Baby Clown fish dying

[Sooalways]

Hi everyone,

I am new to fish keeping and have just introduced my first fish after a successful fishless cycle. I will try to give as much information as possible but really need some help. I purchased 4 baby clownfish on Sunday, two orange and white and two black and white. I came home today to find one of the orange clowns dead and the second looks to be on its way. The black and white ones are perfectly fine and seem to be ok. I have tested my water and 0 ammonia and Nitrate. Tank temperature is 26oC and the PH is 8.01. Does anyone have an idea as to what is happening?

 

[GoReefin]

Clown fish are territorial and could be fighting between the two pairs. How large is the tank?

 

[Adamantium]

Agreed with @GoReefin

Clowns shouldn't be kept as more than a pair unless you have a HUMONGOUS tank (400+ gallons). Very likely that they got bullied to death.

 

[Sooalways]

Clown fish are territorial and could be fighting between the two pairs. How large is the tank?

It’s 200L tank and they all seem ok together with no fighting. The black ones have always been more dominant when I feed

 

[Sooalways]

Agreed with @GoReefin

Clowns shouldn't be kept as more than a pair unless you have a HUMONGOUS tank (400+ gallons). Very likely that they got bullied to death.

They did seem to all swim together and I didn’t see any evidence of fighting. If it is the case I will be really annoyed with myself and more so the shop that sold them to me as I asked that question amd he said as long as they are put in at the same time it’s fine

 

[Adamantium]

It’s 200L tank and they all seem ok together with no fighting. The black ones have always been more dominant when I feed

Well.... they’re not all okay though, are they? Two are dead/dying.

 

[Sooalways]

Well.... they’re not all okay though, are they? Two are dead/dying.

Yeah the two orange and white have died. Is this the only cause or could it be something else?

 

[Blocker620]

I doubt it could be anything else considering there is another pair in the tank.

 

[BoxKing]

What is your salinity, temp; what kind of flow do you have. Where did you buy your clowns...?

Feeding could be an issue with baby clowns if you're not feeding the correct sized foods.
Use 3 oz Extra Small TDO-C1 Chroma BOOST or even the smaller of their pellet sizes... I soak all my pellet/flake food for 3-5 minutes in tank water to soften them up to make them more digestible... I add 1 drop of garlic, 1 drop of Amino Acids (brightwell) to dry foods 2-3 times a week. Frozen foods are key if you buy the brand that has smaller sized foods. I use Hikari Misis bc they're smaller in size.

 

[Azedenkae]

I disagree that aggression is the main factor here. While it would be expected that fights may break out between pairs of clownfish, this is not really expected of baby clownfish. If it was, we should see a lot more deaths in all those tanks at LFSes holding a bunch of baby clownfish.

I would say it is more likely to be the health of the clownfish themselves, and likely the two that died could have just been weak to begin with.

 

[Patientman]

200L is about 52 gallons … so that would be considered cramp quarters for two pair … not impossible … but definitely would be prone to natural aggressions. Fish all have different personalities and traits but often natural tendencies kick in. It's learning process most all of us have had to go through … sorry about you little fishes