NEMO DOWN!

[ScurdOfCychlidz]

Heh, so I've had my "nemo" fish ( 2 of them) in the tank for about 5 days...I found it sort of odd they just laid down on the sand bed...like not sideways but just rested on the sand. So anyways I woke up this morning and found one dead nemo and the other swimming with my 4 green chromises. I tested my waters and everything seems pretty good, the test kit I have needs you to compare the test tube with a color card so I think im inbetween on some of these but here are the results: Ammonia: 0ppm-.25
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm-20ppm

Do you think this could have killed the nemo? Or...I have noticed the green chromises sort of pick on the nemo's...and more so now there is only one...and the sad thing is the other nemo isn't really eating so I hope he doesn't die
:-(

TIA!

David

 

[mhaynes01]

try not to use the name nemo, (it makes me mad) JK ,,,..if they are wild caught which they probaly are the other might suffer teh same fate

 

[quarryshark]

Did you QT??
If not did they ever eat?
Did you know any spots, markings on them?
More info would help. Also, are they wild caught clowns, or tank raised?
If there is ammonia present, that could be a factor.

 

[ScurdOfCychlidz]

I picked them up from Petco...So wild caught or tank raised I wouldn't know, but my best guess would be petco gets them from a wholesaler. Not really any spots...but they do tend to be a little black around their fins...That might just be part of their color but who knows...I saw them pecking at some stuff at the fish store but since I have fed them (or now just the one) I haven't seen him make an attempt to eat...( i give flakes in the morning and brine shrimp at night). Also no QT, just the tank.

 

[JamesR]

I'm not expert, but in the future, be sure to get the Tank Raised Clowns as they are usually much hardier and be sure they are eating before you purchase.

If you can't QT your fish (as I can't) be sure you get your fish at a reputable store that QT thier fish for a period of time before they are sold!

 

[quarryshark]

I'm not expert, but in the future, be sure to get the Tank Raised Clowns as they are usually much hardier and be sure they are eating before you purchase.

If you can't QT your fish (as I can't) be sure you get your fish at a reputable store that QT thier fish for a period of time before they are sold!

Would totally agree with the first part.
As for the second part, I would highly encourage an investment in a small (10 gallon would do) qt system. Wouldn't cost much.
With the volume of animals that go through these stores, there is no way they can or will properly qt animals.

 

[Sam]

One other suggestion for the future, especially if you continue to buy at Petco. If you are interested in fish, ask if with a down payment, if they will hold it for you for a week or so, just so you can be sure they are stable and not suffering from transport stress. I am so sorry to hear of the loss but from the sounds of it, is sounds that they were too stressed out to begin with. Even though more expensive, a good on-line or local LFS is the best bet for healthier livestock. Good luck. HTH 8)

 

[lando]

Honestly, I am not surprised one died if you got it at Petco. I do not think they have a very high survival percentage. Most likely it was a farm raised occellaris clown. That is what the local Petcos get around here. They do have rally good prices on the fish, but like I said, poor survival percentage. You do not save any money when you buy three from Petco vs. only one from a reputable LFS. One more examample to QT, QT, QT. Hope the other do okay...Lando

 

[itzafugasi]

that is really weird... i bought my tank raised ocellaris clown at PETCO about 8 days ago. they looked very healthy in the tank, and i watched them eat. my fish is in qt right now, and seemed to be doing perfectly fine for 6 days, but the last few days he has been doing the same thing, laying on the bottom, but not sideways. this morning around 6:30 i checked on him and he was on the bottom. but then he got up and was pretty active, and hes eating which is good. but laying on the bottom of the tank gets me worried, i didnt see him doing that the first several days.

 

[Sam]

Make sure that your chemistry in the QT tank is adequate and that there is sufficient circulation in the tank. I have two Oc. and they are both very active. Have had them for about 10 months now an they have been nothing if not active. Hope they are okay. :|

 

[RocketSeason]

try not to use the name nemo, (it makes me mad) JK

Yeah, no offense, but I am rather sick of it too. I purchased a magazine yesterday and it had a section on proper care for Nemo fish.

ugh!

 

[dralarms]

Something no one touched on yet is the o2 level, If the o2 level is low most fish will get to acting funny. Just my 2 cents .

 

[ScurdOfCychlidz]

thanks guys! now what about Dory fishes? lol jk.

anyways my guy still doesn't seem to be eating so it seems like his future is going to be the same as his friend..i just hope not. I think stress prolly had a big thing to do with this situation and from now on will definetly check them out more carefully.

Will let you know what happens, thx...

oh and how would you measure the o2? I have 4 other fish in there and they all seem to be doing fine...

 

[RocketSeason]

did you let your tank cycle fully before you put your clowns in???

 

[ScurdOfCychlidz]

yea all the levels were pretty much all the way down...and ph was perfect.

I'm thinking it has a couple of things to do with stress plus the chromises picking on them.

 

[nodoubt471]

if you recently purchased the clown, keep in mind that it is hurricane season and many of the tropical fish "farms" in fllorida have had to shut down (ex ORA) and ship out all their fish. you may have ended up with a "rescue" fish, which was probably not ready to be sold and or was extremly stressed.

 

[dwculp]

I was really worried about my first fish, a large, wild caught, Percula Clown. I paid $25.00 for the guy and for the first 4-5 days he just sat in the same place, breathing heavy and not eating or moving much, and, almost overnight what looked like a lateral line infection popped up.

I thought about trying tp take him back or possibly even flushing him but all of a sudden he got better. His side cleared up and he was all over the tank, swimming around, eating like a pig and extremely active. So, basically, give it a little time.

 

[dwculp]

One other thing, PetCo fish are crap, pure crap. Every SW fish I have bought from PetCo has died with the exception of two Domino Damsels. A great percentage of the freshwater fish I have bought from PetCo have also died. No, I am not doing anything wrong, all my other fish stay alive, healthy, and active. I buy some dry goods such as food from PetCo, but not fish.

 

[jaiden]

flushing?

perhaps you were using a figure of speech, but please don't ever flush fish. They slowly die a miserable death in a sewer tank. You can quickly cut their heads off instead. Some people recommend freezing them.

 

[dwculp]

Flushing

I would have froze him first.