Whats wrong with my Clown?

rockydog606 · 07-09-2008, 12:03 AM

OK So i noticed for the past few days that my sebae clown fish is not been coming out of its anemone to eat or anything. He has a white line on his left side and sometimes goes over to a near by rock to "scratch himself". He is also breathing really fast, could this be ich? The damino dansel sometimes goes over and chills in the anemone with him but wouldnt he have it to then? I also have a skunk cleaner shrimp in the tank but hes not helping. I would love to know whats wrong because i dont want to loose him.

las4444 · 07-09-2008, 12:54 PM

We really need to know more about your tank. Size, PH, SG, temp, and equipment type. Generally, heavy breathing is a sign of a very sick fish. I would start by making sure the water is well oxygenated.

Ich is pretty easy to spot and in the early stage should not affect the breathing a hole lot. I had one fish with the ich that ate like there was no tomorrow and another that would not eat at all. The one that ate did survive.

Nereaga · 07-09-2008, 06:31 PM

I agree with Las, we need much more information before deciding what exactly is wrong. I also agree that heavy breathing is NOT a good thing and is the sign of a sick fish. The first sign is usually not being interested in food.

To add to the list.

What other livestock are in the tank?

Is your SG stable?

Are you water parameters stable?

Brad

rockydog606 · 07-10-2008, 11:51 AM

Well I had him in a 29 gallon to start with and he was doing real well in it. I upgraded to a 65 gallon and he was doing fine in it but laitly hes just moping around. List of fish, Mimic tang, midnight anglefish, blue damsel, yellow tail damsel, damino dansel, zebra damsel, skunk cleaner shrimp, condy anemone, and some kind of purple slug. Everyone seems to be getting along real well. Equipment, 65 gallon tank, 320 watts of lighting, overflow box, sump, 1225 penguin powerhead, protein skimmer, heater, and about 65 pounds of liverock. My SG is at 1.021 and my temp is at 80 degrees F and everything seems to be stable. It just look like some kind of slime is hanging off him sometimes. I haven seen him eat at all but he has to be eating something to stay alive. I dont know?

Nereaga · 07-10-2008, 05:21 PM

Hey,

First I would start with your SG, and since you are housing an anenome, I would like to see the SG closer to natural seawater(NSW), which is 1.0264. I like to keep mine at 1.025 so I have some buffer room...

Those 4 damsels could be the culprit. What you don't see is what goes on at night, this is when agression sets in. Especially if not enough hiding places are available...

It could be his slime coat coming off. Sounds like he is definately sick if he is mopping around.

Do you have the ability to setup a hospital tank?

IME, when I have not seen my fish eat, they usually were not getting enough nutrients. They shortly passed after about a week or so of not eating.

Brad

rockydog606 · 07-10-2008, 08:53 PM

Ok I will raise my salt to 1.025, I also have room in my sump for him, I have liverock and sand in it right now could i put him in there? I had him in the 29 gallon tank with the 4 damsels and he was the boss of them but other people have told me to get rid of the damsels too.

Nereaga · 07-10-2008, 08:58 PM

Raise the salt slowly, you don't want to shock anything....

How big is your sump?

rockydog606 · 07-10-2008, 10:19 PM

Ok im gonna add a little at a time to get it up there. My sump is 10 gallons thats where all my equipment is and i have a spot with liverock and sand. he swims around for a little bit and then he just goes and lays on the anenome, I dont get whats wrong with him.

rockydog606 · 07-12-2008, 10:05 PM

Ok update on the clown, today he has a big pink color spot right behind his left eye. Hes starting to eat a little bit but hes still not acting like himself. Im getting rid of the damsels tomorrow so they are out of the tank,

chadf · 07-12-2008, 10:31 PM

Sounds to me like a bacterial infection. Sorry I can't offer advise on treatment, I was unable to save a couple of my fish and lost a couple of of them to it early on in my setup.