sick clown fish?

Patzig

welp, that didn't work..
So I've had a true percula clown fish for about 2 months now (first fish in 30g 4 month old tank). Ever since I've had him he's been a great swimmer, eats very healthy, and begs for food when i come around. (all good signs of a healthy fish i thought) Over 2 months i don't think I've noticed any growth at all, and he seems very very skinny to me. No noticeable spots or signs of sickness, he just seems much skinnier than many other clowns I've seen. Also, I test my water at lfs about twice a month, and things are usually spot on. any ideas?

...also, it seems like there are tiny slits or tears in his back tail fin. almost like he's been bullied by other fish, but he's the only one in my tank, and he developed them since I've had him.
 
Last edited:
ya he eats great whether it be twice a day or every 2 days. I'm feeding prime reef. lfs recommended it.
 
If he's eating but not gaining weight, he might have a parasite. Have you seen him push out stringy white poop? That's almost always a sign of a parasite.
 
I tried to take a pic but it didnt really show any signs that he's skinny. it's not crazy noticable either, just not near as "plump" as other clowns. Won, now that you mention that, i have noticed white stringy poop sometimes. it kinda just sticks and doesn't come off for a while. How would i treat that?
 
Yup internal parasite. I recommend setting up a QT and get medication for internal parasites (make sure its for internal, i had a very hard time finding one in stores, online its easier). If the fish is still eating it has a very good chance of surviving.
 
PraziPro is the most commonly used med for internal parasites. My LFS carries it, but it can be hit or miss to find, as Game said...
 
welp, didn't get the medicine in time, found paco dead this morning :/ i hope it was the parasites and not something in my water. when testing my water to see if it's harmful to fish, should i do a more extensive test? or just the basic ph/salinity/nitrate/nitrite?
 
Do you have an ammonia test? That one would be important to do. Other than that, there isn't anything you can test for that shows disease or anything. Sorry to hear about Paco. :(
 
Yea man, sorry about your clown. I just got my clownfish yesterday and he looked pretty decent. I just had a blue damsel in the tank before and he looked like he didn't mind him. This morning though he was just staying in one spot on the bottom of the tank. He was looking very emo and didn't want to eat. My damsel bolts when he sees me. My poor clowny. I hope he comes around.
 
Rufio, the damsel may have looked like he was leaving the clown alone, but if the clown is lookin' stressed, you can bet that the damsel has been picking on him...especially in a 10g, where there's just not much room to hide.

Plus I see that your tank's only 1 month old? I hope you cycled it properly before adding the damsel and clownfish.
 
Ok so now that you guys mention stringy poop, both of my clowns and both of my blue green chromis have stringy poop but they are all plump and look fine. Is that always a sign of an internal parasite?
 
Rufio, the damsel may have looked like he was leaving the clown alone, but if the clown is lookin' stressed, you can bet that the damsel has been picking on him...especially in a 10g, where there's just not much room to hide.

Plus I see that your tank's only 1 month old? I hope you cycled it properly before adding the damsel and clownfish.

True true. Im pretty sure my tank cycled accordingly. Would my damsel also be affected if it wasn't? I just hope he's been playing nice while I'm not around or else I'm going to have to go to Petco and check out their $1 / gal tank sale. I'm in college and I wish I could just go out and grab a 55 gal, but space and money is tight.
 
Damsels are bastards.Plain and simple.And since clowns and damsels are family,they usually dont play well with eact other in small tanks.
 
Back
Top