Hoping to save him while i still can =(

i've listened to many advices and have bought a 30 gallon tank to house my 2 fishes . i have transfered my damsel to the big tank and now theres only my 5 day old maroon clownfish in my 5 gallon tank. which is to become my QT tank. the clownfish has been eating very well since i got him. he swims actively too but prefers spending most of his time near the powerhead which he hosts.
HOWEVER today i noticed him rubbing himself against the powerhead quite frequently. i am very worried that it's marine ich! but i have yet to see any signs of white spots yet.. oh god i don't wanna lose him

please advise my next step!

info : the 5 gallon tank is cycled and has crushed coral + live rock inside.

water parameters.
ammonia : 0
nitrite : 0
nitrate 20
sg: 1.021

i've been feeding him 2 times a day. with a mix of brine shrimp , mysis strimp, formula1 flakes and some pellets. i soak my pellets and flakes with vitamins before i feed it to them. ( been trying to follow the recommended omnivore diet but the stuff are kinda hard to get here )

Hope to hear from you guys soon.. i'll do whatever it takes to save this clown

 

Sounds like he is eating good, I would just keep a close eye one him, a healthy fish can fend off ick on its own. If it starts to get worse then you might need to treat. I would use copper seeing how he is in what is now your QT. But don't panic, clowns are pretty tuff.

 

I wouldn't worry at all unless I saw spots. I would be willing to bet it may even be starting to host the power head. Yes, clowns will host power heads. And heaters. And filter intakes. And mag floats.

 

alright then =)
so right now i'll just focus on good water parameters and good nutrition? since he kinda has a little ick now, can i add vitamins to his flakes everyday? :

and i'm kinda scared that i cannot see the spots if he has themm. is it very small?!

 

Maroon Clowns especially rub on things--even sand--as Pack said they will try to host just about anything!

 

Should be able to see ich on the body, but if he's rubbing, it's a sign of irritation of the gills, most likely ich.

Since he's eating well, just observe and wait it out, keep water pristine. If things turn out worse and you do use copper, you'll need to remove the crushed coral/LR/carbon for it to be effective since it'll pull the copper into it.

 

yeah...you can add vitamins and HUFA's to your food...both frozen and flakes. I personally add either Selcon and Vit C or right now I am using something from Blue Life VH3 or something like that(Cant remember name)....which is Vitamins, HUFA and garlic.

Your best defense in ick is pristine water conditions and good quality of food with HUFA and garlic. I have not had an ick outbreak since I started using HUFA

 

You are feeding him way too much, IMHO. Feed every other day is a normal schedule for tanks. That is why you are seeing NO3 in the tank, it will continue to rise a 2 time per day feeding schedule. Rubbing is fine, falshing (hard scratching) on LR would be what you want to watch for.

 

i woke up this morning and he's kinda worse... he just swims around in circle near the surface, not responding to me or my hand . i think i can see 4 or 5 white sports ( they're very small now ) on the right side of his body. should i start copper or hypo treatment now? do i have to do a partial water change wheni remove the cc and LR? i just did a 15 percent water change yesterday. Also, would the copper destroy the bio filter in my tank? sigh.. he seems so uncomfortable

Oh yeah, what can i do with the live rock? can i move it too the new tank or is it gonna be contaminated with parasites already? and how about the bio rings in the filter? ( sorry about the hundred questions, my first time treating ich ! )

 

hi guys i have decided to use the hyposalinity treatment instead. since it's less stressful
=)

i've changed 20 percent of the water and put in RO water. the sg dropped from 1.024 to 1.019. i'm planning to do the water change again 12 hours later. i tried feeding it and it was still eating! probably wasn't eating in the morning due to the sudden brightness when i turned on the lights. ( he is one tough cookie xP )

i have removed my live rock in fear thatt the oganisms inside might die and cause an ammonia spike. however i have done nothing to the bio filter and substrate. so i'm wondering whether the ph will change throughout the procedure? because the crushed coral is still there and i've never had any ph fluctuations ever since i've started the tank. Any guidance anyone ? ;D

( just performed a 8 minute freshwater dip for my fish , he's swimming all around now but his fins are clamped )