Injured Melanopus Clownfish

Trumpet12 · #1 02/25/2006, 03:32 PM

Last night, maybe 2 minutes after I had put some dry food in the tank, I noticed that one of my clownfish had one side of his head stuck in my protein skimmer's Mag 3 (I think it's a 350 gph pump). The fish had been healthy ever since it went into the tank (over a year ago) and there has never been disease in the tank, so I assume that he tried to chase a piece of food in. I shut off the pump and the rest of my circulation immediately and the fish drifted to the bottom of the tank. At first, he didn't even seem to be breathing, but after a little time his gills started moving. Eventually, he was swimming around the tank, albeit weakly and somewhat erraticly. The side of his face that had been stuck to the pump looked pretty bad. There was a circular mark where the edges of the pump intake had been that was red in places, and his eye looked swollen. I have new fish in my QT tank right now, and I wasn't sure what I would do for him if I moved him there. Also, he did seem to be getting better on his own. So, I left the clown in my main tank when I went to sleep.

Today, he really doesn't look good. Also, I noticed as soon as I got looked at the tank, that the other clown was beating on him some (they've been paired for a long time so it surprised me a bit). I set up a 10 gallon tank with water from my display tank to serve as a second quarantine and moved the fish there.

Right now, the fish seems to be able to control where he swims (does not look like the FW fish I have seen with swim bladder problems, for example), but seems to be swimming around allmost randomly. Blindness, brain damage, or both seem likely. He barely responds to visual stimuli. Most of his fins have some significant damage (I assume from the other clownfish), especially the tail fin. His sides have a few small white marks on them. I don't know if these are damage from the pump, damage from the other fish, or the start of an infection. His head looks a little battered. One eye (the one that got caught in the pump, I think) is cloudy and swollen. The other eye looks better, but not completely normal.

What should I be doing? I'm leery of throwing medicines at any fish problems, but I'm happy to try anything that is likely to really help.

leebca · #2 02/25/2006, 06:20 PM

Sadly, some accidents a fish doesn't easily recover from. The negative pressure on the surface of the fish has probably drawn blood out of the capillaries and into the flesh. A fish 'hickey' of sorts. The fish will suffer needlessly while at best it could end up mentally disordered or forever the victim of other fish who recognize it as a wounded/sick fish.

I would do the fish a favor and put it down. I use clove oil for this (available at a health food store). This is a thread on that subject:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=533893&

Sorry.

TerryB · #3 02/26/2006, 03:16 AM

I have to disagree with Lee on this one. I don't like to give up on a fish unless there is no chance of recovery. I would treat the fish in quarantine with hyposalinity, Maracyn-Two at DOUBLE dose for 7 days and add some StressGuard or Pro Tech Coat Marine to the water. If the fish will eat then add some Beta glucan to the food to enhance immune function. The fish may not look perfect again, but it may survive and recover with time. Right now, you need to help it get through this critical period (or condition). Even if the fish doesn't make it you will feel better for trying to save it. If it survives a couple more days then the odds begin to get better. You can also add some Focus by Seachem to the food (contains nitrofurazone). The fish may get better once the swelling resolves. If it were my fish I would give it the best chance. It is far too early to know if there is permanent damage that the fish cannot overcome.

Terry B

Trumpet12 · #4 02/26/2006, 09:06 PM

OK, thanks for the advice.

I guess that I will try to treat him since there is no evidence that his condition is getting worse. I should be able to get the medicines tomorrow. As far as I can tell, he won't eat. Should I try to get some live brine or something, or is that unlikely to get a different response than frozen or dry food?
I used system water to set up the new QT to minimize transition stress so it is at full salinity now. Is moving to hyposalinity really worth it? If so, how fast should I do it?

Thanks for the help

TerryB · #5 02/26/2006, 11:04 PM

Live foods can stimulate a feeding response because of the movement. Brine Shrimp is not a very good food, but I guess it is OK for getting the fish started eating again. I suggest reducing the salinity for any fish with a large wound. Your fish is struggling to maintain osmotic balance right now because of the wounds. Any compromises in the mucus/scale/skin barrier allow fluids to flow out of the tissue. This means your fish can become dehydrated and expend far too much energy in osmoregulation. I would take the salinity down ASAP. Check the pH DAILY. Do not worry about reducing the salinity quickly, just maintain the pH. Raise the salinity slowly over several days after the fish heals.

Terry B

Trumpet12 · #6 02/27/2006, 08:01 AM

Yeah, I know that brine shrimp is pretty nutritionally bare but I don't know what else I could get quickly. I might be able to get blood worms. Would that be better?

The dehydration stuff makes sense. I will try to bring the salinity down.

Trumpet12 · #7 02/27/2006, 07:51 PM

I've got the specific gravity down to 1.020. What is a good final goal? 1.015?

The LFS doesn't have SW maracyn 2, so I bought some normal maracyn 2, which says it is safe for SW but doesn't have the vitamins. They also don't have either of the coating products you mentioned. I have some Genesis (another coating product) that I used to use for FW, but it has started to seperate out (white chunks in it) so I really don't think I should use it. The LFS says that they'll get a new shipment on Wedsnesday, so I guess I'll pick up some StressGuard and maracyn 2 SW then.

Until then, I think that I'll just use the maracyn 2. What vitamins could I add to the water that the fish could absorb?

EDIT: I just read something that said that normal Maracyn 2 is ONLY for FW. Is that true? I'm not going to add any now.

TerryB · #8 02/27/2006, 11:35 PM

The freshwater forumula of Maracyn-Two is the same antibiotic as the SW, but it does not contain the vitamins. I suggest using the double dose (on the package for the first day) EACH and EVERY day for 7 days. Reducing the salinity will also make the antibiotic more effective. I prefer taking the salinity down close to the internal salinity of the fish for wounds. That would be about 12ppt salinity (not specific gravity). You can take the salinity as far as 11 or 12ppt. Check the pH daily in hypo. Zoe vitamins would work well in a quarantine tank. If your Qtank is not cycled you are going to have to make a lot of water changes. The antibiotics will also be more effective if you make a water change each day before adding the next dose. Use water that is well aged and aerated, not freshly mixed a few hours before.

Terry B