Urgent Clownfish Lying on side, unsure of what's wrong

Discussion in 'ASAP' started by Dr. Bergeron, Apr 22, 2010.

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  1. Dr. Bergeron

    Dr. Bergeron Peppermint Shrimp

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    Nov 23, 2009
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    408
    Location:
    Lake Worth, FL
    When we got home from work today, one of the clownfish was lying on it's side next to a rock. It's breathing seems to be erratic. Every minute or two he charges out from his spot to swim next to the other clown for a bit, and then goes back to lay down. I checked him for signs of excess slime, discoloration, white spots etc, and he doesn't seem to have any of these brooklynella symptoms at all.

    Params:
    temp 81.3 (always keep the tank between 80-82)
    SG: 1.027
    Amm: 0
    nitrite: 0
    Nitrate: 0
    PH: 8.0

    Other clownfish in the tank is behaving normally staying near the same area as the downed clownfish.

    Blenny is also acting normally.


    Does anyone have any ideas of what to do? I have formalin here if needed. I don't want to stress the fish out by trying 100 different things though.
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2010
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  3. liegeofinveracity

    liegeofinveracity Coral Banded Shrimp

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    ...the night time... is the right time...
    this just started today? i'd leave him be for now. if he goes down and stays down i would put him in a qt tank and take it from there, is there anything in there that could have stung him? my foxface royally messed up a sailfin tang(accidently) and the tang was acting as you described.. he recovered eventually
     
  4. Dr. Bergeron

    Dr. Bergeron Peppermint Shrimp

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    Nothing that I know of is in the tank that could have stung him. This did just start today sometime while we were at work.
    Someone was here around noon and said that the clownfish were swimming around fine. So this happened within the last 6 hours.
     
  5. liegeofinveracity

    liegeofinveracity Coral Banded Shrimp

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    my first thought was a swim bladder problem but if hes swimming normally when he does move thats probably not the case,lets hope not atleast because thats pretty much it for him if it is a swim bladder thing,does he look "sick"?(other than the breathing) or normal and just laying on the bottom
     
  6. Dr. Bergeron

    Dr. Bergeron Peppermint Shrimp

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    I'd say he looks normal but is just laying/half floating on the bottom. Should I try to put some food in the water to see if the clowns react? Maybe that would be a good indicator of how sick the fish is?

    Any idea what could cause a swim bladder problem, if that was the worse case scenerio?
     
  7. liegeofinveracity

    liegeofinveracity Coral Banded Shrimp

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    i dont know what causes it specifically and myself have never had a saltwater fish that seemed to have a problem but i did lose a few freshwater fish over the years.n i think(this is a guess) that its kind of like when a dogs stomach twists up,the advantage being you can take the dog to the vet and have it fixed. if his swim bladder was damaged he would be swimming sideways/upside down/listless and it would be noticable,
    i cant see any harm in trying to feed him but other than that i'd cross my fingers and hope for the best, the only other guess i have and its a longshot is that these clowns are engaing in some type of mating activity? mine(tomato clowns) do some pretty silly stuff sometimes before they lay eggs.or something spooked him
    (my cat lives to sare fish)badly and he smacked himself petty good into the glass or a rock or something,if the heater is in the tank he could have burned himself...there could be a lot of explanations,, sorry i couldn't be more help and i hope the little guy recovers
     
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  9. Dr. Bergeron

    Dr. Bergeron Peppermint Shrimp

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    Thank you for the advice. I did put some food in and the other clown and blenny ate some, he also got up from the bottom and grabbed a mysis, and then slowly swam/sank back down to the bottom and went back to on his side in the same spot. So he has an appetite... but... not much of one. Normally both clowns are the marine equivalent of hungry hungry hippos so this is a bit disconcerting.
     
  10. Yellow Tang

    Yellow Tang Bubble Tip Anemone

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    Michigan
    I never had good luck with Ocellaris
    have maroon
    I hope it passes
    best of luck,
    Griffin
     
  11. liegeofinveracity

    liegeofinveracity Coral Banded Shrimp

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  12. d0ughb0y

    d0ughb0y Astrea Snail

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    my occelaris digs a hole in the sand and sleeps at night laying down flat on its side. he is a new addition to the tank and the larger occelaris still would not allow the smaller one anywhere near the anemone.