Clownfish poop

[karazy]

personaly i think what the thing bout the left corner is it cud be hosting it.
clownfish can host to anything, heck ive heard of them hosting magfloats
so aslong is it doesnt seem like its trapped there, i think its ok

[OCDP]

Originally Posted by karazy

personaly i think what the thing bout the left corner is it cud be hosting it.
clownfish can host to anything, heck ive heard of them hosting magfloats
so aslong is it doesnt seem like its trapped there, i think its ok

It's definitely possible. Now that I think more about it, the pair I purchased last Tuesday had been at the LFS for quite some time (probably a month) So the clowns were pretty used to tank life, and an empty tank at that. That's where they sleep too, in the corner. I assume it's because that's what they were used to in the previous tank. And of course, the new perc I added on Friday just seems to be taking the others lead. I believe the male from the previous pair turned female, and the newly added perc was male (luckily) I at least think this is what happened. I was hoping the new clown would get the other moving about more, and sleeping in the rocks... or in one of the 3 GBTA's I have... hah.

I've had clowns host many things, but that's just it, they were 'things' like a powerhead, or a coral, never a corner of a tank. But that is a good point, I should have caught on to that sooner myself.

[JDigital]

Originally Posted by OCDP

It does two things:

First, the two clowns always swim against the flow. Okay, not always but 95% of the time they are just idle and swimming against the flow in the center of the tank (I blame the larger fish, because when I had the previous pair, they started this, and when I added the new perc on Friday, I think it just started following the others lead) ... I dunno if this is a bad sign, or if they just really dig swimming against the water flow?? I am wondering, because they are both wild caught if this is just natural for them. Second thing my larger clown does, is it gets itself into the left corner of the tank, near the bottom and just kinda hangs.. again, still kind of swimming against the flow. He's not laying down or breathing heavy or taking a load off cuz it's stressed, it just looks like it enjoys hanging out in that part of the tank for whatever reason. I sure wish they would move around a bit more. They literally are always swimming against the flow. I never get to see their full faces other than when they are eating, just the side views all the time.

I've had too many days to sit and stare into the tank, I am probably just worrying myself, which I tend to do often. For now, I will assume they are normal, crazy clowns.

Mine pair does the same thing... Always against the flow (800gph), and then at night my big one just chills just above the sand bed, and the smaller one kinda bumps and grinds... i got a cool vid from last night of them sleeping, I will have to upload it..

EDIT: Here is the vid..(don't mind the F1 commentary.. :P)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI7USTrdQg4

[Alyssa]

Hello,
I am in a bit of crisis. I have a 90 gallon tank. Phosphates are a little high but all other parameters are good. I have a purple tang, 2 neon gobies, 2 clowns, shrimp (x3), snails and crabs. Diet consists of frozen mysis, pellets and flake with occasional brine as a treat. About 4 days ago I noticed that he has lost his appetite and has a piece of long, white, stringy poop hanging from him. I have bought 3 different medications: Medic by PolypLab, PraziPro and Metronidazole. I have been dosing the food in the DT with the Metronidazole for 3 days. Only problem is, the clown will not eat! I have a QT and my question is should I quarantine him or not? What type of medication should I be using, can I switch now?

[asylumdown]

How long has it been like this? How long have you had the fish? Has it improved since you posted? I don't know of many people who feel comfortable adding medication directly to their display tank, but there's a good chance the medication tastes awful to fish (have you ever tried chewing an aspirin?), so getting them to eat it might be challenging in a display tank. Also, all uneaten food is now delivering medication to your entire system.

The first question you need answered is whether or not the medication is even necessary. If you've had this fish for months, have added no other new fish, and this suddenly developed, I would be more inclined to wait and see. If this is a relatively new fish that wasn't quarantined, it's perhaps parasites. However, which parasite and which medication are much harder questions to answer.

But yes, as a general rule of thumb it's good to treat all illnesses in a separate QT tank. You have much more control in that circumstance, your fish is not going to be competing for resources with anyone, and you're not exposing your main system to chemicals that could affect everything.

Repashy makes a powdered food that you constitute in to a a solid gel yourself at home. It's much easier to mix medications in to that kind of food in known quantities, but you might have had to have trained your fish to eat that brand before you use it to attempt to deliver a medication. I'm not sure I would try it myself as attempting to give an internal dosage to a fish that eats however much of anything that it wants runs the real risk of over or under-dosing the medication.

[Alyssa]

Hello asylumdown. Thank you for your response. We moved the male clown to the QT last night and dosed with PraziPro (as per instructions 1teaspoon for 20 gallons). I am happy to post that he just ate for the first time in a week! The female is acting funny now, she has not eaten for a few days, but no sign of worms. We are just going to keep our eyes on her. Do you know if if it is normal for one of the mates to act funny if the other is sick or separated? Again thanks for your input, we are so relieved that he has finally eaten.

[Alyssa]

So this response is very late but I figure better late than never. The female also had symptoms of worms so we moved her to the QT as well. The male got sicker and sicker; he didn't eat for about a month. With advice from our LFS we did hypo salinity and high temperature. After a few days he started to eat. I am happy to say that both clowns are happy and healthy in a new 180 gallon tank.