something is wrong with my clowns help

Tremolo · 05/23/2007, 12:25 PM

I recently lost my flame hawk from what i think is ich in qt. I put him in the qt tank as soon as i could. Now my clowns are showing little white specs and and their fins and tails have something stringy on them. I cant put them in the qt because there is still high ammonia from the flame hawk that died. Is there anything i can do to help them out?? I just gave them a FW dip for about 10 min. and they are still eating. I would hate to loose them too.

Thanks

Vince

sifuho · 05/23/2007, 12:45 PM

if you have high ammonia, why havent you done a water change yet? if they do have ich, put them in your QT and medicate it, use whatever u want to medicate it, Rid ich, no ich etc. If its still eating fine, you might consider using Garlic extract, marine C, and Zoe. it strenghten's their immune system with all the vitamins and hopefully able to fight off the ich. good luck.

williams-crist · 05/23/2007, 12:57 PM

Clown fish are suspectible to brook. Not sure if that's what they have but is the stringy stuff the skin peeling?

If so, probably brook and you have to start quickly or you will lose the fish. Not sure if flame hawk is suspectible to brook or if this is ick. How long have spots been around? It takes a while for ich to kill the fish. But Brook is fast.

THIS IS THE TREATMENT I WOULD RECOMMEND.

In the past I bought a pair of clowns and they both got brook.

I dipped them in a bath of methyline blue then dipped them in formalin bath then back to the meth blue bath then to a bucket.

All the dips were made up of water from the QT tank.

I dipped them twice a day. I think the actual formalin treatment is two stressful so that's why just the dip, some people dose the QT Tank.

You really don't have a choice but to QT if you have ich/ or brook.

Just get a plastic bucket and fill with water from your display tank and this can be your QT. Add airline to the bucket and be sure to add airline to the formalin bath. You really want to oxygenate that bath.

This will work for both Brook and ich. But the trick is that ick drops from your fish every 3 days or so. If you notice all the spots are gone move them sooner to the next bucket. So, move the clowns from the bucket on the 3 day into a different bucket with newly mixed water. Empty the old bucket and let it airdry. On the third day move back to other bucket following the same procedure.

The trick is that you are leaving the ick behind because it has dropped off the fish into the bucket. After the 1st bucket move you won't see anymore ick and if you do you won't by the 2nd move but still go ahead and move them twice then after day 6 put into QT tank to make sure they are ok.

I use PRIME to keep ammonia in check. It's worked great for me. You really can not keep the QT tank cycled when using medications so the PRIME really does the job although I do perform small water changes weekly on the QT tank.

Keep giving the clowns daily dips. I've heard people usiing freshwater dips and I think you could easily do the freshwater dip with meth blue. ( It really calms the fish and it boosts the hgb oxygen carrying capacity). Use dish washing gloves with this stuff though. what a mess it is. Formalin is also a carcinagin so just be careful with it and use the gloves.

Be sure to offer your fish extra oxygenation what ever you do. The brook and ich make it difficult for them to gill.

I hope this advice helps. I saved both my clowns and a yellow goby this way.

Now I always dip clowns when I first get them. They are just so likely to get brook. I love clowns. I have two in one tank and a third in a different tank.

Best of luck,

Debra

williams-crist · 05/23/2007, 01:04 PM

Well, I wouldn't recommend using kick ich. It's really not a proven method. Although, I wish it would work ( it's much easier then above method).

Also, if you have ick in your display tank you have to move all fish out for 3-4 weeks to kill the ick. There really is no other method. You could add a UV sterilizer but then you are just hoping that fish develop partial immunity to the ich. Any newcomers to the tank may have a hard time. Otherwish, leaving display tank fish free for 3-4 weeks is a sure thing. So, is the bucket move and Qting until display tank is ick free.

KIck ich is not proven, putting garlic drops on food is a good idea but I've not seen it actually cure an ailing fish. It's more preventive. Feeding good nutrition is key to successful saltwater fish keeping.

I'm not saying I'm an expert or anything. But I was a fish-killer in the early days. I did all kinds of things in the early days trying to figure what to do and I got a lot of bad advice from fish stores online people etc. I'm just trying to give you good advice that I personally have used and I know will work.

Good Luck!

alan214 · 05/23/2007, 02:36 PM

As suggested above, get your QT tank stabilized with water changes. In the meantime FW dips are about all you can do.

Feeding food enhanced with garlic may help but there is no scientific evidence that this is the case. The main thing is to make sure the fish are eating.

Tremolo · 05/23/2007, 06:25 PM

I havent done a water change on the QT tank because i thought that it has to cycle tank. i will do a water change on the QT in the morning. And i will keep FW dipping until i can put them in there. Once in there i will do hyposalinity (sp?) and copper treatment. Then wait 6 weeks to put them back into the display tank. I will take a pic when in the morning and post it to find out exacly what i have going on here.

How does all of this sound?

Thanks guys

Vince

Tremolo · 05/23/2007, 06:28 PM

Are these any good?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113778

I might want to add one if it helps

Thanks

Vince

bertoni · 05/23/2007, 06:30 PM

UV doesn't really appear to do anything, from what I can tell based on the various reports, which are consistent with a placebo.

hansonfam · 05/23/2007, 07:10 PM

Hi Vince.

You can't do copper and hypo at the same time. Gotta pic one or the other.

Do a water change asap on the hospital tank and have a bottle of amaquel or prime ready so if the ammonia gets out of hand again you have something to detoxify it.

Lisa

Tremolo · 05/24/2007, 12:24 PM

ok i just finished up my water change i will test later to see what the parameters are. Here are pics of my clowns. Sorry about the size i wanted to wait for the lights to come on and didn't have time to resize before leaving for work.

05/23/2007, 12:25 PM	#1
Tremolo Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Aurora IL Posts: 644	something is wrong with my clowns help I recently lost my flame hawk from what i think is ich in qt. I put him in the qt tank as soon as i could. Now my clowns are showing little white specs and and their fins and tails have something stringy on them. I cant put them in the qt because there is still high ammonia from the flame hawk that died. Is there anything i can do to help them out?? I just gave them a FW dip for about 10 min. and they are still eating. I would hate to loose them too. Thanks Vince

05/23/2007, 02:36 PM	#5
alan214 Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The Colony, TX Posts: 1,258	As suggested above, get your QT tank stabilized with water changes. In the meantime FW dips are about all you can do. Feeding food enhanced with garlic may help but there is no scientific evidence that this is the case. The main thing is to make sure the fish are eating. __________________ I live really close to the airport. The other day I was walking across the living room and the stewardess told me to take my seat. Current Tank Info: 73G FOWLR

05/23/2007, 06:30 PM	#8
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	UV doesn't really appear to do anything, from what I can tell based on the various reports, which are consistent with a placebo. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/23/2007, 07:10 PM	#9
hansonfam Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Airdrie, Alberta, Canada Posts: 812	Hi Vince. You can't do copper and hypo at the same time. Gotta pic one or the other. Do a water change asap on the hospital tank and have a bottle of amaquel or prime ready so if the ammonia gets out of hand again you have something to detoxify it. Lisa __________________ 35 Gallon Solana Gigantea anemone species tank, 90 SPS dominated reef tank!! Current Tank Info: 90 gallon-Numerous corals,2 purple tangs,choclate mimic tang,yellow wrasse *2.In the 35 gallon 1 purple gig and 1 multi colour gig,pair of mis bar Aussie black clowns and a lawnmower Blennie!

05/23/2007, 12:45 PM	#2
sifuho Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 17	if you have high ammonia, why havent you done a water change yet? if they do have ich, put them in your QT and medicate it, use whatever u want to medicate it, Rid ich, no ich etc. If its still eating fine, you might consider using Garlic extract, marine C, and Zoe. it strenghten's their immune system with all the vitamins and hopefully able to fight off the ich. good luck.

05/23/2007, 12:57 PM	#3
williams-crist Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Iowa Posts: 465	Clown fish are suspectible to brook. Not sure if that's what they have but is the stringy stuff the skin peeling? If so, probably brook and you have to start quickly or you will lose the fish. Not sure if flame hawk is suspectible to brook or if this is ick. How long have spots been around? It takes a while for ich to kill the fish. But Brook is fast. THIS IS THE TREATMENT I WOULD RECOMMEND. In the past I bought a pair of clowns and they both got brook. I dipped them in a bath of methyline blue then dipped them in formalin bath then back to the meth blue bath then to a bucket. All the dips were made up of water from the QT tank. I dipped them twice a day. I think the actual formalin treatment is two stressful so that's why just the dip, some people dose the QT Tank. You really don't have a choice but to QT if you have ich/ or brook. Just get a plastic bucket and fill with water from your display tank and this can be your QT. Add airline to the bucket and be sure to add airline to the formalin bath. You really want to oxygenate that bath. This will work for both Brook and ich. But the trick is that ick drops from your fish every 3 days or so. If you notice all the spots are gone move them sooner to the next bucket. So, move the clowns from the bucket on the 3 day into a different bucket with newly mixed water. Empty the old bucket and let it airdry. On the third day move back to other bucket following the same procedure. The trick is that you are leaving the ick behind because it has dropped off the fish into the bucket. After the 1st bucket move you won't see anymore ick and if you do you won't by the 2nd move but still go ahead and move them twice then after day 6 put into QT tank to make sure they are ok. I use PRIME to keep ammonia in check. It's worked great for me. You really can not keep the QT tank cycled when using medications so the PRIME really does the job although I do perform small water changes weekly on the QT tank. Keep giving the clowns daily dips. I've heard people usiing freshwater dips and I think you could easily do the freshwater dip with meth blue. ( It really calms the fish and it boosts the hgb oxygen carrying capacity). Use dish washing gloves with this stuff though. what a mess it is. Formalin is also a carcinagin so just be careful with it and use the gloves. Be sure to offer your fish extra oxygenation what ever you do. The brook and ich make it difficult for them to gill. I hope this advice helps. I saved both my clowns and a yellow goby this way. Now I always dip clowns when I first get them. They are just so likely to get brook. I love clowns. I have two in one tank and a third in a different tank. Best of luck, Debra

05/23/2007, 01:04 PM	#4
williams-crist Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Iowa Posts: 465	Well, I wouldn't recommend using kick ich. It's really not a proven method. Although, I wish it would work ( it's much easier then above method). Also, if you have ick in your display tank you have to move all fish out for 3-4 weeks to kill the ick. There really is no other method. You could add a UV sterilizer but then you are just hoping that fish develop partial immunity to the ich. Any newcomers to the tank may have a hard time. Otherwish, leaving display tank fish free for 3-4 weeks is a sure thing. So, is the bucket move and Qting until display tank is ick free. KIck ich is not proven, putting garlic drops on food is a good idea but I've not seen it actually cure an ailing fish. It's more preventive. Feeding good nutrition is key to successful saltwater fish keeping. I'm not saying I'm an expert or anything. But I was a fish-killer in the early days. I did all kinds of things in the early days trying to figure what to do and I got a lot of bad advice from fish stores online people etc. I'm just trying to give you good advice that I personally have used and I know will work. Good Luck!

05/23/2007, 06:25 PM	#6
Tremolo Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Aurora IL Posts: 644	I havent done a water change on the QT tank because i thought that it has to cycle tank. i will do a water change on the QT in the morning. And i will keep FW dipping until i can put them in there. Once in there i will do hyposalinity (sp?) and copper treatment. Then wait 6 weeks to put them back into the display tank. I will take a pic when in the morning and post it to find out exacly what i have going on here. How does all of this sound? Thanks guys Vince

05/23/2007, 06:28 PM	#7
Tremolo Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Aurora IL Posts: 644	Are these any good? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113778 I might want to add one if it helps Thanks Vince

05/24/2007, 12:24 PM	#10
Tremolo Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Aurora IL Posts: 644	ok i just finished up my water change i will test later to see what the parameters are. Here are pics of my clowns. Sorry about the size i wanted to wait for the lights to come on and didn't have time to resize before leaving for work.