why are my clowns dying?

[dantodd]

Not being facetious but isn't it quite possible that a fish that is not very sensitive to brook could make it through QT carrying the disease but never showing any symptoms and pollute your tank?

[traveller7]

If QT period is too short, yes. Most fish that host the parasite will at least show increased rate of respiration, possibly some skittishness, scratching and loss of appetite. They will just not behave properly.

End of the day, any addition to our systems is a means of introducing new problems, but proper QT procedures reduce a number of the issues and enable one to catch most problems in a system with much less livestock.

[raoul]

Do you guys do any preventative treatments during QT? We usually treat for ich since that's the thing we've seen most of. Can pufferpoison treat for brook while the fish are in qt? As a preventive measure? Then he doesn't miss something little that ends up being something big later on.
Just wondering, and really hoping we can help this poor guy!

[pufferpoison]

Ok my only LFS didn't have formalin, but the next closest thing with a high yield of formaldahyde was either ick guard 2 by jungle (37%) or formalite 3, so i bought both. I used the ick guard to dip on of the clowns (i could only catch the one in the 46G) the one that wasn't dipped died that night. my clown has since been swimming around instead of staying on bottom and acting normal. Still haven't seen him eat, but i've set up a 10G QT tank that will be implimented during all new purchases and he will be going in there for a few months.

[pufferpoison]

well this am the last clown was gasping for air and not looking well, i scooped him up and put him in the formaldahyde dip, he died shortly after.

[raoul]

I'm so sorry to hear that. This has been a very frustrating situation, I'm sure. Good luck on future purchases!

[pufferpoison]

well i've set up a 10G QT tank for future purchases. Now i've been told 2 different stories and need help with them. First i've been told if i remain CLownless in my 90G and 46G tanks for around 2 months, the disease should be gone (brook). 2nd i've been told that it has to be fishless for 2 months to get rid of it. None of my other fish are showing signs of anything. I need to know how to handle this.

[traveller7]

If you want to be sure the disease is gone; fishless. There is no alternative.

If you want to gamble on the resistance level of new additions, you have 2+ months and will still require some level of luck.

Frankly, clown purchases this time of year are almost guaranteed to have to deal with Brook or Amyloo. Some species weather the parasites better then others. IMHO the species choice and purchase source will have significant impact on your success.

[pufferpoison]

I would love to treat all the fish but like in my 90G tank, it's full of LR and corals and would be nearly impossible to take everything out to catch the fish without signifigant losses. I have two cleaner shrimp in there and will be running a UV Sterilizer (turbo twist 18W with a 104GPH pump) and the other fish in the 90G are a yellow tang, a blue tang and a LM blenny which all are eating very, very well and show to signs of the disease. WHy is this time of year so bad for clowns and when is a good time? I asked many questions on here about clowns before i purchased any and never not once did anybody chime in on this disease.

[traveller7]

Did experienced folks ever not recommend Quarantine for new clowns?

Not everyone on RC reads every post, buys clowns year round, or follows a proper QT regimen. Most folks have a few clowns die, rationalize the event, and move on without really digging into the causes. Anemone purchases are far worse.

IME winter and summer are stressful shipping times around the world and disease runs rampant. QT everything in a fully cycled and non stressful environment.

Take it for what it is, my opinion.

[dantodd]

but what if I crossed all my fingers AND all my toes?

[sarahkucera]

Originally posted by pufferpoison
hey i need some help people. why won't anybody give me some helpful info. I've read the article and it says nothing about other fish and stuff. C'mon ppl i've got fish dying and need help

I'm sorry that you've just learned a very expensive lesson about quarantining all new arrivals.

I think what you should do is to be patient and not add any other fish, inverts, corals or anything to your tank for at least 2 months. Run the UV sterilizer and let things settle down.

After things have settled down, go find a better LFS and try to get larger and more mature tank bred clowns from them. Make them check the date that the clowns were purchased and buy some clowns that have been in their system and eating well for a while. Have the LFS feed the clowns in front of you so that you can observe that they are eating heartily. Quarantine them and then pray to the fish gods before putting them in the display tank.

Just my .02.
Good luck.

I'm sorry you lost your clowns. I've got two percs and I would be torn apart if they died, they're like two little happy puppy dogs.

[raoul]

Just thought of a question, partly for pufferpoison and partly for me. Is brook and the other disease you mentioned an issue for clowns regardless of tank bred or wild caught? Or does it just affect the wc clowns?

Maybe I'm answering my own questions with this next thought...

I guess even if it does generally affect wc clowns, it could still be transfered to the tank bred clowns if they're put into a tank at the lfs (or home) that's had fish with brook, or if they're currently housed with wc fish. Am I on the right track?

I'm wanting to add some clowns to a 75 we just finished cycling. With this being a bad time of the year maybe I should wait and put them in last, that way, if they do have any issues like this they will be the last fish to be in QT, and I don't have to leave that fishless for 2 months.

Pufferpoison, I hope I'm not out of place asking these questions here, but I'm hoping they will be helpful to you too.

[traveller7]

Brook, Amyloo, "ich", etc., can all be transferred by a fish, coral, tank water, net, or less.

The parasites are around year round, but we do see increased occurrences during certain times of year and infecting some species with greater frequency.

Any fish can be a host for the parasites.

Captive Bred specimens that have never come into contact with any of the above can quickly be infected when exposed.

Quarantine everything in a suitable system (not a barebottomed hospital) if you want to be safe, and I do mean everything.