What to do about sudden fright syndrome?

[ThePurple12]

I lost my entire batch of clownfish last time to SFS (I turned on the light, they started jerking around, and were dead the next morning). I was feeding them rotifers.

How do I prevent this? Is there a way to cure them while they're having the "seizure"?

 

[Picasso Clown]

I lost my entire batch of clownfish last time to SFS (I turned on the light, they started jerking around, and were dead the next morning). I was feeding them rotifers.

How do I prevent this? Is there a way to cure them while they're having the "seizure"?

I believe the most common cure to this is a dim/sunrise and sunset setting to stop a sudden bright light from turning on. Maybe a shade cloth could also help?

 

[gabrieltackitt]

Add UEFAs to the rotifers before feeding.

 

[ThePurple12]

What are UEFAs and where do I get them? A Google search just brings up a bunch of soccer stuff.

 

[piranhaman00]

Never heard of this before

 

[bluprntguy]

What are UEFAs and where do I get them? A Google search just brings up a bunch of soccer stuff.

Think he meant Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (HUFA's).

 

[Mike N]

Sudden fright syndrome is typically related to feeding baby brine shrimp.
I would make sure the light you're using is very dim, and make sure it's already on before the fry are introduced to the tank.

Also keep the lights on 24/7 for the first several days so the clownfish have enough light to hunt rotifers.

 

[ThePurple12]

Sudden fright syndrome is typically related to feeding baby brine shrimp.
I would make sure the light you're using is very dim, and make sure it's already on before the fry are introduced to the tank.

Also keep the lights on 24/7 for the first several days so the clownfish have enough light to hunt rotifers.

Good advice.

What’s weird is the fact that I’ve been feeding only rotifers, but I will try HUFAs.

 

[Mike N]

You are tinting the fry tank water, correct?
There is nothing wrong with feeding rotifers, I think your issue is the lighting.

 

[ThePurple12]

Oh, that must be the problem. I wasn’t tinting the water because I had no phytoplankton at the time. I have some now, will it need light in the fry tank?

 

[Mike N]

Oh, that must be the problem. I wasn’t tinting the water because I had no phytoplankton at the time. I have some now, will it need light in the fry tank?

You don't need to worry about sustaining the phytoplankton with light, the rotifers will quickly eat it. You will have to replenish it several times a day depending on the rotifer population.

You can use whatever you're feeding the rotifers to tint the water in a pinch.

Whatever you tint with will further dampen the light in the tank, making it easier on the fry.

 

[ichthyogeek]

What are you feeding the rotifers by the way? Are you making sure to feed phytoplankton such that there's enough DHA/EPA mixed in (either Pavlova, or a mix of Nanno and Iso for example)?

If you're feeding HUFAs to the rotifers prior to feeding to clowns, make sure to rinse the rotifers well! Otherwise an oil slick can form on the water surface, or the tank can foam up from the airline's bubbles.

 

[gabrieltackitt]

Think he meant Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (HUFA's).

Yes! Sorry for the confusion!

 

[ThePurple12]

What are you feeding the rotifers by the way? Are you making sure to feed phytoplankton such that there's enough DHA/EPA mixed in (either Pavlova, or a mix of Nanno and Iso for example)?

If you're feeding HUFAs to the rotifers prior to feeding to clowns, make sure to rinse the rotifers well! Otherwise an oil slick can form on the water surface, or the tank can foam up from the airline's bubbles.

At the time I didn’t have phyto, so I used spirulina powder. Thanks!

 

[Mike N]

I would highly recommend RGcomplete from @Reef Nutrition for feeding the rotifers.
Also, one of their Rotigreen products for water tinting in the fry tank.

 

[ThePurple12]

Yeah, I’ve been considering RG for a while. Maybe I’ll get some next time my phyto culture crashes....

 

[Elan]

You can use Rotigrow nanno or Rotigreen (https://reedmariculture.com/product_rotigrow.php) to "green" your tank 15-20 min before turning the lights on. Use enough so that you can barely see the bottom of the tank. Depending on your exchange rate, try to maintain this level of green so the larvae have contrast to feed.

Rotigrow OneStep is a great enrichment for rotifers and easy to clean before feeding.

Oils will form on the waters surface from both the greening algae and the enriched rotifers (depending on the density and rate they are being consumed). You can either skim the top of the tank with a cup or very gently brush pieces of paper towel on the surface throughout the day.

 

[ThRoewer]

I keep my larvae tanks with green water since I can only feed the larvae in the morning and evening but not during the day. That way rotifers and Artemia nauplii can load up on algae during the day and maintain nutritional value.
I also start adding Tigriopus to the feed mix around day 8 so that the larvae get better nutrition before metamorphosis. So far it worked.
You can also try adding dry foods like TDO pellets early on to improve nutrition. At around day 10 Amphiprion larvae go pretty much after everything that crosses their path - they operate on the "snap it first and decide if it's edible later" principle.

 

[paul.brandon83]

I lost my entire batch of clownfish last time to SFS (I turned on the light, they started jerking around, and were dead the next morning). I was feeding them rotifers.

How do I prevent this? Is there a way to cure them while they're having the "seizure"?

I never knew this was a thing! Now I’m going to start being more mindful with mine. I’ve had fish try to jump when the lights kick on but that’s usually just a new one.

 

[ThRoewer]

I never knew this was a thing! Now I’m going to start being more mindful with mine. I’ve had fish try to jump when the lights kick on but that’s usually just a new one.

For a long time, I didn't have an issue with this. But then, (as I found out decades later due to some man-made changes to the Great Salt Lake) the Artemia cyst quality deteriorated vastly. I was confronted with this issue first in the early 90s when my last good can of Artemia cysts ran out and I had to switch to a newer lot. All of the sudden my Amphiprion larvae would die at or shortly after metamorphosis. It took me a while but ultimately, after about a year of trial and error, I figured it out. Keep in mind that this was pre-internet where you can google everything and before copepod cultures were widely available. My solution was to switch my Amphiprion larvae as soon as possible (= within the first week) to the tiniest frozen Cyclops I could find. And that worked very well.