Clowns acting strange

[robwcormack]

I just added my first coral frags to my tank yesterday. A couple small zoas and some gsp I glued to plastic wall of my aio “sump”. Within a couple hours I noticed my 2 clowns were swimming a bit flashy when not huddled up in the back corner of the tank and every couple minutes they swim up to the surface and get air. I have both my return rfg’s pointing at the surface and making plenty agitation, and I have 2 wave makers that are going as well. I did also see a stringy white poop once for each of them, and one of them seems to be rubbing up against the plastic wall near where the aio intakes are. I will say o think I’ve been overfeeding them because they are little pigs and will keep eating as long as I feed them it seems. I don’t see any sign of anything externally on either of them. I took a few pics with all lights at 100% that I’m going to try to attach. I got some Prazipro today after doing some research and reading it could be internal parasites. I don’t currently have a QT tank, so lesson learned there and I will be getting one in the next few days but I went ahead and dosed the Prazipro in my main tank this afternoon since it said it’s reef safe. Corals closed for an hour or so but reopened and seem fine. Any thoughts on what this could be and what treatments plan I should do. The only other fish I have is a royal gramma that seems fine. The clowns didn’t eat well today, but I think they were stressed from me trying to take pictures. Could this all be just due to stress from corals being added and lights on for more than an hour at a time? Sorry. I know this is all rookie mistakes and I’m learning some valuable lessons the hard way. Thanks for the help. Water parameters have been great with the exception of elevated phosphates (0.33). 0 ammonia and nitrite. 7.5 nitrate, PH 8.1, salinity 1.026, cal 420, mag 1350, alk 8.3. The pics are as clear as I could get. These little guys are quick and don’t stop to pose.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just added my first coral frags to my tank yesterday. A couple small zoas and some gsp I glued to plastic wall of my aio “sump”. Within a couple hours I noticed my 2 clowns were swimming a bit flashy when not huddled up in the back corner of the tank and every couple minutes they swim up to the surface and get air. I have both my return rfg’s pointing at the surface and making plenty agitation, and I have 2 wave makers that are going as well. I did also see a stringy white poop once for each of them, and one of them seems to be rubbing up against the plastic wall near where the aio intakes are. I will say o think I’ve been overfeeding them because they are little pigs and will keep eating as long as I feed them it seems. I don’t see any sign of anything externally on either of them. I took a few pics with all lights at 100% that I’m going to try to attach. I got some Prazipro today after doing some research and reading it could be internal parasites. I don’t currently have a QT tank, so lesson learned there and I will be getting one in the next few days but I went ahead and dosed the Prazipro in my main tank this afternoon since it said it’s reef safe. Corals closed for an hour or so but reopened and seem fine. Any thoughts on what this could be and what treatments plan I should do. The only other fish I have is a royal gramma that seems fine. The clowns didn’t eat well today, but I think they were stressed from me trying to take pictures. Could this all be just due to stress from corals being added and lights on for more than an hour at a time? Sorry. I know this is all rookie mistakes and I’m learning some valuable lessons the hard way. Thanks for the help. Water parameters have been great with the exception of elevated phosphates (0.33). 0 ammonia and nitrite. 7.5 nitrate, PH 8.1, salinity 1.026, cal 420, mag 1350, alk 8.3. The pics are as clear as I could get. These little guys are quick and don’t stop to pose.

Pics are fuzzy and Prazi does not address internal issues but rather Metroplex. before assuming internal issues (be careful what you read) - it is likely excess mucus in the stomach walls and associated with foods fed especially of foods like brine shrimp, mysis shrimp or both. Adding staples such as LRS fish frenzy, plankton, TDO pellets and flakes will change the color and consistency of the feces

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I just added my first coral frags to my tank yesterday. A couple small zoas and some gsp I glued to plastic wall of my aio “sump”. Within a couple hours I noticed my 2 clowns were swimming a bit flashy when not huddled up in the back corner of the tank and every couple minutes they swim up to the surface and get air. I have both my return rfg’s pointing at the surface and making plenty agitation, and I have 2 wave makers that are going as well. I did also see a stringy white poop once for each of them, and one of them seems to be rubbing up against the plastic wall near where the aio intakes are. I will say o think I’ve been overfeeding them because they are little pigs and will keep eating as long as I feed them it seems. I don’t see any sign of anything externally on either of them. I took a few pics with all lights at 100% that I’m going to try to attach. I got some Prazipro today after doing some research and reading it could be internal parasites. I don’t currently have a QT tank, so lesson learned there and I will be getting one in the next few days but I went ahead and dosed the Prazipro in my main tank this afternoon since it said it’s reef safe. Corals closed for an hour or so but reopened and seem fine. Any thoughts on what this could be and what treatments plan I should do. The only other fish I have is a royal gramma that seems fine. The clowns didn’t eat well today, but I think they were stressed from me trying to take pictures. Could this all be just due to stress from corals being added and lights on for more than an hour at a time? Sorry. I know this is all rookie mistakes and I’m learning some valuable lessons the hard way. Thanks for the help. Water parameters have been great with the exception of elevated phosphates (0.33). 0 ammonia and nitrite. 7.5 nitrate, PH 8.1, salinity 1.026, cal 420, mag 1350, alk 8.3. The pics are as clear as I could get. These little guys are quick and don’t stop to pose.

Can you post a video under white lights?
Prazi won’t help with internal disease issues (except tapeworms, and that isn’t the problem here).
Are there actual bubbles breaking the water’s surface?

 

[robwcormack]

I know these are kinda blurry. I had to zoom in because when I turn the white lights up they freak out and hide and won’t come out if I’m standing right next to the tank. Hopefully they are good enough you can see what they’re doing. I have to get to work but can try again this evening if these aren’t good enough.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I know these are kinda blurry. I had to zoom in because when I turn the white lights up they freak out and hide and won’t come out if I’m standing right next to the tank. Hopefully they are good enough you can see what they’re doing. I have to get to work but can try again this evening if these aren’t good enough.

Unfortunately video doesnt show much and fish at distance. Need it clear and close to see both the body and breathing rate

 

[robwcormack]

Unfortunately video doesnt show much and fish at distance. Need it clear and close to see both the body and breathing rate

The video I just did was too large to upload on here so I had to upload it to YouTube. Here is a link to it. Hopefully that works.

 

[robwcormack]

Also, this evening they ate like normal. I feed a combo of seachem nutridiet marine flakes, new life spectrum marine fish pellets, and a couple times a week I give them some piscine frozen mysis shrimp (thawed in tank water briefly)

 

[vetteguy53081]

The video I just did was too large to upload on here so I had to upload it to YouTube. Here is a link to it. Hopefully that works.

Thank you for video. What I clearly see is a fish that is succumbing to aggression/intimidation from the other clown known as Clownfish hierarchy whereas the larger clown often a female is more dominant than the males. They become greedy and try to eat most of the food that enters the tank (which is one reason the males don't grow as large). They often become aggressive to protect their territory which may be an anemone, a hiding area, or the entire tank. If it attacks your hand when you're trying to clean the glass or it won't let any other fish near its zone, you likely have a female clown. Often if you separate the female for a week or two into an acclimation box or sump, there may be a change in her behavior, and you will quickly see the male come out in the open

 

[robwcormack]

Thank you for video. What I clearly see is a fish that is succumbing to aggression/intimidation from the other clown known as Clownfish hierarchy whereas the larger clown often a female is more dominant than the males. They become greedy and try to eat most of the food that enters the tank (which is one reason the males don't grow as large). They often become aggressive to protect their territory which may be an anemone, a hiding area, or the entire tank. If it attacks your hand when you're trying to clean the glass or it won't let any other fish near its zone, you likely have a female clown. Often if you separate the female for a week or two into an acclimation box or sump, there may be a change in her behavior, and you will quickly see the male come out in the open

That’s definitely happening, but the larger one also darts across the tank by itself a lot and goes up for air much more often in several other places sometimes swimming on its side like it’s trying to suck air directly into its gills. That video was just the best footage I could get at the time.

 

[Fish & Coral Store]

I just added my first coral frags to my tank yesterday. A couple small zoas and some gsp I glued to plastic wall of my aio “sump”. Within a couple hours I noticed my 2 clowns were swimming a bit flashy when not huddled up in the back corner of the tank and every couple minutes they swim up to the surface and get air. I have both my return rfg’s pointing at the surface and making plenty agitation, and I have 2 wave makers that are going as well. I did also see a stringy white poop once for each of them, and one of them seems to be rubbing up against the plastic wall near where the aio intakes are. I will say o think I’ve been overfeeding them because they are little pigs and will keep eating as long as I feed them it seems. I don’t see any sign of anything externally on either of them. I took a few pics with all lights at 100% that I’m going to try to attach. I got some Prazipro today after doing some research and reading it could be internal parasites. I don’t currently have a QT tank, so lesson learned there and I will be getting one in the next few days but I went ahead and dosed the Prazipro in my main tank this afternoon since it said it’s reef safe. Corals closed for an hour or so but reopened and seem fine. Any thoughts on what this could be and what treatments plan I should do. The only other fish I have is a royal gramma that seems fine. The clowns didn’t eat well today, but I think they were stressed from me trying to take pictures. Could this all be just due to stress from corals being added and lights on for more than an hour at a time? Sorry. I know this is all rookie mistakes and I’m learning some valuable lessons the hard way. Thanks for the help. Water parameters have been great with the exception of elevated phosphates (0.33). 0 ammonia and nitrite. 7.5 nitrate, PH 8.1, salinity 1.026, cal 420, mag 1350, alk 8.3. The pics are as clear as I could get. These little guys are quick and don’t stop to pose.

It sounds like your clowns are stressed from the new corals and possibly overfeeding, which could be causing the flashy swimming and white stringy poop. The rubbing against the wall may indicate irritation, possibly from internal parasites. You've done well starting Prazipro treatment, and your water parameters look solid. Elevated phosphates might also be stressing the fish, so addressing that could help. It's likely stress, but keep an eye on their behavior and feeding. Getting a QT tank is a great plan for the future. You're doing great in handling this—just give the treatment time and monitor them

 

[robwcormack]

It sounds like your clowns are stressed from the new corals and possibly overfeeding, which could be causing the flashy swimming and white stringy poop. The rubbing against the wall may indicate irritation, possibly from internal parasites. You've done well starting Prazipro treatment, and your water parameters look solid. Elevated phosphates might also be stressing the fish, so addressing that could help. It's likely stress, but keep an eye on their behavior and feeding. Getting a QT tank is a great plan for the future. You're doing great in handling this—just give the treatment time and monitor them

Thanks. I only noticed the white stringy poop the one time and it was a few hours after I added the corals. I super glued the GSP to the back wall and I think I pressed too hard holding it and trying to make sure the glue stuck. Within 10-15 minutes it started oozing a ton of mucus looking stuff which drifter right over to the clowns little area they like to hang out in. Wondering if that could cause it as well. I wish there was a more definitive guide to how much I should be feeding. The pellet size is 1-1.5mm and the flakes are huge so I just break up pieces of them and drop them in.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

The video I just did was too large to upload on here so I had to upload it to YouTube. Here is a link to it. Hopefully that works.

The clown seems stressed out and is breathing fast - might be from you videoing it?

 

[robwcormack]

Should I isolate her with a hang on side holding and breeding box like the large one Fluval has or should I put her in the QT tank when I get it up and running? I don’t think I have room for a box inside the DT. Also, do those “stress relieving” bottles of stuff actually work? Is that worth considering?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Should I isolate her with a hang on side holding and breeding box like the large one Fluval has or should I put her in the QT tank when I get it up and running? I don’t think I have room for a box inside the DT. Also, do those “stress relieving” bottles of stuff actually work? Is that worth considering?

Those stress relieving "bandages in a bottle" have limited effectiveness, mostly they are just new water conditioners. They won't help in this case.

If the issue is from fighting, you need to isolate the fish. A breeding box would be easiest, but I can't advise you if it would fit in your tank or not.