Clown questions, possible disease...

[Cichlid-Man]

Ok so i got 2 False Percs on Friday. Everything has been fine so far. Today i noticed white patches starting to appear on them, more on one than the other. I havn't had ich in a lonnnnng time so i really forgot what it looks like. This i guess looks like it but it seems kinda fuzzy.

They look like they are breathing fine, seems like my current is a bit to strong for them though they are constantly trying to keep out of it near the rocks, and fighting to stay put.

My water is good from what i see, 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrates/nitrites, pH 7, (These tests coming 12:30 so my eyes my throw me off....i will retest tomorrow to make sure.) temp is about 78-80. I'll test my saltinity tomorrow as well as try and get some pics tomorrow.

Just wanted to ask if it is ich, how should i go about treating it...just like a FW tank? I assume W/Cs are needed during this treatment? (Need to get some more water from the LFS..)

Just hate to see the clowns start declining after a few good days. Possible i got sick fish to start and symptoms just started showing after 4 days? I've seen a strand of white poo too, which leads my thoughts to internal parasites also...but i've had discus with white poo and nothing developed.

Oh and they seem to be nibbling at the pellets/flakes but not...eating them. They lose interest once they hit the bottem, any suggestions?

Thanks. Will check on them and this thread in the morning, hope all starts getting better....pretty sure i'm past the return date for the dead fish at the LFS.... *SLEEPING* *SICK*

 

[KahluaZzZ]

ph 7 ??? Mhh better aim 8.3 , it isn't a FW tank

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Yes sorry, was in dim light last night and misread it.

New Readings as of this morning:
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrates
0 Nitrites
8 pH

 

[lordroad]

Damn, that sucks...

I'd say you got sold sick fish.

Mysis shrimp and frozen brine shrimp may do the trick to get them to eat. Sorry I can't be more of help

 

[aresgod]

try feeding with garlic and putting them into a QT with freshwater dips plus medication, might be able to save them still if it is ick

 

[JEP]

Yeah a freshwater dip I heard is a good thing to try for parasites. Also I agree with lordroad, get some frozen food like mysis, melt it in a cup first with some tank water and try that (make sure there are some small pieces). My clowns will only eat small pieces of food and they won't eat pellets et all.

 

[jammerz]

USE COPPER IN A HOSPITAL TANK IF YOU HAVE TO TREAT EM AFTER A fw DIP

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Thanks for the responses. Can anyone give me some steps on a FW dip? I don't want to screw things any worse than they are. Is it basically "dipping" the fish in a container of conditioned FW for a few seconds and then returning it to SW?

I'm gonna try and QT tonight.

 

[aresgod]

well fresh water dips work the same way as salt water dips, but SW fish are more sensitive, if its clowns I would put them in a bucket with same temp, ph, ect...so there is less risk of shock and leave them in there for about 2-3 minutes, do this every couple days till the stuff is gone, if used in conjunction with medication it shouldnt take to long to get rid of it

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Ok thanks aresgod, i will definently try it.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I'mlosing him...O_O...

He is swimming....then stopping letting himself fall to the bottem or letting the current take him. Come near him and he spurts up again....head facing upwards and kind of paddling back and forth.......uh oh. I don't think he was healthy to begin with....my water quality is fine is it not? My other clown seems fine.

 

[aresgod]

throw them both in QT fast, even if one dies, keep the onter one in qt

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Ahh, dag nabbit....he's gone.

Still no idea what it was. The external white stuff dropped off after the Dip, i never had a chance to QT and really treat him.

Now i gotta find the cause of this mess.

The other is going in QT right away.

 

[dbacksrat]

were these tank raised clowns? mortality is usually common in wild caught clowns--how long do you have left to return the deceased to the lfs? its a shame that you lost a fish so early--i feel your pain--it is very frustrating, but don't give up now that you've come this far

it's good that the fw dip had some effect--maybe in QT, the other fish will pull through

good luck

 

[1979camaro]

sucks dude...

 

[aresgod]

probably ick, it falls off when you do FW dips

 

[wayne]

oh no it doesn't. All the research indicates freshwater dips are useless at best. Colotti put an ich infected fish in freshwater for 18 hours before the ich fell off. And it will do nothing for buried ich.

The only guaranteed cures are extended periods of hypo and copper. Hypo works in this situation as it prevents further ich 'free swimmers' to survive long enough to get to any fish.

 

[wayne]

This doesn't sound like ich anyway, more like velvet or brooklynella clownfish diesease.... which are both tougher and nastier than ich...

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mardisindex.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/amylloodiniumart.htm

 

[aresgod]

i thought it was a tank bread clown which would make it quite difficult to be brooklynella, and in my experience ick has fallen off in small concentrations doing multiple dips, just my experience though

 

[S.Reef]

It was probably clownfish disease. Did it look like the fish was sunburned, and was it gasping at the surface? If so thats what it was.