one of my clownfish (female) keeps hiding behind rocks

[jenreef]

all of the sudden our female clownfish has been hiding in back of the rocks. while the other clownfish which is a male is out swimming and very happy. can this be a possible sign of she's going to lay eggs soon? im getting worried because the clownfish that is hiding was never like that. she's usually always out in the open swimming with the other clownfish. and now she stays by herself behind rocks and won't come out

 

[frank180reef]

The larger is the female........................do they both eat?

 

[jenreef]

the male clownfish that's swims around, he is eating well. the female clownfish that is hiding in back of the rock, she is not eating

does this mean she is sick???

 

[gweston]

I'd keep a -very- close eye on her. My female never hid when she was laying. Even when she was sick she didn't hide, but she was a super friendly/sociable fish. Note the 'was'. She got a bad case of dropsy and it all went downhill. Even after all sorts of meds in the hospital tank.

If she is eating. That is very promising. If she stops eating you may want to think about trying to move her to a quarantine for observation/treatment as soon as possible. When a healthy happy fish stops eating and starts to hide, it is a very bad sign and they don't easily get over it without intervention.

If you can get a good look. Or even better.. a clear picture of her showing physical symptoms.. you can maybe get a diagnosis.

*I am dealing with such a situation with my favorite 'very friendly' Midas Blenny as of the weekend... not eating and was hiding, scared, and behaving odd.. I observed (he missed three meals and he is usually a PIG), then did a Formalin-MS dip for 45 minutes, and moved to hospital and started a course of Meracyn-2 antibiotic. I am suspecting an internal problem, but the Formalin was to deal with potential external parasitic or fungal issues before treating internally with antibiotics. If problems continue after the Meracyn-2 course for 5 days. The last ditch effort may be to try prazipro. By then if things don't improve and he isn't eating, it will probably be too late.

 

[jenreef]

the clownfish just came out to the front of the tank and she doesn't look good at all, she is pooping white. you can tell she is very weak. she looks like she has no energy to swim at all

 

[jenreef]

picture of the sick clownfish. with the white stringy poop still attached to it

 

[gweston]

Looks like an internal parasitic infection. White stringy poop indicates that. I'd start a Prazipro treatment ASAP. My female clown had similar symptoms when she started, but eventually led to an internal/swim bladder infection that didn't end well. I think the white stringy stuff is the parasite being pooped out. Can also be intestinal lining sloughing off too (nasty).

I think Metronidazole may be an effective alternate choice for treatment too.

If you can't get your hands on Prazipro easily from a LFS, a local BRS reefer may have some on hand so you can start your dose. You can theoretically treat your entire display tank with Prazipro if you follow the instructions, but it warns that ornamental worms and feather dusters could be harmed or killed by it. I never treated a display though... always in a hospital tank. I don't like meds in the display. Just vitamins/garlic on occasion.

 

[gweston]

Also.. I have some Prazipro and Metro+ on hand. I live in Gardner MA. You are welcome to pick up a bit of either/both tonight (send a PM). The Metro+ is powder. Plastic baggy is fine. The Prazipro is liquid. If you have a tester tube from a test kit, could use that to transport it. It doesn't take much to treat a quarantine tank.

My wife is around during the day too, but she doesn't know about tanks or meds. I can set meds aside if you want to pickup morning/daytime tomorrow too.

Unfort my tiny 5 gal QT with power filter is occupied as I am treating my Midas Blenny. If you were in need of a tank I'd gladly loan it out too.

 

[jenreef]

sadly i can't get those medications right now and i can't get to gardner. i heard about giving them fresh water dip. will that work?

 

[gweston]

Krystal Clear Aquatics in Worcester may stock the meds or something that would work. I got the metro+ from Tropic Isle in Framingham over the summer.

A short freshwater dip might help with certain external parasites. Not sure about internal ones.

 

[Sapooloo]

tagging along, got a clown thats had white stringy poo for a while.

 

[The Ng Thing]

weird ... the same thing just happened to one of my freshwater fish. Metronidazole is the most effective if you can get the fish to eat it. Good luck.