Heavy Breathing, Lethargy, and Lack of Appetite in my Clown

[BlueDolphin]

As some of you may know - I was posting a thread over in the general discussion about my clown not eating. He is a tank raised percula, and has been in the QT for 10 days now. The second day I had him he ate maybe one bloodworm, and hasn't touched anything since. I have tried everything. He has been swimming around less in the past couple days. Today, however, he is in one of the pvc fittings sitting on the bottom and breathing heavily. I checked the water parameters and the pH was low (below 8.0) so I performed a 20% water change and here are the new readings:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrates: <10
Nitrites: 0
pH: 8.1
temp: 79.5
SG: 1.026

I have been looking him over closely to see if I noticed any signs of parasites. But, other than his color not be as bright, I don't see anything out of the ordinary. What could this all mean??

 

[Overstocker]

I had the exact same prob. Never figured it out, one clown just fine the other died for no reason (none that I found anyway).

 

[BlueDolphin]

Oh no... that doesn't ease my mind...

 

[quarryshark]

Well Marine Velvet can be stealth as far as marks or spots. If often attacks the gills before you know its there. I lost 3 fish within 24 hours months ago before I know what it was. Or it may be brookynella (sp).
Is he flashing (scratching) or rubbing his gills? Sitting on the bottow gilling rapidly is not s good sign. You may want to consider starting treatment. Do you have or can you get formalin? You may want to start out with a SW formalin bath and see if that gives him any relief.
Or possibly start a copper treatment.
Anyone else?

 

[BlueDolphin]

I went to the LFS today and they were not sure what to do either. They did possibly think that it could be an internal parasite. My clown is not flashing or rubbing his gills. He just sits at the bottom gilling. What do you think about treatment for internal parasites?

 

[quarryshark]

Maracyn or Maracyn2, one of them is good for internal parasites. Couldn't hurt.
I know how you feel, troubleshooting illness in this hobby can be taxing.

 

[steve-s]

Maracyn is not the best for internal bacterial problems (Nitrofurazone is usually better) especially when the fish won't eat and will not be effective if it turns out to be an internal parasite. If that's all you can get though, so be it.

If the antibiotics do not show improvement, I would move toward treating a parasite instead and start with Metronidazole. If you can't find that then either Pipzine or Hex-a-mit. The biggest problem is knowing what your treating.

Cheers
Steve

 

[quarryshark]

Thanks for the correction Steve. I read that maracyn 2 (on their box) is good for internals, but maybe its not as good.
Do you see any redness around the gills? I still suspect a parasite.

 

[BlueDolphin]

Thanks, guys! I was originally searching for Metronidazole at the pet store today, but I couldn't find it. The closest I could find was a small bottle of "Internal Parasite Guard" made by a company called Jungle. It's a green powder that you add one teaspoon per 5 gallons. Has anyone heard of it? Should it be ok? I added two teaspoons earlier today (my QT is 10 gallons). So it says that treatments should be done every other day with 25% water changes in between. But, you should only do up to 3 treatments max?? I hope my clown can hang in there, and I hope the treatment helps...

 

[steve-s]

Unfortunately Junglelabs doesn't list any info about their products. I do recall a member using it before but that was called Ick Guard and contained victoria green, nitromersol and acriflavine. None of which will help much with an internal parasite AFAIK.

Can you list any ingredients from the bottle?

Cheers
Steve

 

[BlueDolphin]

Active ingredients: sodium chloride, metronidazole (good, right??), and acriflavine. How long do you think my clown can go without eating? If this treatment helps, I still don't think he'll want to eat until the internal parasite (if that's what his problem is) is gone. He's going on his 8 day of no food....

Thanks for all of your help!!! You guys are the best.

 

[BlueDolphin]

.... Sadly, I must tell you all that my little clown has passed away. I really was hoping that the treatment would help. But, I know that I tried everything that I could to keep him healthy and alive... I want to thank everyone again for all of your help.

 

[Nitrate]

Sorry for your loss BD.

 

[quarryshark]

You definately did everything you could, that is for sure.
Sometimes this just happens, so sorry for your loss.

 

[quarryshark]

If its any consolation. I have 3 tank bred percs. I have had them since Nov of last year. Disinfect that qt tanks and try again. Just next time, see him eat at the lfs.
Go for it!!

 

[revhtree]

Ya clowns can be funny. They say they are very hardy, but my 1st clown did the same as yours, and eventually passed away. Sorry for your loss.

 

[steve-s]

Sorry for the loss

Active ingredients: sodium chloride, metronidazole (good, right??), and acriflavine.

If this exact problem ever happens again, this should atually have a possitive effect. I hope you never have the chance to use it though

Cheers
Steve

 

[BlueDolphin]

Thank you everyone for your condolences and kind words. You guys are the BEST!

I am going to get another fish soon, maybe not another clown just yet. So, should I rinse the QT with bleach? Can I reuse the sponge after I rinse it with bleach as well, or would it be best to not put it back in the main tank's sump?

Thanks again, everyone!

 

[quarryshark]

I would wash the tank with bleach, rinse very well, let it air dry and pitch the sponge. Just get a new one and reseed it.

 

[BlueDolphin]

Thanks, Quarryshark! I already had an extra sponge in the sump of my main tank so I will definitely throw the QT one away! I guess I should get a new filter for the QT's biowheel mini as well....