Clownfish always dying!!!

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amanda_

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Jul 24, 2007
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My tank is almost 2 months old. I started out with live rock then some inverts and bought a pair of percula clowns about a week later. Within a week one clown had a bright pink patch on his body, the colour faded, he stopped eating and died. The other clown seemed fine so 2 weeks later we bought another clown, a firefish, a watchman goby and a sailfin tang. Now the other clownfish from the original pair was dying. He was swimming on his side, in circles, floating sometimes. He wasn't using the fins on the one side of his body, he had lost the colour on his tail. He is dead now. Even this new clown went through a phase of sitting around the bottom. Does anyone know what the problem might be? I drip acclimated them, the ammonia is at 0, nitrate 0, nitrite 0.1, salinity 1.023. I am only having problems with the clownfish...everything else seems very healthy.
 

animalman

Love My Clowns
Oct 15, 2007
361
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Massapequa, New York
That really stinks sorry to hearbout your clowns. I also have a new setup and my 1st and only fish was a perc clown who died too. I learned that you should always QT new fish. Make sure they are healthy before you put them in your display. Did you QT them? If not watch your other fish carefully to be sure that the clowns didn't introduce a parasite into your display tank. Good luck hope I helped.
 

schigara

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Jan 2, 2005
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Memphis, Tn
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What were the ammonia and nitrite levels when you added the clowns and did you keep checking those levels every day?

What is the size of the tank and how much live rock?
What kind of water are you using?
Do you have enough water movement in the tank and especially at the surface to break the surface tension for gas exchange?

The clowns might have been sick already so it might not have anything to do with your system.

Qt is a good idea but this doesn't mean it could have saved the clowns. Qt is mainly for the sake of the entire tank, reef and other fish that already reside in the tank. Qt makes it much easier to treat the new fish if one knows what to treat it for.
 

schigara

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Jan 2, 2005
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Brooklynella Diagnosis

Symptoms to Look For

Most similar symptomatically to Oodinium, this too is a parasite that primarily attacks the gills first. At the onset fish may scrap up against objects, rapid respiration develops, and fish often gasp for air at the surface as the gills become clogged with mucus. Fish become lethargic, refuse to eat, and colors fade, but the most noticeable difference that sets Brooklynella apart from Oodinium is the heavy amount of slime that is produced. As the disease progresses a thick whitish mucus covers the body, usually starting at the head and spreading outward, skin lesions appear, and it is not uncommon for signs of secondary bacterial infections to arise.
 

Sonicblast12

AC Members
Aug 9, 2006
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If everything else in your system is doing fine....

The clowns might have been sick already so it might not have anything to do with your system.
...that's probably what you're dealing with. My LFS store actually told me not to buy a clown when I wanted one, because every one they recieved was diseased.

That's why it's important to not impulse buy, and study the fish you're planning to buy. Make sure they eat, act normally (as if clowns can act normally) and are active.

If you want to buy, you can usually pay for it and see if the LFS will hold it for you for a week or two. If they decline, I just wouldn't buy from them. Expensive hobby, no reason to flush money when you don't have to.
 
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