Clarkii Clown... sick? stressed? or just sulking?

[linda lee]

I was thrilled when I got up this a.m. and saw that my new little Clarkii clownfish had finally *spent the night* in the anemone with my large female (he's been trying for 3 weeks). But this afternoon, she's not looking well.

I noticed black spots appearing on her 3-4 days ago that almost look like leopard spots (dappling). She's also changed color from bright yellow/black/white to a more orange.

She had no interest in feeding her 'nem this afternoon (a first, but the little guy did the work) and she isn't interested in food for herself either, not even pellets, which she normally scarfs down.

Her mouth is open and she seems to be breathing slightly more rapidly, but isn't actually gasping.

And what worries me the most is that she didn't attack me when I put my hand in the tank to do a little tank maintenance.

This clownfish has been extremely healthy and none of my other fish are showing signs of any problems.

The only major change I've made is to add a light fixture to the tank that has increased the lighting significantly, but the MH's are off for a good part of the day and the light is hanging pretty high up (about 8").

Should I worry?

Or is this normal behavior when an ol' spinster finally allows a young gun into her boudoir?

 

[victor626nj]

check your temp linda could it have changed due to the new lights or watch out for broki hope its not that but if it is i have some medication and a qt you can use good luck and hope its doing better tomorrow

 

[linda lee]

Temp is fine ... went up maybe 1-2 degrees and is staying betwee 79-81. Looks nothing like Brook ... no white stuff anywhere.

Here are some pictures:

Anemone For Two:

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/356/356865/folders/273164/22521821-AnemoneForTwo.JPG" alt="" />

Leopard Clarkii:

[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/356/356865/folders/273164/22521842-LeopardClarkii.JPG" alt="" />

 

[victor626nj]

if your talking about the one in the left i think thats from the anemone or just of old age but on a side not your anemne looks bleached out do you feed it

 

[linda lee]

Clarkii feeds it daily, but it's been under PC's for a couple months and never moved off the sandbed to seek more light.

Hoping the recent addition of T-5's with MH's will bring the color back in time.

 

[victor626nj]

well thats a good sign good luck with your clarkii

 

[linda lee]

She's now listing on her side and literally falling out of the anenome. Every now and then, she spasms. Pretty sure she's dying. Her mouth is locked open and it almost looks like she has a swollen tongue. Fish don't have tongues, do they?

Not much interest in the Clarkii clown, I guess. No one has anything to say except for Victor (thanks, Flaco!!). No, this isn't one of those rare, expensive clowns, but I really liked this fish. She has personality and grit.

I know there were posts not long ago about *black spots on clowns* and I've searched and searched. I can never get anywhere with the search engine on this site. Very frustrating.

Sad evening.

G'nite all.

 

[jefft]

Kind of the same thing happened to me with my Maroon Clowns. The female was always in the GBTA and one day the male moved in and they seemed to be happy in the GBTA. Then just a couple days later she did the same as yours. Couple days later she died and the male is still living in the nem as if nothing happened.

 

[dakota9]

I'm very sorry Linda. I haven't spoken up because I know nothing of fish diseases, but have been silently checking the thread, hoping it was going to be fine. That was a good clown fish! It would host in anything, and feed it to boot, thats rare for a clown fish.

 

[linda lee]

Should I treat this fish? Anyone have any ideas? She's still alive but doesn't want to come out of the anenome much. Her bottom jaw is jutted forward and her mouth is open. She won't eat. Also has a small area of white stuff near her side fins.

Hate to just let her die without trying anything at all.

 

[dakota9]

Doesn't sound like theres much you can do Linda.......

 

[linda lee]

Everyone's usually so full of advice. No one cares about a lowly clarkii.

This sux.

 

[dannybradley]

I know this sounds odd, but those black marks look like stings. You also said this didn't happen until the clown hosted. Clarkii prefer sebae anemones, so I wonder if there was any issue with transition to a BTA in getting used to their nematocyst. Your clown is behaving in a way that could also indicate a toxin in the body. Take this with a HUGE grain of salt, as it does seem a little far fetched. It's just the first thing that occured to me when I saw the welts on the body.

 

[dannybradley]

It may also be brusing. If your other clown decided that it wants to be the female, there may have been some fighting.

 

[linda lee]

DannyBradley;105724 wrote: I know this sounds odd, but those black marks look like stings. You also said this didn't happen until the clown hosted. Clarkii prefer sebae anemones, so I wonder if there was any issue with transition to a BTA in getting used to their nematocyst. Your clown is behaving in a way that could also indicate a toxin in the body. Take this with a HUGE grain of salt, as it does seem a little far fetched. It's just the first thing that occured to me when I saw the welts on the body.

She's been hosting this GBTA ever since I got her... a couple months, Dakota? I can't remember the exact date. Has never had a problem with stings.

This didn't happen until the <u>second</u> cown joined her in the anemone. Didn't really see any fighting and these 2 clowns have been in the same tank now for 3 weeks. The little guy had been getting closer and closer to the 'nem (sometimes she'd chase him away, but not with much enthusiasm) and then finally spent the night in the anemone night before last.

So the little one could have *decided* to become female with an established female already in the tank? I didn't know that.

Oh well... going to the West Cobb/Paulding night out and have a cold beer and ribs.

Good advice on the cocktail, Barb!!! Come on down and join us?

 

[dakota9]

You took the clarkii home in early september. The clarkii looked less like it was developing dark spots, than looks like it was losing color unevenly (just from what i can see of the one pic (it's the same clarkii in my avatar from 6 months ago).

 

[dakota9]

Oh, and that clarkii hosted a condi, and a rock anemone, along with a BTA (clone of Linda's from fester) in the year+ that I had it.

 

[dannybradley]

I told you it was a stretch.

 

[linda lee]

rlmblm21;105845 wrote: Linda, how's the clarkii this morning?

same ... but she seems interested in food, just can't seem to eat.

I wonder if there's an obstruction that is holding her mouth open.

I took some videos, but they came out as .mov files. Don't know if I can upload to YouTube. I've never tried that site.

 

[ckwatson]

I have a perc that this happened to, the mouth was just stuck open one day, I hope you can find out what is wrong i was not able to and mine died after a few days I think it was just because it was not eating. What do people think about a FW dip if it got some kind of parasite that is causing the spotting. I dont know if that would help at all I am new to all of this