns?

Karen