Sick ocellaris clownfish

trilinearmipmap · #1 07-07-2004, 04:30 AM

I have had a pair of small captive-bred ocellaris clowns for 2-1/2 weeks now in a 20 gallon quarantine tank. These are my first SW fish.

One of the clowns has always been active and lively with a good appetite. The other one has never been as good an eater.

In the past few days the one clown has stopped eating. I noticed some cloudiness of the clear part of his fins, and a vague milky/transparent film over the shoulder area of his body behind the head.

Prior to putting these clowns in the quarantine tank I did a gradual acclimation over about 90 minutes. Then I gave each clown a 15 minute formalin bath with aeration before release into the q-tank. I have been running hyposalinity in the q-tank as described in the clownfish article here for prophylaxis of ich.

Today's tank parameters are:

temp 79.5 degrees
pH 8.0
ammonia zero
nitrites zero
nitrates between zero and 5

So any advice on what to to? Does the clown have brooklynellla and should I do a repeat formalin dip? Should I raise the temperature, or bring the salinity back to normal?

I have tried feeding flake and frozen home-made food, I have even offered some of my FW live food, the other clown eats it all up but the sick clown won't touch it.

The store I bought these clowns from does not keep their captive-bred stock separate from their wild-caught specimens, and it does run some copper in the water. Two other clowns I picked up for a friend at the same time are doing fine last I heard.

EmilyB · #2 07-07-2004, 04:56 AM

If it had any kind of open wound, formalin would kill the fish.

Oh, according to Delbeek I believe. I can look it up if you would like.

I think you have not introduced fish to a friendly, mature reef environment, but to a sterile, hostile one. Sorry, that is how I think.

trilinearmipmap · #3 07-07-2004, 05:02 AM

No, I can see your point of view Emily. My point of view is a little different, if I introduce these fish to my reef without quarantine then I will introduce pathogens that I won't be able to eliminate later. I realize most people don't follow these quarantine procedures, but I am acting on the advice in the clown quarantine article which made sense to me.

Anyway here are some pics of the sick clown, the details are a little hard to make out:

psuedo · #4 07-07-2004, 05:14 AM

I always put my fish straight into the tank. I know it is bad practice according to lots of people, but I like to let the tank take care of everything. I have no diseases to speak of in my tank and all parameters are good. If you have a healthy tank then it should cure a fish.
About 3 weeks ago I introduced a regal tang into my aquarium that was infested with ick. It took only 3 days before the fish was lively and clear of the ick, with no other fish being infected.
This is the reason why I don't like quarantine tanks, because I am so damn lucky when it comes to introducing new species to my tank.

Right now I am knocking on the wood.

trilinearmipmap · #5 07-07-2004, 05:15 AM

OK not to get into a debate about quarantine tanks, and it goes without saying the people responding to my question have more SW experience than me.

But the question is, what should I do now? Their reef tank will be ready in a few weeks.

EmilyB · #6 07-07-2004, 05:17 AM

I thought your main tank had been up and running for some time?

trilinearmipmap · #7 07-07-2004, 05:25 AM

No Emily I have been putting together the pieces for a 120g reef for several months, it is water tested, I just have to add RO water and salt, my live rock arrives on the 20th. I have been obsessive about this tank planning it for over 2 years and working on it for the past 2 months despite the fact that it is empty. Yes I am nuts.

hawk · #8 07-07-2004, 06:19 AM

The skin may be irritated from the formalin and it is now producing a mucous layer. How high was the temp during the dip, formalin becomes more toxic as the temp rises, according to this:
http://216.168.47.67/cis-fishnet/seascope/99SS1601.htm

EmilyB · #9 07-07-2004, 07:15 AM

Try to keep with the hyposalinity now, imo. Keep the lights off and stress low. Do some small water changes over time to ditch the drugs.

trilinearmipmap · #10 07-07-2004, 02:28 PM

Hawk, the temp was the same (about 79.5) during the formalin dip, the dip.

Emily, I will do water changes, there are no drugs in the water, the formalin was in the dip only.