Clown fish dying??

S

Sogas

Hey gang...

I found one of the new Ocellaris clown fish laying on its side gasping heavily. The other is just sitting on the bottom of the tank gasping heavily as well. I assume that I am about to lose them. Is there anything that I can do to save them?

I am sure a little background might be helpful.

Last night I added two small pieces of LR to the tank and topped of the tank with RO water last night. I then added vitamin supplement, Strontium, Iodiide for the coral in the tank.

I noticed this morning that the salinity had dropped to about 1.021 or a little lower. I believe before adding the RO water the salinity was in the 1.024 range. I guess this is the reason for keeping a log :cry:

I did add some more salt water to try to raise the salinity thinking that part of the problem could be due to the drop in salinity.

Current water conditions

temp 80
salinity 1.022
calcium 480
phosphate 0.25
dkh ~12
nitrate <10
ph 8.0
nitrite 0
ammonia 0.25
 
Where did you purchase your clowns? The symptoms you're describing appear to be associated with brooklynella disease, found in wild caught clowns. Besides the symptoms you've already described, does there appear to be a mucus coat (whitish in color)? If it's not too late, try a fresh water dip of about 15 minutes. It is caused by a parasite, and this treatment can renmove it. Good luck.
 
We purchased them at Tranquil Scape in Arlington on Wednesday Night. I used drip acclimation and following the instructions provided.

They appeared to be doing fine and then they started to hide in the rock work. I suspected it was to escape some of the water flow. We noticed that their mouths moving more (not necessarily gasping) than before but wasn't really sure if it was a sign of trouble because they were still active.

Well, Looks like it is to late for the one who was really struggling. We contacted the guys at Tranquil Scapes. It is my understanding that these were wild caught. My wife is taking them both back (along with a water sample) to the LFS where we purchased them. They have agreed to work with us since it has only been 4 days since we purchased them.
 
@Ashlar wrote:
_Any_ ammonia means that your tank isn't cycled said:
Well, it might actually be 0 but I can never figure out the color that is develops. Its never that pale brown color but its really never the first shade of green either. I am currently using a AP test kit, maybe I need to purchase an Ammonia kit that is more definative in its readings.
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@Matt wrote:
How long has the tank been set up and how many gallons? How many pounds of LR prior to adding the new stuff? Was this rock cured our uncured? Either way said:
The tank was set up on Feb 9th and it is a 40 gallon tank. So, its just over a month. I have approximately 65lbs of live rock that has been in the tank since Feb 14th/Feb 16th.

There have been hermit crabs and snails in the tank for about two weeks.

I also set up a refugium a couple of weeks ago and transferred some LR from the main tank into the refugium along with some various algea.

The two pieces of LR that I added was approximately 2lbs worth which was already cured. I do suspect that there will be a small cycle but not more than my tank can handle.

Again, I am not completely sure my ammonia levels are .25 as I am not sure if I am reading the results properly. I have taken water samples to several LFS including Tranquil Scape and they said everything looks good.

I do believe there will be a mini cycle but wouldn't you see that anytime you add something to the tank? Not a huge jump in Ammonia but something slight as you bio increases to handle the load?
Click to expand...
 
If they were wild caught, I would now strongly suspect brooklynella. While I do agree with all of the other points on ammonia/cycling, etc..., with clowns being damsels, they are very hardy, and would tolerate some higher levels of ammonia than other SW fish. If the LFS's have checked your water params and they appear OK, then were back to brooklynella. This is a good example of the benefits of a QT, especially with wild caught clowns. This parasite has not been seen in tank raised clowns.
 
Did they show any signs of parasites?

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showpost.php?p=914673&postcount=3


Disease dicussions and treatments

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=127007

Please do let us know Tranquil Scape's finding / opinion.

Thanks
 
Sorry to hear about your loss. :cry:
I too went to fish happy hour last wednesday and bought a yellow tang.
The events that you describe pretty much in line with my situation.

I found him laboring to stay upright yesterday(too late). captured him and placed him in the sump in a live bearer container with some food.
He expired before the night was over.

I did not call TS as they were closed. I have not contacted them today either. I should have bought the finsurance but I didn't.
I just chalked this one up to my inexperience with tangs.

Next time I will know better.

On a happier note: The guys up there did talk me out of a more expensive fish. They did their job and I am appreciative for professionalism.
 
The guys at Tranquil Scapes were great. My wife took the dead fish and the other one that was laboring back up there so they could inspect them. They did not confirm the diagnosis as Brookynella disease but they worked with my wife and she came home happy. As they say, "When Mama's happy everyone's happy" :wink:

Back to the question about the ammonia levels in my tank. Here is a picture of what I always see with the ammonia. The lighting isn't the best but maybe you'll see my dilemma in reading this particular test. The sample taken this evening is clearly not as dark as the .25 line but it’s also not (at least not to me) the tanish color either. Does this indicate ammonia somewhere in between or does it indicate 0? Maybe it’s a mistake to put .25, which is rather misleading, but I hate to put a zero either.

Which leads me back to the original issue. A dying clown fish... Would ammonia levels of .25 regardless of cycle be that detrimental to a fish, especially one that is suppose to be as hardy as a clown?

I understand that you want the ammonia levels at an untraceable level but is this what really caused the death?

Thanks again for everyone’s input.
 
I'd call that 0 if it were my tank. Invest in a better test kit if you have a concern. Although you probably wont need an ammonia test kit once the tank is without a doubt cycled.

Like I said, I'd call it zero and look for another culprit for the dead clown. Very likely a culprit that had nothing to do with you or your tank at all, but rather Brookynella or some other issue that you had no control over.
 
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