mari.harutunian June 20, 2017 Share June 20, 2017 My smaller (male?) clownfish is very fat looking which it has never been before. My female is too, but to a much lesser degree. I've been feeding mysis daily for seahorses and a little flake food to the clowns. The clowns have been hosting their corner much more frequently. The male hasn't left it for a while. Are they being overfed? Not enough variety? Parasites? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari.harutunian June 20, 2017 Author Share June 20, 2017 Just looked at the tank. Temperature got down to 70°. I do keep it around 74°-72° but I'm not sure how it fluctuated. Could this be the cause? No other fish appear fat or are behaving unusually. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf June 20, 2017 Share June 20, 2017 Is it having trouble swimming? How long since you fed any thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari.harutunian June 20, 2017 Author Share June 20, 2017 Is it having trouble swimming? How long since you fed any thing?It's swimming a bit slower than usual and gasping. The larger one is as active as ever. I feed mysis and flake every morning. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf June 21, 2017 Share June 21, 2017 Fish can get an enlarged swim bladder from over eating. Clowns can be pigs when it comes to food, see what he looks like in the morning before you feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari.harutunian June 21, 2017 Author Share June 21, 2017 Fish can get an enlarged swim bladder from over eating. Clowns can be pigs when it comes to food, see what he looks like in the morning before you feed. Ok. I think he was fat before feeding too. Not 100% sure. Thanks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 June 21, 2017 Share June 21, 2017 Mine can get fat like that after a good meal. Usually that doesn't happen though with the male because the female doesn't let the male out far enough to get in the food jet stream. I notice the fat belly is gone though after food is digested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari.harutunian June 21, 2017 Author Share June 21, 2017 Mine can get fat like that after a good meal. Usually that doesn't happen though with the male because the female doesn't let the male out far enough to get in the food jet stream. I notice the fat belly is gone though after food is digested I'll check again when I get home. The tank is only a 36 gallon and the male gets plenty of food. I hope that's it. Thanks for the info. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 21, 2017 Share June 21, 2017 Lower temps do reduce metabolism which could account for slower digestion but that is pure speculation as to the possible problem (if there is one). Is there a reason you keep the temps this low? Natural reef environments typically remain above 71° in the coolest months and average closer to 75° for winter periods (85° + in the warmer months). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari.harutunian June 21, 2017 Author Share June 21, 2017 Lower temps do reduce metabolism which could account for slower digestion but that is pure speculation as to the possible problem (if there is one). Is there a reason you keep the temps this low? Natural reef environments typically remain above 71° in the coolest months and average closer to 75° for winter periods (85° + in the warmer months). I have a pair of seahorses in the tank. Lower temps greatly decrease their chance of getting disease. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madweazl June 21, 2017 Share June 21, 2017 I have a pair of seahorses in the tank. Lower temps greatly decrease their chance of getting disease. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Ah, I see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr June 21, 2017 Share June 21, 2017 any white strings in the feces or pock marks or scratches from flashing? IME flukes can cause this from distension; watch for adult parasites to be discharged in the feces (white string). Praziquantel is a harmless prophylactic that will cause the paraites to exit en masse. DO NOT USE PRAZI PRO. If it is swimm bladder, difficulty swimming does not conclude it to be so exclusively; if swim bladder was the culprit then a loss of equilibrium would be evident as well. If it is iz intestinal parasites, then reducing the feeding can also cause the adult stage parasites to evacuate to find another host. HTH Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari.harutunian June 21, 2017 Author Share June 21, 2017 any white strings in the feces or pock marks or scratches from flashing? IME flukes can cause this from distension; watch for adult parasites to be discharged in the feces (white string). Praziquantel is a harmless prophylactic that will cause the paraites to exit en masse. DO NOT USE PRAZI PRO. If it is swimm bladder, difficulty swimming does not conclude it to be so exclusively; if swim bladder was the culprit then a loss of equilibrium would be evident as well. If it is iz intestinal parasites, then reducing the feeding can also cause the adult stage parasites to evacuate to find another host. HTH Sean Thanks for the great info! So far I have not seen any white strings but there is a slight irregularity of the scales on its distended belly. The belly looks less pronounced today but only by a hair. I'll keep an eye out for signs. Flukes can also be treated by freshwater dip, right? And will praziquantel affect corals/inverts/seahorses? Also, the difficulty swimming is not pronounced at all. Has no difficulty moving up and down just not as "excited" as a regular clown would be. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr June 22, 2017 Share June 22, 2017 Scale distension can be a sign of external parasites, or one of the digeneans life stages. If the healthy scales lay flush, un unhealthy scale looks akin to a ruffled feather. I wouldn't use prazi in a tank with inverts as Ive never tried and wouldn't advise it; molting crustaceans might have sensitivity to the meds. Corals would rerspond defensively, causing stress but I don't think theres toxicity. Seahorses should be fine, but I would check with a seahorse authority, bc I am not. For external parasites buffered FW dips are effective. But only against the larva attached to the fishes epithelium. This addresses only one stage in its life cycle. For example when treating digenean flukes in my previous location, I would first acclimate the fish to hypo salinity ( 1.009 ~1.012). Then I would administer Copper sulfate; I liked copper power because it had long term water solubilty unlike cupramine. The for the two weeks they were in treatment I would administer praziquantel solubilized in cheap vodka and administer a bath. The length of the bath was different depending the type and severity of infection as well as overall health of the fish during treatment. Hypo eliminates a majority of the larva, copper sulfate eliminates the remainder of the larva and young adults, while the prazi once in the fishes system will cause adults to drop off. Point being there are several treatment methods available, just be cognizant of which life stage you are targeting with your treatment and which may still pose a threat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari.harutunian June 22, 2017 Author Share June 22, 2017 The large belly is gone?????? The scales are still slightly unusual but they are not raised like ruffled feathers. The larger clown has been nipping a bit but not hard. The only thing I've done between now and noticing is raise the temperature and feed mysis and flake. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr June 22, 2017 Share June 22, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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