Help, Sick clown

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ForumPete58

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Please help, I have a pink skunk clown in my tank that is not looking too good. I have had him for a few weeks and my tank is cycled. I have just started to notice that the fish is swimming a little strange and he has a few little bubbles on him. I am not sure if the bubbles mean anything but it is swimming a little off and not eating well. Also I have a yellow stripe maroon clown that is having some trouble with his fins. On a couple of them the ends are getting a little frayed. I do not think the clowns are fighting but I dont know what they do when I'm asleep. I also have two damels that are doing great. Please help.
Thanks,
Matt
 

OrionGirl

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Water parameters? Any aggression? Damsels and clowns are in the same family, and not well known for being compatible. The skunks are typically less aggressive than both maroons and most damsels, so could be getting the brunt of the abuse.
 

ForumPete58

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Sick Clown

As far as my water goes, My Nitrates are at about 15 ppm, Nitrates are between 0-.25ppm, Ammonia is also between 0-.25ppm, and pH is right at 8.2. As for aggression, I have never seen any of them act up. They are always very nice. But like I said I'm not sure what they do when the lights are off. I'm sorry to say te Skunk has died. The rest of the fish are all very active and hungry. Although the problem still remains with the Maroon clowns' fins.
Thanks,
Matt
 

OrionGirl

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Were the clowns exposed to high ammonia/nitrites previously? Could be a case of a weakened immune system allowing an infection that lingers after the initial exposure--but in my gut I would still be suspicious of the damsels and the maroon. In smaller tanks, they can be lethal. I had a pair of perculas that killed a maroon within 24 hours--they didn't go after it when first introduced, but the next day, while I was at work, they beat the heck out of it. By the time their treachery was discovered, it was far too late to save the maroon. This was in a 65, with lots of rock work and hiding places, too.
 

ForumPete58

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I did have the clowns in while cycling. Do you think it is possible that the damsels are beating up on the maroon? The damsels do not show any sign of trouble, only the maroon. The tank I am using is a 55. The clown would often hide in what rocks I do have for cover. Now that my tank is cycled I would like to switch up my livetock a little bit. Would it be alright if I was rid of the two damsels, and kept the maroon. Would it be a problem if I were to get a lion, a panther grouper, and an atlantic cow. I understand that all of those fish will probably outgrow my 55 in a relatively short period of time. But I do not plan on keeping the fish for that long of time.
Thanks for your help,
Matt
 

OrionGirl

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Since the clowns were exposed during the cycle, that's likely the larger problem. The damsels may be contributing to the problems, making more than the fish can recover form.

Personally, I wouldn't get those fish for a 55. My reasoning is thus: I want to provide the best home possible for the fish, and a tank that is several times too small is not that. Second, turning the fish in is problematic--many stores won't take them, if a store does, it's likely they won't go to a good home. Third--those fish will outgrow the tank within a year, under good conditions. Why get a fish for a year? I get attached to my fish, and wouldn't want to be forced to get rid of them, especially fish that have such interesting behaviors and personalities. Fourth--in a small tank, stunting can occur without any visible signs until it's too late. Very few SW fish survive long after being stunted, so even keeping them in a small tank for a year can cause serious harm.

As I said, JMO.
 

ForumPete58

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Do you think it is possible that the skunk had a case of sw ick? I have read about some other fish that will start out acting rather timidly then developing the bubbles on its body. Is is possible that it got some ick and was harassed by the damsels so it could not heal? Also do you have any thoughts about why the maroon would be losing its fins?
Thanks
 

OrionGirl

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Marine ich looks like small grains of sand--I've never seen it look like bubbles. Are the fish rubbing against anything? Flashing?
 
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