The Lightning Project

The ongoing saga of the PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish breeding project.

Taking a break from work..wow…already burned out and again, OT is in the future tonight!  But, I can take 10 minutes away to update you all on the status of the Maroons…
This morning, I was dealt another disheartening turn of events.  I went down before starting my workday and took a look.  I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Yup…that look s like Marine Ich, Cryptocaryon irritans.   Not a serious infestation, but I thought I saw this on her yesterday and sure enough, there it is again this morning.  Left scratching my head, and can only assume this was picked up before dropping the tank to hyposaline conditions.  Formalin is also supposed to have an impact, so come on…really?  I have to deal with ICH too?  I haven’t seen any outward signs of Brooklynella now since I first saw it and treated for it.  Still, I will follow the regime and do a final Formalin dip tomorrow.  You don’t stop medication the moment you “feel better” afterall.  You have to stick to protocols.  I was worried I was dealing with Amyloodinium, but so far, other than loss of appetite, I haven’t seen the symptoms I normally associate with it’s onset (i.e. rapid breathing).  Still, I have already been researching and planning for a possible switch from Formalin regiments to Cupramine (Seachem’s copper product, which I’ve had good results with in the past).
Well, I’ve been keeping the lights on for shorter periods of time and keeping the tank lit more with ambient light.  I’ve gone downstairs to feed a couple times today.
There IS positive news today.  The Lightning Maroon is back to EATING.  Formula 1 small Pellets and Spirulina Flakes, both by Ocean Nutrition.  And eating “well” too.  Swimming around “his” section of the tank a lot more.  This is a huge step forward.  Wish I could say the female is eating too, but still, no real response.
So overall, we have a negative and a positive canceling each other out for the time being.  At some point this evening, in between all the overtime for work, I’m going to do another water change to remove uneaten food.

I sent this one out to the experts, but I’m withholding my own thoughts.  This is the PNG Saddleback I mentioned earlier when I talked about Formalin dipping “replaceable” fish before going with the Maroons.  This Saddleback has been in hyposalinity (1.010) and has had a formalin dip daily for the last 3 days.  The tank was dosed at 1 drop Formalin per gallon on Friday, and again Sunday.  I also added in Maracyn SW (Erythromycin + B Vitamins) because I suspect secondary bacterial infections are kicking in.
I have my own theories and thoughts, but I’m going to WITHHOLD THEM because I don’t want to influence the opinions posted.  So please, comment with your opinion on what disease is actually killing this PNG Saddleback, and more importantly, state WHY you’ve reached your diagnosis if you want to have any credibility. Here’s some pictures and a video.

Video on Youtube:

– update – this fish was dead within 8 hours of these images and videos being taken.
And finally for this evening.  That incident where I almost killed this fish and the 4 Allardi with a Formalin dip that was likely way too strong?  Well, I’m still trying to make heads and tails of it, and I’ve been talking with Christine Williams about it (Christine is the Resident Expert for the forum on Marine Fish Health / Diseases at MASNA ).  If this well-known manufacturer’s documentation on their Formalin product has even Christine a bit confused, well, I think I might have to take back at least some responsibility for my error.
It turns out that potentially there may be straight up conflicting treatment instructions in their documentation that would result in a 10-fold difference in medication levels depending on which instruction you followed.  To me, that’s a HUGE problem.  Of course, I was unlucky in that I followed the higher of the two dosages!  In reading through their documentation carefully again, trying to weed out the actual product specifications, it could be that their product is only 10% of the strength of the standard Formalin I’ve been using (as I suggested earlier).  But this new found discrepancy in treatment instructions, and the continuing vagery about their actual product, could mean that I miss-dosed anywhere from 10 times to 100 times more Formalin than I was supposed to in the first dip.  I’m withholding the company and product name because I do not know yet if I’m right or not, and I’d like to get this whole mess cleared up before I go lambasting anyone.  But yeah, starting to think that this might not have really been “my fault”, except I’m still the one that actually did it!

Let’s be blunt, I am not liking how the Maroons are acting this evening. Cloudy water (from Formalin treatment in the tank) and both fish are kinda sulky. The female more than the Lightning Maroon.
I went downstairs, turned on the lights and offered food. A mixture of multiple types of mysis, brine shrimp, grated squid and freeze dried tubifex, all soaked with Super Selcon. The female as usual showed NO interest in food at all. The Lightning Maroon, I think he ate something but I can’t be certain…all he does now is hide behind the live rock. I’m thinking I may have to rearrange this tank for better observation. I truly cannot see what’s going on with these fish when they’re hiding like this. Pile on another impediment!
Earlier this evening, basically right after I set up their dip, I got some more clean water mixing and heating. After feeding this evening, I siphoned out whatever uneaten food I could get at, as well as giving the live rock a once over to suck out anything decaying. All told, another 5 gallon water came out. And in went fresh, clean saltwater with another 5 drops of Formalin.
Honestly, I feel like I’m getting all the deleterious effects of the Formalin without any of the benefits. Since I still do not know how much Formalin was removed by carbon, the safe way to bring up the levels is to continue on this route of water change and dose for the makeup water only. That conceivably should slowly get us up to that 1 drop per gallon concentration recommended by the manufacturer. However, I should also note that the manufacture suggests repeating this dosage every other day until control is achieved. I do not know if Formalin degrades in the tank or not, so I’m curious to think that I may not be dosing ENOUGH Formalin in the tank to be effective beyond killing off sensitive invertebrate life on the “live rock” biological filtration. I knew dosing Formalin in the tank was going to be a risk, but I thought the benefits would outweigh any risks. As of now, despite the die off, there are no measureable effects…all water parameters still testing out OK. So the stress exhibited by the Clownfish is not from elevated Ammonia or Nitrite, at least not that I can detect in my tests.
Admittedly, this is frustrating. I feel like if I’m not gaining ground I am losing it, even if we’re at a “stalemate” situation. The last time I was in a position like this was with my Onyx Percs, and I feel like I made much better headway, and a lot quicker. Then again, they had been in captivity for a few years, whereas this Maroon Pair is still fresh off the boat.
This quote from John Witt via email summed up the gravity and stress of this project better than I have thought of to date.  “I can’t imagine the stress you are under right now though.  With the orange spot filefish, no one expected a good outcome.  With Premnas you are expected to succeed, definitely more pressure.  Blogging about it doesn’t help much either.  Good luck…”
I knew what I was getting into when I accepted the fish, but honestly, I was more worried about trying to pair the fish, and whether the Lightning Maroon would get beat up or killed.  Dealing with disease, even on a fish handled as carefully as the Lightning Maroon, should simply reiterate for all readers just how difficult wild-caught Clownfish can be when compared to their captive-bred counterparts.   Something to keep in mind when you’re looking for your next clownfish.

Early this morning, before leaving for Easter brunch with Renee’s family, I snuck a look @ the Maroon Clowns.  To my dismay, it appeared that the female had spots of ICH (Cryptocaryon irritans) on her now?  Seriously?  Or maybe this is just spots of Velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatus)?  At this point, nothing would surprise me, but then again, I am really ticked off that things are not going BETTER at this point.  All three possible parasitic infestations, be it Marine Ich, Marine Velvet, or Brooklynella (Brooklynella hostilis), are all treatable with Formalin.  So even if I’ve misdiagnosed this completely, it shouldn’t matter.  I’m optimistic with my choice of action to deal with this, but honestly getting impatient.
The tank had become a bit cloudy by morning, largely owing to the death of various invertebrates from the formalin dosing (sadly, bye bye mushrooms that were on the live rock).  I dosed the tank with 20 drops of Chloram-X from Reed Mariculture as an ammonia controlling precaution, and left for the brunch.
Upon returning this afternoon, the female looked better and both fish were out and swimming.  Still, things needed to be done.  Jim Grassinger is a local hobbyist and is the guy who gave my Blue Jaw Triggerfish a home so I had a devoted tank for this project.   He is also the proprietor of www.TheFilterGuys.com.  A couple days ago Jim had dropped off a massive quantity of miscellaneous used aquarium equipment to go through and do with as I pleased (might use some in the future fishroom, might repurpose or repair other items for a myriad of things, including possible giveaways to our recently revitalized local club, the Lake Superior Marine Aquarium Club).
While riffling through all the stuff Jim dropped off, I had noticed a smaller Seaclone 100 Protein Skimmer.  I’d been running it on a 5 gallon bucket since last night to test it out, and it appears to be working.  So I threw this skimmer on the 20 gallon QT tank.  I know they don’t have good reputations for “maximum performance”, but at hyposaline conditions (SG = 1.010) I don’t expect much skimmate to collect anyway.  I’m largely doing this as an easy way to add extra gas exchange to their tank, important especially if these parasite infestations are continuing.  But who knows…with all that “death” in the tank, I could indeed collect some foam!  Better safe that sorry.
I’m not delaying, the pair has been placed into their second formalin dip as I type this…2 gallons of water, 40 drops of Formalin (2 ml Formalin into 2 gallons tank water) with aeration and an egg crate divider (so they can’t beat each other up during the dip).  They’ll stay in the dip for 45 minutes unless they show signs of stress sooner.
I’m already planning up another water change to siphon out any decaying inverts and uneaten food currently in the tank.  Will probably do that while they’re in the dip.  Being a 5 gallon water change, 5 more drops of formalin will be added along with the new water (which is still at 1.01o).

PNG Maroon Clownfish in the second of a 3 course formalin dip treatment.

The PNG Maroon Clowns are in their second of three every-other-day formalin dips.


Overall, they still look in GOOD shape, but I’m not taking chances, and I feel I’m doing everything I can to keep these fish clean.  I just really, really need to see them start eating soon here – if fish are eating, they’re hopefully not depleting precious fat reserves.  Will try feeding again later this evening.

Just a quick note to followup on my earlier status update.  I did the water tests in light of the cloudy water that presented today.  pH 8.0.  Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate at undetectable levels.  Removed that carbon bag I forgot about.  Rather than trying to pull out any and all residual Formalin to start with a baseline, I realized water changes can be utilized as an opportunity to dose up the main tank.  Based on the manufacturer’s dosage rate of 1 drop per gallon for in-tank use, I did a 5 gallon water change with fresh new saltwater at 1.010, and then added 5 drops of Formalin to the main tank.  Our tap pH is around 7.8 to 8.0, so I also dosed with Seachem’s Reef Buffer since I’m not using full strength salt mix (which means roughly 40% of the normal level of buffers for pH).
Feeding responses are still a big issue in my book, and since they’re not where I’d like them to be (STILL have not seen the female eat anything since her arrival), I’m assuming that Brooklynella remains an issue with the Maroons.  I anticipate staying on the course of treatment for dips outlined by Matt Wittenrich in his “Complete Illustrated Breeder’s Guide to Marine Aquarium Fish”, on page 161, which is 1 ML Formalin to 1 Gallon water (I’m using tank water) as a 45 minute bath, 3 treatments every other day.  Friday was the 1st, Sunday evening will be the 2nd, and Tuesday evening the third.  I’m continuing with the Formalin in the tank specificaly to prevent reinfestation, or to at least hopefully hold things in check in between dips.
That’s it for tonight!  Sleep tight and send positive thoughts to the little Ambassadors from PNG!

So back on March 31st, in the midst of plenty of hard-core programming for work, I got a call from Fed Ex.  Mark Martin had arranged for a “hold at facility” on my shipment, which meant that Fed Ex called me when the boxes arrived.  It is better, and often quicker, than letting the fish bounce around on the truck, possibly exposed to the elements.  The only added hassel is that you have to go to Fed Ex to pick up the shipment.

The Fed Ex Facility

Pulling up to the Fed Ex Facility...


Customer Parking

Got a prime parking spot...


Walking into Fed Ex

Walked in the front door...


Picture of Blue Zoo Aquatics Shipping Boxes

...and left with 2 big boxes of fish from Blue Zoo Aquatics!


Got home, and opened up the boxes.  Here’s how it went down…
Open up the box...

Open up the box...


...Take off the lid...

...Take off the lid...


Blue Zoo Care Packages...

Set aside the Blue Zoo Care Packages for later use


...Peel back the newspaper....

...Peel back the newspaper....


...Open up the outer bag...

...Open up the outer bag...


...check out the size of this bag...

...check out the size of this bag...I wonder what is in here?...


...open up the smaller bag containing the large Female SEASMART collected PNG Maroon Clownfish...

...open up the smaller bag containing the large Female SEASMART collected PNG Maroon Clownfish...


...check the Salinity in the bag....

...check the Salinity in the bag....


...Add in some Stress Guard....

...Adding in Stress Guard per the Blue Zoo Instructions...


...time to open the BIG BAG....

...time to open the BIG BAG....


...and there it is. The SEASMART-collected Lightning Maroon Clownfish from Papua New Guinea (PNG)!

...and there it is. The SEASMART-collected Lightning Maroon Clownfish from Papua New Guinea (PNG)!


Another look at the Lightning Maroon Clownfish in the bag!

Another look at the Lightning Maroon Clownfish in the bag!


Up close on the Lightning Maroon Clownfish - check out this dorsal view!

Up close on the Lightning Maroon Clownfish - check out this dorsal view!


Check out the relative symetry of the markings on this PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish, Premnas biaculeatus!

Check out the relative symetry of the markings on this PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish, Premnas biaculeatus!


Stay tuned for the next installment of the recap…”Accliimation”!
All images are copyright 2010 Matt Pedersen.  No reuse without express written consent!

Being down at the TCMAS frag swap today, many folks asked me for clarification…how many Lighting Maroons are there and how many was I actually sent by Blue Zoo Aquatics?
Well, according to Reef Builder’s Jake Adams…there have been two collected.  Three if you count the fish that Jake and Guin helped report about on April 1st, 2010.  Check out the report, here – http://reefbuilders.com/2010/04/01/lightning-maroon-clownfish-collected-seasmart-program/
For those international readers who many not have already gathered, this day is commonly known as “April Fool’s Day”.   Let me tell you know that EVEN I was suspicious that this was one of several exceptional April Fools Pranks perpetrated on the aquarium hobby & industry by Reef Builders Staff.  Nevertheless, Guin Burnard’s exceptional Photoshop Artwork had even this software guy (trained in Photoshop I might ad) to buy…or rather believe…the story.  I say believe, because there’s no way I could “buy it”.  Not after the first financial outlay this week!!!!
So yes, I was sent only 2 Maroon Clownfish.  One was a large female normally-striped PNG Maroon Clownfish, the second was the PNG Lightning Maroon Clown documented on Reef Builders here – http://reefbuilders.com/2010/03/30/lightning-maroon-clownfish-from-blue-zoo-aquatics-will-be-entrusted-to-an-accomplished-fishbreeder/
So that’s ONE legitimate Lighting Maroon Clownfish.
The OTHER legitimate Lightning Maroon Clown was the FIRST ever collected back in 2008, as reported here – http://reefbuilders.com/2008/09/21/wicked-maroon-clownfish-emerges-from-the-png/ – I have heard multiple stories about this fish, but cannot confirm any one to be any more true than the other.  Best to say that from my standpoint, the fate of this first Lightning Maroon is indeterminate.
So that’s TWO legitimate Lightning Maroon Clownfish.  I own one, the other is not something I can currently account for.
The third, as posted on April 1st, was a classic April Fool’s prank.  And such a thoroughly plausible and believable prank that in fact, I was so fully convinced despite my own skepticism that I actually have been left wondering…what was the actual prank?  Was the prank to concoct a 3rd Lightning Maroon, or in fact, was the actual prank to present the real 3rd Lightning Maroon, and then tell us all that sorry, it was just an April Fool’s prank?!
Chew on that for a while 😉

Today I went with Jay and Jim and made the trip to the TCMAS Frag Swap to deliver many of the fish I sold to help finance this adventure.  Thanks once again for everyone who chipped in on a moment’s notice!
Got back, and things are looking OK.  Back to work for me…which has been nothing but brick walls since I sat down this evening.  So taking a break, and updating you all!
Brooklynella wise, I didn’t see any outward signs on either Maroon.  I offered some food (Frozen Mysis and Brine, eriched) and the Lightning Maroon took a nibble, and the female Maroon certainly perked up, but has still not eaten.  Their tank water is a bit cloudy, likely from the Formalin knocking off stuff on the live rock, so I’ll test the water, possibly do a water change, perhaps add fresh carbon to take down any remaining formalin (since I goofed in the first place) and tomorrow afternoon, another round of dips and a fresh formalin treatment into their tank again.  I’ll tell you what I do for sure after I’ve done it!
Another nice tidbit…the new camera transfer cable showed up today, so I started sucking pictures out!  I’ll post up the first installment of a “recap” to get you all up to speed with how this process has been going.  LOTS of pictures in this next installment…

Well, things are going well.  Maroons are sleeping, doing well hours after their Formalin dips.
First, just to reiterate, my camera’s transfer cord was lost somewhere between LIRA’s NERAC V @ Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead, NY, and home (Duluth MN).  Thus, there are tons of pictures being taken, but sadly, until the replacement cord shows up, I don’ t get to share them.
On the topic of Sleep Deprevation – it pays to remember that you tossed a small bag of carbon in the tank you’ve just medicated hours earlier.  “Now What?” as they say.  Did the carbon pull out the Formalin I dosed the Maroon’s tank with?  All of it?  Part of it?  Well, since there isn’t a Formalin test kit, I think I’ll probably dump in a fresh bag of carbon to pull out any Formalin that wasn’t already pulled out, and then maybe dose the tank again.  Or not.  Overtime really fries your brain.
And yes, I’ve officially bled for the Maroon Clowns.  I knew it was bound to happen.  Among other fish sold to pay for this project is a Powder Blue Tang I bought for my wife a year or two ago.  Renee gave it her blessing rather easily, which kindof surprised me.  Well, I got up early to catch it this morning.  Of course, not wanting to mess around excessively, I ultimately used my hand to coax it out of the live rock, where I then cupped the fish against the glass and manipulated into a net for the brief trip to the bucket.  I got stabbed.  I had it coming.   A nice 1/4″ slice in the meat of my my right middle finger.  Considering I grated off a portion of the fingernail and tip of my right thumb last Sunday, and the Wednesday before NERAC V I had a random fishhook buried in my pinky finger while releasing a Steelhead near Erie, PA (required a trip to Urgent Care to get out), I think the warranty on my right hand has expired!
Lookin’ forward to seeing folks at the Twin Cities Marine Aquarium Club (TCMAS) Frag Swap today, where I’ll be dropping off and collecting on a few of the sales that funded this project!  Thanks again to everyone (including you Clint Manchester) for snatching up the fish I offered on Fire Sale (because you know, a fire sale on 3 Amphiproin latezonatus is still more than some people’s paychecks!)

OK, so please see my earlier post for details on how I almost really botched things but in the end, caught a lucky break by thinking not to try something out on the Maroons first 😉
The large “regular” female Maroon went through a 45 minute Formalin Dip (20 drops, or 1 ml, of true Formalin (37% Solution of Formaldehyde) into 1 gallon of tank water, heavily aerated). When I took her out and placed her back in the tank, she looked like a NEW clownfish. Not a milky patch or spot on her. So I proceded with the Lightning Maroon, and it went through equally well, and seemed rejuvenated upon return to the tank.  I also happened to dose the tank with Seachem’s  Reef Plus, a general vitamin additive that I routinely dose to all my tanks.
You may recall that earlier tonight I was weighing the pros and cons of dosing their TANK with Formalin. Well…the PNG Saddleback and Allardis have already had 1 drop per gallon in their tank for 24 hours with no problems. Still…wasn’t convinced as it could kill off some of the life on their live rock (for the record, Mushroom Anemones tolerated, not loved, but tolerated hypo salinity at 1.010). Well, while sitting around keeping an eye on the Lightning Maroon Clownfish, I saw a dwarf blue leg hermit crab crawling around in the tank I’d already dosed with Formalin. “Hmm”, I thought. “I would’ve pegged the Hermit Crab to be dead in hours, if not minutes.”
And so, compensating for the large amount of live rock in their otherwise barren 20 Long, the Lightning Maroon’s tank was dosed tonight with 15 drops of Formalin, this in the hopes of preventing or at least keeping down re-infestation between dips.
I think I’ll sleep OK tonight, but I have to get up in 5 hours to pack up all the fish I sold that helped PAY for this project in the first place!!!  And I need to find Rod’s Food and Seachem’s Stress Guard (Blue Zoo includes a pipette in each care package, and I really read up on the stuff..it’s going to be good to use with the Formalin treatments, and I used up the last of it on the fish I “fried” earlier tonight).