Clownfish is struggling to swim down - Please help!

[Arringar]

I have a Black Onyx Percula Clown in my 6g minireef that is struggling to swim down... if he stops moving he floats upward pretty quickly. It appears as if he is having some sort of swim bladder issue or perhaps he is bloated with air (he does appear to be visibly bloated a bit). This started some time during the night as this morning was the first time this has happened.

What should I do?


Need some help!

 

[melosu58]

It does sound like a swim bladder problem. I would google "swim bladder". I definitely would do some frequent PWC`s to make the water as pristine as possible.

 

[Arringar]

I have done a PWC today already... no real improvement.

 

[melosu58]

Swim bladder disease is about the only disease I dont have much info on. Most cases are usually FW.

 

[Arringar]

He seems perfectly normal with the exception of a slight struggle to swim, which he seems to be coping with.

I have been having a problem with my pH recently... It will fall without warning, when I buffer it seems to go up too much. The alkalinity is at 12... it happens every time I add PurpleUP for calcium, then I use AragaMilk to buffer. Any advice?

 

[roka64]

I'm with Mike, I don't know too much about swim bladder. I have seen the freshies talking about feeding a pea for bloat...not sure if this works for SW.

 

[the_elvish_misfit]

If it is his swimbladder there isn't much you can do. Although putting in a platform with some coral and other things he's used to will make it easier for him and more normal.

 

[Arringar]

I saw the pea thing referenced somewhere else... What kind of peas?

 

[thincat]

Arringar, when did you get the fish? How old is your tank? How fast of rise of the Ph did you get with the Ca and Aggramilk?
Clowns do swim kind of funny!

 

[Arringar]

I tried the pea idea... no improvement so far.

I have had the fish for about 10 days, he was doing extremely well until yesterday when this behaviour began.

The PurpleUP causes a rapid pH drop, it hit 7.6 at one point, nothing seemed affected except my Heteractis Crispa. I did a full water change and things returned to normal. After that I started using the PurpleUP in combination with AragaMilk to buffer the pH when I add the calium. It just won't balance even when I do. I use minimal amounts to try and minimize the effect on the pH.

The fish continues to struggle slightly...it's almost as though he's kinda wobbly. As I said, he appears to be slightly bloated. I'm not sure if he actually ingested any of the pea, I plan to try that again.

Really could use some additional advice.

 

[melosu58]

IMO dont use any more chemicals to adjust the PH. Just use frequent PWC`s and see if that helps. It does for me. I just believe that too many chems are bouncing your PH around.

 

[Arringar]

The problem is, one of those chemicals is vital to the calcium level in the tank. Can you recommend a supplement that will not have an effect on the pH?

 

[melosu58]

What is your calcium at that you need to supplement it?

 

[roka64]

If you are putting all those chems in the tank, do you have test kits for all of them?