Clown Pair Randomly Died

snackpack · Apr 25, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
The water is a bit cloudy, most likely bacteria. The cardinal is flicking its pelvic fins a lot more than they usually do, not sure what’s up with that.
I still think this is/was a gas exchange issue - high co2, low dissolved oxygen or both together. Air stones are cheap insurance against that since measuring dissolved gas levels usually isn’t possible at home.
Jay

Out of curiosity, would you recommend running an airstone 24/7 or on an as needed basis? It's an AIO, so I could probably tuck one in the back chamber somewhere, but the tank is in her home office, and I've yet to find an air pump that doesn't drive me mad with buzzing/humming.

Going back to the earlier talk of surface agitation: I honestly felt that she had adequate agitation. Do you have any example videos of what would be considered "ideal" shy of an airstone? She is by no means ready to run out and grab new fish to replace her clowns - she is quite upset about the loss - but I want to make sure we've got everything under control for the next try.

As always, I appreciate your help. You and @vetteguy53081 and @Saltyreef and the rest of this forum are wonderful.

vetteguy53081 · Apr 25, 2023

snackpack said:
Out of curiosity, would you recommend running an airstone 24/7 or on an as needed basis? It's an AIO, so I could probably tuck one in the back chamber somewhere, but the tank is in her home office, and I've yet to find an air pump that doesn't drive me mad with buzzing/humming.

Going back to the earlier talk of surface agitation: I honestly felt that she had adequate agitation. Do you have any example videos of what would be considered "ideal" shy of an airstone? She is by no means ready to run out and grab new fish to replace her clowns - she is quite upset about the loss - but I want to make sure we've got everything under control for the next try.

As always, I appreciate your help. You and @vetteguy53081 and @Saltyreef and the rest of this forum are wonderful.

During April through September, i run air stone full time as temperatures do rise and also I factor having over 40 fish assuring they have adequate oxygen and also it contributes to water movement. My tank center has 12: double glass plates on each side of center, so I get no overspray.
In most cases, on an " as needed basis"

Jay Hemdal · Apr 25, 2023

snackpack said:
Out of curiosity, would you recommend running an airstone 24/7 or on an as needed basis? It's an AIO, so I could probably tuck one in the back chamber somewhere, but the tank is in her home office, and I've yet to find an air pump that doesn't drive me mad with buzzing/humming.

Going back to the earlier talk of surface agitation: I honestly felt that she had adequate agitation. Do you have any example videos of what would be considered "ideal" shy of an airstone? She is by no means ready to run out and grab new fish to replace her clowns - she is quite upset about the loss - but I want to make sure we've got everything under control for the next try.

As always, I appreciate your help. You and @vetteguy53081 and @Saltyreef and the rest of this forum are wonderful.

Aeration really should be 24/7. Back in the day, this was never an issue - with air driven undergravel filters. Now, with AIOs, people not liking the sound or the salt spray, it has become an issue.
Protein skimmers work well enough in most cases.
Jay

00W · Apr 25, 2023

Persuper air pump. Dead silent and pushes tons of air. Bought on Amazon. Comes solo or as a kit with stones airline etc. Best $40 pump I've ever had.

snackpack · May 5, 2023

A week and a half later, we're still going through weird blooms in the water column. They come and go, as often as a few times a day.

First picture is this morning, after being nearly crystal clear last night.

Second picture is just now, a few hours later.

Nothing in the tank has changed, we removed the clowns right after they died. The only inhabitants are the PJ and the single banded trochus, plus the tiny hitchhiker snails that have been on her rock since she got it in January.

Any ideas? I'm at a loss here... And I know that by the time I get home tonight, it'll be crystal clear again.

Jay Hemdal · May 5, 2023

snackpack said:
A week and a half later, we're still going through weird blooms in the water column. They come and go, as often as a few times a day.

First picture is this morning, after being nearly crystal clear last night.

Second picture is just now, a few hours later.

Nothing in the tank has changed, we removed the clowns right after they died. The only inhabitants are the PJ and the single banded trochus, plus the tiny hitchhiker snails that have been on her rock since she got it in January.

Any ideas? I'm at a loss here... And I know that by the time I get home tonight, it'll be crystal clear again.

Not sure what's going on here - the cloudiness looks sort of brownish, not white, which leads me to think algae bloom as opposed to heterotrophic bacteria.

Jay