Urgent Clown tang not swimming

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by hnnhflns, Apr 24, 2014.

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  1. hnnhflns

    hnnhflns Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    I have had a clown tang for several months now in my 300gal with 2 maroon gold bar clowns, a tomato clown, a naso tang, and a few damsels.

    I just came home to find my clown tang kind of lying on the sand/rocks at the bottom/front of my tank. She seems to be able to swim just fine if she wants to, but she just keeps wedging herself into the rocks. I tried feeding, and she was the only fish that didn't go for the food.

    The naso tang keeps to a different area of the tank and the clown tang is the bigger of the two fish, so I don't think that they are fighting each other. All the other fish are perfectly fine.

    I don't see any marks on the outside of her body, and her fins only have a little ich on them (I have several cleaner shrimp in the tank and she visits them often). She may have slightly gill movement, but I don't really know what counts as fast.

    I just tested my levels, and my ammonia is slightly high (.5ppm), but Nitrates and Nitrites are both 0.

    I would normally assume that she was trying to find a place to sleep, but it is the middle of the day and the tank lights are all on.

    Please help!
     
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  3. DSC reef

    DSC reef Giant Squid

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    Your ammonia should always be at 0. Get some prime to neutralize the toxicity. Ammonia burns the gills and your tang is having trouble breathing
     
  4. hnnhflns

    hnnhflns Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    But wouldnt the ammonia burn all the other fish as well? They aren't showing any problems.
     
  5. DSC reef

    DSC reef Giant Squid

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    Fish react differently than others but ammonia will make any and all fish suffer. With ammonia the outcome will be the same but your tang is succumbing to it quicker. I would dose prime immediately then find out why you have ammonia in the tank.
     
  6. hnnhflns

    hnnhflns Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Dosed 7.5 mL of prime. (Says 5mL per 200 gal). But should I follow the full emergency dose of 5 times the normal amount?

    Thank you so much!
     
  7. DSC reef

    DSC reef Giant Squid

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    Yes. Dose the emergency amount. Prime is something I always have in the house. Your welcome. Now to find the source of ammonia.
     
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  9. hnnhflns

    hnnhflns Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    She seems to perk up a little, but nothing definitive yet. She can hold herself above the bottom of the tank now and is actively trying to swim.

    I really hope that she makes it though this.
     
  10. hnnhflns

    hnnhflns Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Our skimmer crapped out a few days ago, and we haven't gotten the new one set up yet.
     
  11. hnnhflns

    hnnhflns Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    No fish deaths in over a month (and they were removed immediately) , and not inverts big enough to make the ammonia in such a big tank....
     
  12. DSC reef

    DSC reef Giant Squid

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    Get that skimmer online and get a good bacteria supplement to help your biological filter. Do a few small water changes as well, 20% at a time.