Maroon wont eat

M

mginster

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I have about a 3 month 24g nano, 1 maroon clown (2-3 inches), 2 purple firefish, 1 dwarf angel, 1 lawnmower, 1 scooter blenny, 2 emerald crabs, 3 snails, ~10 hermits.

Ive had my maroon clown for about 2 months and she has always been a pig and eats whatever I throw in the tank. I even had her eating out of my fingers, now she hasn't eaten for about 3 days. There is nothing visibly wrong with her other than faster breathing and all the other fish are fine. Normally she is queen of the cave formation i made in my tank and always sits at the front of it, now she is back in it a bit. She still chases the dwarf angel when he tries to go in the cave so her behavior is normal there.

I have tried flake, 2 types of frozen, soaking it in garlic extract, etc. My most recent fish addition was the dwarf angel about 3 weeks ago, but he seems like one healthy little dude, eats like crazy, always swimming around and pecking at the rocks.

Parameters are:
Calc - 380
Phos - .25
Nitrates - 20
Salinity - 1.024
KH - 9
Ph - 8.3

What else can i try? She was my first fish and i hate to lose her, i was in the middle of searching for a small maroon for a mate for her.
 
What are your ammonia and nitrite readings? How much live rock are you using? Seems like a lot of fish for a 3 month old 24g so I would check all of the water stats. 20 nitrates is a little high for a nano... they can go bad so quickly.
 
Will a freshwater ammonia work for sw? I don't have a sw ammonia or nitrite kit. 40 lbs of rock. I'm setting up a refug in my first chamber tonight to drop nitrates
 
I would check with the test kit manufacturer. Some are sold as being able to be used in both. Others are not listed that way... but I'm not sure if they all function that way or not. Someone with a little more experience may know the answer to that one but not me! :)

It would even be worth it to run some of your water up to a store that tests the water for free and have it checked. With a heavy bio-load and not being sure if you're still mini-cycling you'll want to do everything you can to make sure you don't lose your whole tank of fish. As long as those tests come out good I'd say you're safe as far as a large problem and can then focus just on the maroon again.

Good luck! Hope she starts eating soon!
 
All other fish are perfectly normal. No visible signs of spots, fungus, or any other abnormalities. She is also not flashing or itching against anything, just sitting in her cave all day not really doing much. Heavy breathing was the only thing i could see, but it looks to be lessening now. I can get pictures later tonight if she comes out of the cave, maybe you guys can see something i cant.
 
I would try a water change. It will take your nitrates down a little and IMO a water change is the easiest thing to try. Also what is the tanks temperature? It is starting to get cold outside and I have had to turn on all the heaters. I hope your little fishy gets better!
 
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