# HELP please - Clarkii not eaten for weeks, less active, dying!



## Clarky35gal (Dec 27, 2012)

Help, my large Clarkii female is really skinny and has been less active except when she chases the male away, otherwise hiding behind the rocks. She has been picking at the food for weeks, I thought she might be trying to breed or something like that. I had both of them since the beginning in Dec. 2012, they came with the tank and have been living in it for years. The ADR (ain't doing right) may have started at the same time as my Dori having ick but that was quickly resolved with slow tank temp increases and back down a few days later. I do have these calcium like deposits on my tank walls, white, about 1 mm, snail like if you look very closely. They have been there for a few weeks, not increasing in size or numbers, very difficult to wipe off, I left them in the back not to disturbe my coreline. Water quality perfect (0 nitates, minimal nitrites, ph 8 or higher...), 4 fish in 35 gal (Clarkii female is biggest, male is med size, tiny Dori, small Valentine puffer, 2 cleaner shrimp, CAC), life rock, coral sand, 78F, specGrav. 1023-1025, weekly 5 gal water changes, monthly filter changes etc. 
Any advice?


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

You should not have any reading of Nitrites in a cycled tank. ?? What have you done to the tank to have it mini cycle on you?
Have you tried to feed them food soaked in Garlic X? This will entice the fish and help with immune system.


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## Clarky35gal (Dec 27, 2012)

According to the some other folks at the forum Nitrites are never zero, the guys at my Aquarium store said the same. Anyway, they gave me some API Melafix last week, the Clarkii became more active but still not eating more than 1 or 2 bites every other day. Today (day 5 of the treatment) I found all of my fish hyperventilating, Dori laying on the side, not moving. I changed 25 % of the water instantly and turned the filter back on, Dori started swimming 1/2 hr later but is still behaving crazed. I don't think I will try more meds, I might just freeze the Clarkii female, don't want to loose the other fish over O2 deprivation.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Don't care what others are telling you. NITRITES should always read 0. If you have Nitrites, then you have Ammonia, see where i'm going with this?
My tank never reads Nitrites, never.


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## Sully (Oct 31, 2012)

Please listen to Reefing on this one. If you have nitr(I)tes you have problems. If it's nitr(A)tes and there at or below 20 ppm (FOWLR) or below 10 ppm (Reef sysytem) then you should start looking for other issues. No reason at all to have nitr(I)tes if your tank is cycled.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Think you're confusing nitrItes for nitrAtes.You will always have nitrAtes,once established you should never have nitrItes.
And the melafix(or any of the"fixes") are what is called tea tree extracts(not really from tea trees) but is truely an oil that will coat the surface of your water and cause major gas exchange issues.That would be why your fish seem to be lacking oxygen,THEY ARE!The fixes are use by some with no problems but great amounts of documentation exist about the deadly side effects of these products.
I'm curious why you say you turned your filter back ON?Did you have it turned off while medicating because that would not be good or necessary.If you have an air pump start using it to agitate the surace and help gas exchange.If you can see the "oil slick" on the surface use newspaper to remove it:lay newspaper on surface of water and draw it off one end to the other,oil and protiens on the surface will stick to the newspaper(this is very old school,but does work)Possibly lowering your water level an inch or two will help the filter also agitate the surface and help with gas exchange.
the garlic X is a good idea and has been known to provoke the most finicky feeders.
What have you been feeding your fish regulary?


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

Clarky35gal said:


> According to the some other folks at the forum Nitrites are never zero, the guys at my Aquarium store said the same. Anyway, they gave me some API Melafix last week, the Clarkii became more active but still not eating more than 1 or 2 bites every other day. Today (day 5 of the treatment) I found all of my fish hyperventilating, Dori laying on the side, not moving. I changed 25 % of the water instantly and turned the filter back on, Dori started swimming 1/2 hr later but is still behaving crazed. I don't think I will try more meds, I might just freeze the Clarkii female, don't want to loose the other fish over O2 deprivation.


Freezing a fish (that is still eating small amounts each day btw), is not going to increase the oxygen levels in the water column. Instead, study her behavior and learn from it...if she dies, she dies. Fish die. That said, Melafix is not an appetite stimulant nor is it the "quick fix" its presented to be by some pet store employees. I will never understand how Melafix became the "go to" product for everything and as coralbandit said, it can do more harm than good. I wasn't there, but I wonder if you were given bad advice. 

With that, I'd do everything coralbandit suggested and just let whatever's going on with your clownfish run it's course. The behavior you described is not unusual for a female clownfish...including the weight loss. Her weight loss is likely two-fold, due to an environmental stressor and some innate breeding behavior that's confusing to us humans. Basically, she's burning more calories than she's consuming. She may be obsessing over something such as a tank-mate. And I realize clowns and puffers are considered compatible to a degree...but a spawning pair of clowns are not going to want a puffer in their tank. It's also possible she could have an internal parasite but less likely...still something to consider.

What are your nitrite levels btw? I'm just curious. The femals clowns original behavior did not sound indicative of nitrite poisoning and clowns in general tend to tolerate low levels of nitrites. Still, if you have *detectable* nitrites, the ammonia point reefing maddness made should be considered for the long-term health of all your fish. Ammonia is poison. And while it's true that nitrite is always present in minute levels, it's shouldn't be detectable with whatever test kit you're using.


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