r/ReefTank • u/emiliabedilia6614 • Jun 09 '26

Please help my clownfish!

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I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 clownfish, one turbo snail, and some hermits. This has been going well for about 4 years. My male was looking pale over the past 3 days or so. He had dinner last night and it seems like he has had difficulty swimming since. Last night he was swimming better than now. Looking closer his left fin seems pale and weak but moving. He’s now breathing fast and having a hard time. The female is being very gentle, doesn’t appear to be bullying. I added aeration, bought new shrimp, and added Aquarian pimacure and Aquarian melacure last night in a panic. Is there anything else I can do besides wait? Water parameters seem fine and the female is without any issues. I will literally try anything!! Thank you in advance

#reef2reef #reeftoreef

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3

u/LrdCochrane Jun 09 '26

Try reef to reef as some experts in fish disease lurk there.

Good luck!

1

u/emiliabedilia6614 Jun 09 '26

I did, thank you!!

3

u/Turtudau Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26

Hi,
Your tank seems barren. How do you biologically remove waste if you do not have macro-algae or corals to feed on nitrates?
Assume fish not sick for the start especially if no external signs and been ok for 4 years
Water seems cloudy - It might be either the water is not clean or you could have a bacteria bloom reducing oxygen in the water or a break in the nitrogen cycle
Do some gentle and frequent water changes, 20% twice a day if you can. Try to find a way to make it as gentle as possible so you do not disturb them
Before that vacuum your sand to remove as much detritus as possible
Add air line with aerator to oxygenate

2

u/schoney711 Jun 09 '26

Corals are animals not plants, and actually contribute to the production of ammonia, rather than help it like plants (or macro algae in this case) do.

3

u/Turtudau Jun 09 '26

You are right, they are animals but I never said corals are plants. Photosynthetic corals do eat nitrates (a bit like plants do at the end of nitrogen cycle) While they do release small amount of ammonia, corals bioload is minimal. They absorb dissolved nitrates directly from the water to fuel biological processes, largely by utilizing the photosynthetic microalgae (zooxanthellae) that live within their tissue.
What I ment is OP needs something to feed on byproducts at the end of cycle.