Aqua Girl Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 So I awoke this morning to my orange Ocillaris being taken over by my shrimp and hermit crabs, not a fun way to start the day. As sad as it is to lose a fish, I can't help but be concerned about my other black ocillaris clown. The two were juveniles, very small, and had not assumed their roles yet. The deceased clown was the agressive one, and was always a bit more 'high strung' than the black clown which is laid back and happily hosting the BTA. I did a water change yesterday, as I do every Wednesday. After I did the water change, I waited a few hours for the water to homogenize before I took it to the LFS to have it tested. Everything was good. I looked up Brooklynella today and can honestly say that the deceased fish did not exhibit any of the characteristics that I saw to be symptoms. This was the fish that hosted my zoas and would completely lay directly on top of them during the night. I also noticed that this fish developed a black spot which I read was probably from hosting things that it shouldn't. I feed everyother day at the same time, and it took food well and was very hungry when I fed on Tuesday night. Should I be worried for the health of my other clown? I feel like I do everything that I can to create the healthiest environment for my fish. I go into the LFS at least 3 times a week to check my water. Also, when I am ready to introduce another clown, is it ok to get a slightly larger one. The black one is really small and very passive so I couldnt imagine him being the 'dominant' one. Is there any other questions or concerns that I should have. Or is this possibly an isolated freak incident, or the case of a 'bad' fish? Thanks in advance Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+C Lo Slice Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 It sucks losing fish. I just lost my first one last month (green mandarin). How many fish do you have, and how long has the tank been running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Girl Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 I bought the tank pre established. It had been running since 2008. It didnt have much in it when i bought it except some rock, shrimp, and a dottyback which I traded so that they wouldnt die from the move. I kept all the old est. water and added new rock and sand. Let cycle for a few weeks before adding my clean up crew and fish later. Two small clowns and a starry blenny. Everything in the tank is thriving which I like to attribute to my devotion and research put in before even starting this venture. Which kind of makes me want to think that this was an isolated incident. Like I said before, I believe that fish was a little stressed from the beginning. I did notice him looking somewhat thin although he ate. last night I also noticed weird behavior of him laying on the rock (not laying on his side) near his hosting zoa but to me it looked like he wanted to host the rock so I didnt think anything of it but now it makes me wonder if he was actually dying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Hey Aqua Girl, Lighten up on yourself. Stuff happens. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+C Lo Slice Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Exactly what Patrick said. A lot of times, there's just nothing you can do. You sound like you've done your research and keep a very close eye on everything. Fish can be fragile. Don't let it get you down on the hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Girl Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 (edited) Ya I need to give myself a break. I take the lives of everyone in my aquarium pretty seriously, even the strange and ugly things ... So I've been at school all day and got home to further examine my black clown, and it appears that ich was involved. The clown is just so small, and so are the tiny little white spots that I never noticed it. I called up to the fish store and they said they have an herbal ich remover that is reef safe called Herbtana. Has anybody had experience with this stuff before, good or bad? I'm willing to give it a try asap. Edited September 8, 2011 by Aqua Girl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Sometimes you can get rid of ich by doing frequent water changes (10% a day or every other day). I just introduced a lawn mower blenny into my tank with two black clowns. The next day, both have a few parasites on them. I've been doing water changes and keeping an eye on them. It hasn't gotten better yet, but it hasn't progressed either. If the fish is acting normal (swimming, eating, breathing), then you may just keep up on the water changes. If the fish is acting sick (not eating, fast moving gills, swimming irradically or not at all), then its time to medicate. Its better to medicate just the infected fish in a hospital tank, instead of your main display tank. If you go to a local saltwater store, they should be able to help you pick out the right medication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+C Lo Slice Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Its better to medicate just the infected fish in a hospital tank, instead of your main display tank. This. When using medication, its always best to do it seperate from your display tank. Copper is a common additive in Ich Medications, and copper will kill corals and inverts. I battled ich not long ago with my Kole Tang, and what I was told to do was to supplement feeding. Since then, I have been putting a cube of Mysis in a shot glass once a week and adding a dash of garlic extract (to entice the fish to eat) and a dash of Vitamin C (to boost their immune system). Since then, I haven't seen any ich, except in my newly added Strawberry Pseudochromis. Once I noticed ich in her, I used this method and she has been healthy as a horse since then. Like Teresa said, if the fish are swimming and eating normally, there is no need to take them out of the tank unless you really want to be cautious. Try the method I used if they're acting normally and see what happens. If that doesn't do anything, I would set up a Quarantine Tank (QT) ASAP. A good rule of thumb that I was taught well before I even got my first tank was to never add anything that you can't test for (i.e., medications) unless its in a QT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 I am sorry to hear about your loss. Having also read C Lo SLice's thread I would encourage you both to look into quarantine tanks and or UV sterilizers. There's plenty of info online and in other posts here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Girl Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 The black clown is eating like a pig, and probably happier now that the more aggressive clown isn't around to bully him. So what your saying is if he is acting normal, which he is, then just feed him with the garlic/vitamin C mixture and the ich should regress? I have vitamin C pills that I could just dissolve right? Is it possible to overdose on vitC because Im not sure how much a 'dash' constitutes as? Is the garlic extract in liquid or powder form when you add it? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+C Lo Slice Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 The black clown is eating like a pig, and probably happier now that the more aggressive clown isn't around to bully him. So what your saying is if he is acting normal, which he is, then just feed him with the garlic/vitamin C mixture and the ich should regress? I have vitamin C pills that I could just dissolve right? Is it possible to overdose on vitC because Im not sure how much a 'dash' constitutes as? Is the garlic extract in liquid or powder form when you add it? Thanks! It MIGHT regress. All I'm saying is that it seems help with my fish, but keep in mind that no two fish are alike so just don't get your hopes up. Both the garlic extract and vitamin c that i use are in liquid form. A quick dash for me is just enough to cover the cube of food in the shot glass. I swish it around a bit to mix it all together then toss it in the fridge overnight. When I'm ready to feed, i don't dump the whole thing in the tank (this goes back to my rule of not adding things to the tank that I can't test for), although I don't think it would hurt anything. I just pinch the food out of the shot glass, put it in the tank, and discard the remaining liquid. As far as the pill form vitamin c, someone else will have to chime in about it. I don't imagine it hurting anything, but better safe than sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasonHoff Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 (edited) soak your food in zoe and garlic extreme. i recomend a 1/3 of doseage recomended. and only soak food in vitamins once a week. and feed fish every third day kent marine zoe kent marine garlic extreme and you tank and coral will appreciate some iodine once a week too kent marine lugouls solution Edited September 9, 2011 by MasonHoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmthree Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 You can order the Garlic extreme on amazon in a 4oz bottle for $20 plus shipping. At the LFS you will pay like $20 for a 1oz bottle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 In addition to garlic being a good appetite stimulator (I always cook with it.), garlic is a strong anti-oxidant. For the same reason that aintioxidats are good for people, they are good for the fish. I do not think it is possible to OD on garlic. Just a joke. With respect to ich, it is a parasite that has a vulnerable larva stage. A method to treat an infected tank, if the fish is infected, then the tank is infected, is to reduce the salinity to 1.010 for two weeks at a minimum. When fish are stressed, their immune systems often allow what had been dormant to take effect. The fish carries the ich parasite in two of the three life stages of this parasite. The third stage is in the water column. While water changes and UV sterilizers reduce the population density they do not eliminate the parasite. I disagree "that dilution is the solutin to pollution". If you want to read about ich management go to http://forum.marinedepot.com/ Patrick Tim, I got some red macro that I can not identify. If you are down on this end anytime, come by and I will give you some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+C Lo Slice Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Keep in mind, though, that using the hyposalinity treatment should also be done in a QT. Dropping salinity that low will kill off any Inverts you may have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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