Please help me before my clown dies.....

[b3noodles]

Hey guys I just noticed yesterday that one of my clowns won't eat. We have had him for about 3 weeks od so and he was doing great! Whenever he saw me he would go right up to the top because he knew I would feed him. Now he comes up but doesnt seem as happy(weird I know) and he won't eat. I have tried mixing garlic in with his food but to no avail. He has taken 1-3 bites of food over the last 2 days. I am just worried. His tank mates seem to be eating fine. 1 Royal Grama 1 Yellow Tang 2 Clowns and assorted crabs and snails. Any help would be great. We have lost a Scooter Blenny and a Heni Butterfly over the last month for no apparent reason and don't want to lose any more. Thanks guys!!

 

[gump3842k]

whats your ph, ammonia and nitrite, and what equipment is your tank running with?

 

[BillyZ]

and what are you feeding with?

 

[b3noodles]

Ok I just went and tested my tank...It is a 55 gallon with a powerhead an emperor 400 filter system with bio wheels. My levelas are as folows: nitrate-20 PH-7.8 amonia-0 and Nitrite-.2 salinity is at 1.022. I am feeding them Tetra Marine flakes and also frozen brine. There is also dried seaweed in there mostly for the tang. Thanks again Sue

 

[dralarms]

Your pk is a little low, I would do a water change. Also the sg is also lower that what I have seen recommended, 1.025 is what I have seen recommended here on this site. You should have no nitrite. I would ditch the bio wheels and do a water change of 20 gal. BTW by ditching I don't mean throwing them away, just clean them and dry them and put them away for future use.

 

[JG]

pH sounds a bit low . I would bring it up to 8.2 - nitrites should be 0 . Are you doing partial water changes?

My clowns love live brine shrimp - you can buy the eggs at pet stores and hatch a batch within 24 hours. I hatch them in one of the small critter cages ( like the type used for hermit crabs).

I have noticed that my clowns will get very excited for live food. Perhaps it might stimulate the appetites of your guys.

Also - are they tank bred or tankraised clowns? Some of the wild ones are poisoned in order to capture them. The long term effects are very much what you are describing. I have had great success with the tank raised and bred.

Best of luck

 

[b3noodles]

Ok what is the best way to do a water change? Do I need to have some salt water made up before I can do that and also my nitrite was showing the very lowest so thats why I said .2 How do you bring up PH? They are tank rasied from Liveaquria.com I will go get some live brine and see if that works for him. Thanks again! Sue

 

[JG]

Water Changes - Go to Home Depot or equiv. and get a few 5 gallon buckets - siphon water ( good time to vacuum substrate if possible as uneaten food can lead to increased nitrite levels). Before Siphoning - have equiv amount of salt water made up so it is at temp. If using tap - dechlorinate. Use a bubble stone and air pump to mix in oxygen. I use a plastic tray as a diverter when I replace the water. This prevents the bottom from being disturbed. I have a 30 gallon tank and change about 5 gallons out per week. So far - so good!

pH change - Get a buffer solution that raises the alkalinity - this will also bring the pH up. I use Kent's , but there are many out there.

Nitrite - if there is a lot of uneaten food because the fishies are not eating it , this could be the source of your nitrite as it decomposes and contributes to the nitrogen cycle.

Your substrate choice can help with pH as well. Crushed coral or aragonite substrate will react with the water as it becomes more acidic. This will help to stabilize the pH.

Do you have any live rock in your tank ? It does a great job with the nitrogen cycle and since the rock itself is usually a calcium carbonate, it too will help stablize your pH.

Best of Luck

Joanne

 

[dralarms]

pH change - Get a buffer solution that raises the alkalinity - this will also bring the pH up. I use Kent's , but there are many out there.

Changing the water will help this out. Don't add anything to buffer until after your water change.

 

[steve-s]

pH change - Get a buffer solution that raises the alkalinity - this will also bring the pH up. I use Kent's , but there are many out there.

Changing the water will help this out. Don't add anything to buffer until after your water change.

And make sure you have something to test the alkalinity with!!

Some of your problem may also be from aggression. Your tank has some fairly large growing fish and could easily be from overcrowding as well as the poor levels. Overfeeding will definately be a candidate for that.

55 Gal, 45 pounds of liverock, Yellow Tang, Royal Gramma,Scooter Blennie,Henichois Butterfly, Clowns(2),

To be honest, the tang and the butterfly should not be housed in such a small tank. If kept together, you should upgrade that to about 125+ gal.


Cheers
Steve

 

[b3noodles]

How do I test for ALK? And my Heni butterfly and scooter blenny has since passed away. So I only have 2 clowns a yellow tang and a royal grama. None of my fish are aggresive either I never noticed it anyway. My clowns are small only about 1 1/2 inches and royal grama is just a tad smaller. Thanks for the advice all! Sue

 

[steve-s]

How do I test for ALK?

There are many different test kits available but I would highly recommend >>Salifert<< for these kinds of tests.

And my Heni butterfly and scooter blenny has since passed away. So I only have 2 clowns a yellow tang and a royal grama. None of my fish are aggresive either I never noticed it anyway. My clowns are small only about 1 1/2 inches and royal grama is just a tad smaller. Thanks for the advice all! Sue

Very sorry for your loss
Although it may seem like it's fine now, the tang will grow quite large and for now may be fine in a 55 gal but I urge you to consider a larger tank as the fish grow. The minimum recommended size for 1 tang is 75 gal/4ft. They are very active swimmers as well.

Cheers
Steve