2 Gen Tangs killed by anemone.

[RichReef]

An LTA is not powerful enough to kill a fish. It's not fast, sticky, or stingy enough. Fish touch mine all the time. I touch it sometimes. It's the size of a basketball dominating an entire section of my tank.

I am sorry for the loss of your fish but it wasn't the LTA.

 

[iwnltom]

Just for the sake of your tank, just consider it wasn't the LTA, and think and see what it could be. Losing fish sucks, and I don't want you to lose anymore. Exhaust all possible causes.

What else could it be then ? I mean I’m out of ideas u know. I’ve checked everything.

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Sorry for your loss, that definitely sucks.
Maybe a few tentacles came of the nem and got shredded in the wave maker? If a tang took a mouthful of shredded tentacle I could definitely see it getting stung hard and eventually blown into the nem.

 

[areefer01]

I found it INSIDE the anemone when it was dead.

You do know that there is current / flow inside the display? A weak fish could easily be swept into the anemone.

I don't know what sort of anemone you have so won't comment on it other than it isn't out of the realm of possibility that your fish died from other causes. Usually aggressive anemones will eat the fish. Not leave it or hold it.

Regardless you should assess your display, fish, and decide what you want to do moving forward. You could send off an aquabiomics test and see if it reports any pathogens. That takes up to a month though so not immediate. While you wait for that don't add anything to the display and decide what you want to do with the anemone.

If you keep it then your fish selection may be reduced. Rehome it and wait. At a minimum I wouldn't add anything to that display for 3 to 5 months until you have a better estimate as to what happened. I wouldn't just assume it was the anemone. But that is just my opinion.

 

[Idech]

I would remove the anemone ASAP. Even if it’s not the direct cause of death, if the fish hadn’t been caught in it, they would have had a chance to survive. Maybe you would have noticed they were ill and QT’d them. Or maybe they would have just recovered on their own.

Get rid of it !

 

[iwnltom]

Wow, that's painful. Sorry to hear about your fish

Yes I never thought I’d be so upset over a fish. But those tangs were really the highlight of my days. I loved them.

 

[iwnltom]

Tank is too small for two Gem Tangs.
I wouldn't keep that anemone in my tank.

Sorry I miss wrote, one was a gem, one was a tomini

 

[nuxx Verified Sponsor]

Tank is too small for two Gem Tangs.
I wouldn't keep that anemone in my tank.

Agreed... especially two. Could have also been stress / aggression related.

BTW : My Gem was the size of a small dinner plate in a few years...

 

[iwnltom]

I would remove the anemone ASAP. Even if it’s not the direct cause of death, if the fish hadn’t been caught in it, they would have had a chance to survive. Maybe you would have noticed they were ill and QT’d them. Or maybe they would have just recovered on their own.

Get rid of it !

I did, it was the anemone. I brought the bodies into my local reef store. They were burnt. All over. My fish were healthy, I was observing the tang just last night. One must of got caught in it and died and the other went to check it out and got stung as well. It was 100% the anemone was the sole cause of death

 

[iwnltom]

You do know that there is current / flow inside the display? A weak fish could easily be swept into the anemone.

I don't know what sort of anemone you have so won't comment on it other than it isn't out of the realm of possibility that your fish died from other causes. Usually aggressive anemones will eat the fish. Not leave it or hold it.

Regardless you should assess your display, fish, and decide what you want to do moving forward. You could send off an aquabiomics test and see if it reports any pathogens. That takes up to a month though so not immediate. While you wait for that don't add anything to the display and decide what you want to do with the anemone.

If you keep it then your fish selection may be reduced. Rehome it and wait. At a minimum I wouldn't add anything to that display for 3 to 5 months until you have a better estimate as to what happened. I wouldn't just assume it was the anemone. But that is just my opinion.

I got all my water tested by my local reef store. My fish weren’t weak, they were very healthy just last night, eating and swimming about as always. The anemone was responsible.i even brought the bodies to the store and they were half eaten and burnt everywhere . But yes u agree, I’m going to take time off and leave it be.

 

[Reefing102]

I’m curious, and just throwing this out there, could the nem have carried a disease from the tank it came from (say flukes for example) and released it? I know nems can inflate/deflate by taking in and expelling water.

Thoughts?

 

[areefer01]

I got all my water tested by my local reef store.

Just for the record your LFS is not able to test the microbiom or DNA which is what the aquabiomics test does.

My fish weren’t weak, they were very healthy just last night, eating and swimming about as always. The anemone was responsible.i even brought the bodies to the store and they were half eaten and burnt everywhere . But yes u agree, I’m going to take time off and leave it be.

I do not see the picture here so if it was posted I apologize in advance. Can you take a picture that focuses on the anemone only please?

Also what fish do you currently have in the display?
Have you lost any other fish? I thought I read one other.
Fish - for how long?
Source of purchase?
Do you QT, if so what are your procedures?

You know what is in the display so that isn't something I am questioning. I am, however, sharing with you that it isn't out of the realm of possibility that your fish are sick or weak and flow dragged it into the anemone. Healthy fish as already mentioned in this thread a few times can navigate their way out of the anemone. Carpet anemones aside but I don't think that is what you have.

Regardless it is a bummer and sorry to hear.

 

[VintageReefer]

I’m sorry for your losses. How big were these tangs?

The burns and being eaten doesnt really matter. That could have happened post mortum

We’re the nems acclimated? Something could have stressed the tank, or a toxin released, the tangs were affected, died, and drifted to the anemone. they won’t kill a healthy active fish…but a very sick one or dead one the would treat as a meal

 

[Cell]

I cannot envision a healthy tang getting caught by an LTA and unable to swim away. Nor does it seem super plausible that this LTA has killed 4 fish in the past week, including 2 healthy tangs.

Are there any other fish left alive in your tank? When was the last fish added?

 

[VintageReefer]

It’s like when a fish does and the owner comes or covered in bristlelworms. Then they come here saying bristleworms killed my wrasse.

OP I absolutely see why you believe the nem did it, but there is something else that happened that needs to be figured out. The nem got a free meal but it’s not a killer. something else weakened or killed the tangs to the point where the nem was able to attempt to eat them

 

[Dbichler]

Agree with this wasn’t the lta have had several none of which are any fish had a haddoni on the other hand ate several so had to sell it.

 

[Nonya]

This. Sucks to loose a expensive fish!

And a girlfriend.

 

[VintageReefer]

So anemone introduced. Then you have small fish that died. Then two tangs

Maybe a sickness was introduced to the tank with the nem

 

[albano]

And a girlfriend.

The girlfriend can be rehomed!



Sorry for your loss… the good news is that Gem Tangs prices are way down lately!

 

[JayM]

IVe had all my fish for over a year, I haven’t added anything new, and I’ve had one other fish death, and I’m telling you it was caused by the anemone as I found it INSIDE the anemone when it was dead.

Correlation is not causation.