Clowns breathing fast :(

[jallard]

2 weeks ago I added 2 PJ cardinals and just 2 days ago I added 1 fairy wrasse............. The clows seem to be breathing pretty fast. Params are all normal. I have had them for over 2-3 months and never had any problems before. They haven't been eating as much as usual either.

Thoughts?

[oama]

Did you Q the PJs and wrasse? Are the PJs CB?
Any sloughing of the slime coat?
Any sheen to the flanks?
White Specks?

Could be Amyloo from the PJs or Brook from the wrasse.

All other water parameters ok?

[jallard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6347744#post6347744 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by oama
Did you Q the PJs and wrasse? Are the PJs CB?
Any sloughing of the slime coat?
Any sheen to the flanks?
White Specks?

Could be Amyloo from the PJs or Brook from the wrasse.

All other water parameters ok?

Not sure if the PJs are CB
Parameters are good
No QT on the PJs...they look fine
Any sloughing of the slime coat? - No
Any sheen to the flanks? - non noticed
White Specks? - very few....less than 3 on the little male none on my big female

My little guy was acting strange before the wrasse...who was added last. Seemed like it started after the pjs were introduced. Would Amyloo or Brook affect everyone? Seems like the only ones affected are the clowns.

[oama]

I would not rule out Amyloo w/out testing...But, if you see a few spots, it could be Crypto. All three infect the gills firsts. I doubt it was Brook, judging from the time frame. Are their eyes cloudy?
Some fish can develop a parcial immunity to Crypto, but still carry it. Thus, infecting any "naive" fish. So far as I know, this has not been shown with Amyloo or Brook. Although, fish can develop an immunity to Amyloo.

[jallard]

suggested treatment?

[oama]

Depends on what they have!
1. Test for Amyloo. It's simple and easy. If no then go to 2.

2. Gotta scope? Skin scrape to eliminate Brook. If negative go to 3.

3. Crypto,

For 1, use copper.
For 2, use Formalin.
For 3, use either Hypo or Copper.

4. Another possibilty is a trematode, though less encountered than the big three. You should be able to determine it from the test done to determine Amyloo.

If you are unfamiliar with the Amyloo Test, do a search here on RC using the parameters "Oama" & "Test" w/in the last year. I'm too lazy to look up the link this late.

[mobert]

Are they breathing fast all the time or just in the morning?

[jallard]

larger one seems better at least she wanted to eat......lil guys stillnot eating. Re-tested PH and all the other params...and they are normal. The larger one seemsto be breathing more normally.

Im planning to remove them FW dip then QT and watch them.

[jallard]

wow tanks a mess............but they are both in qt

[oama]

LOL Ain't it grand!

[jallard]

can you guess how ****ed I was?????

[rowland75]

Ive a clown doing the same, its new to the tank and now after 3-4 days lethargic, pale, and sounds like yours.

Im going back to the shop tomorrow, so hopefully he can be treated if he lasts tonight.

[jallard]

Update:

Since I removed the 2 clowns and placed them in my QT tank ....all I have done thus far was FW-dip before puting them into QT. And I have been closely monitoring them. They are both active and the larger clown is eating and breathing more normally. The smaller one acts normal.....but breathing still seems fast to me....definatly breathing faster than my larger clown. The smaller one still wont eat...seems to want to but don't.

Think I should treat both with formalin?

[oama]

Did you look at the FW after the dip? Did yu see anything come off the clowns?

[jallard]

Yes I looked and I really didnt see anything in the clear container I dipped em....

[oama]

What I would do for now is make them as confortable as you can and sit back and observe them for awhile (2-3 weeks?). Try some live brine or soaking food in garlic or cyclopeezee.

[jallard]

Sounds good.....but I think I will still buy some formalin...at least to have on hand. Seems like a good thing to have for emergency situations.

Thanks for all your help.....I had a hard time finding these allardi clown fish and would hate to loose them.

Oh and even thought I had to remove tons of stuff from my tank just to catch the little bugger....I knida like the way I re-arranged it :D

[jallard]

waahooo my little clown finally ate.....I fed him live brine shrimp and after he started eating that....I tryed some formula 1 pellets, which he ate too :D

[oama]

Glad to hear it!