Clownfish behavior/death

[SaltyCajun]

Hello! Newer tank here. Had my water tested a few days ago and everything looked good. 0 nitrate, 0 ammonia. Salt was low so topped it off with more saltwater yesterday. Mag and Alk were slightly low so put a small dose of that in there yesterday as well.

I noticed the clowns mouth opening and closing fast. I did some research and see it could be behavior or something wrong. I took this video this morning and when I came home for lunch the black clown was dead. I did notice the orange showing dominance and chasing him off a bit and appeared to be showing territorial behavior inside of a rock formation.

Is it possible orange clown killed the other? Or something else? Orange clown mouth is opening and closing fast still.

 

[TX_REEF]

could be lack of oxygen, how's your surface agitation?

 

[SaltyCajun]

could be lack of oxygen, how's your surface agitation?

I did read about that too. I turned the fan up to provide more circulation and the surface slightly ripples. Should it be up more? When I drop food in I can see it swirling around the tank with the current.

 

[beehive124]

How long has the tank been up and are you using RODI water?

 

[SaltyCajun]

How long has the tank been up and are you using RODI water?

About 5 weeks and yes used RODI water from the fish store as well as the saltwater yesterday. When he did the water test about 2 weeks ago he indicated I could start with some clowns and turbo snails if I wanted. Yesterday when I went he said I shouldn’t add anything else right now.

 

[TX_REEF]

I did read about that too. I turned the fan up to provide more circulation and the surface slightly ripples. Should it be up more? When I drop food in I can see it swirling around the tank with the current.

Can you share a video of the tank and the surface agitation? You want some really good movement of the surface of the water, something like the below video I took of my system. This is especially important if the surface area of your tank is quite small compared to the total water volume.

 

[SaltyCajun]

Can you share a video of the tank and the surface agitation? You want some really good movement of the surface of the water, something like the below video I took of my system. This is especially important if the surface area of your tank is quite small compared to the total water volume.

I just turned it up a bit to get more movement. It looks like this now

 

[TX_REEF]

that doesn't look too bad, but I think you could probably go with a larger hang-on-back filter which would more naturally create more movement - or add a small powerhead for flow. Saltwater systems need sufficient flow for efficiency of your biofiltration in the rocks and sand, in addition to the surface movement.

 

[SaltyCajun]

that doesn't look too bad, but I think you could probably go with a larger hang-on-back filter which would more naturally create more movement - or add a small powerhead for flow. Saltwater systems need sufficient flow for efficiency of your biofiltration in the rocks and sand, in addition to the surface movement.

Yeah I need to move over to the eshopps HOB and get the sump system started. I have that filter and a power head inside on the right side of that video.

I was concerned that it would be too much current but sounds like that’s how it needs to be?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

No need at all to dose mag and alk into a brand new tank that has only fish. Really only need testing for this when you have corals. Should be no need to dose anything into a fish only tank.

Personally I would add another powerhead on the opposite side to get more flow and more surface agitation than even your second video. I would also get more rock, the tank looks a bit empty.

 

[JayM]

Yeah I need to move over to the eshopps HOB and get the sump system started. I have that filter and a power head inside on the right side of that video.

I was concerned that it would be too much current but sounds like that’s how it needs to be?

You could also try lowering the tank water level an inch or two in the meantime. Might add some more surface agitation with a further drop before it hits the water.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello! Newer tank here. Had my water tested a few days ago and everything looked good. 0 nitrate, 0 ammonia. Salt was low so topped it off with more saltwater yesterday. Mag and Alk were slightly low so put a small dose of that in there yesterday as well.

I noticed the clowns mouth opening and closing fast. I did some research and see it could be behavior or something wrong. I took this video this morning and when I came home for lunch the black clown was dead. I did notice the orange showing dominance and chasing him off a bit and appeared to be showing territorial behavior inside of a rock formation.

Is it possible orange clown killed the other? Or something else? Orange clown mouth is opening and closing fast still.

Clown on the right quite thin with unusual swimming motion and May be brooklynella. Darker clown appears to be shaking, breathing in a fashion as if it is irritated at gill and trying to dislodge something but hard to tell as video wasnt long enough. I dont see this as water movement issue but rather a filtration issue also existing. Your filter is a mechanical unit, however you want to have mechanical , biological and chemical to manage proper water quality. The aquaclear will polish water and trap particles via the cartridge.
Chemical is what traps and breaks down chemical compounds such as feces and uneaten food often accomplished carbon and GFO
Biological is what utilizes the natural process of biological filtration such as use of ceramic nuggets, bio blocks, and microscopic bacteria surfaces as examples. Best it to add or use a hang on refugium such as Reef octopus or AquaMaxx unit and even add a hang on skimmer such as ice cap K1- or K2 100
Ammonia spike may be very possible and often undetectable after the spike event especialy of filter does not keep up with tank.

 

[SaltyCajun]

No need at all to dose mag and alk into a brand new tank that has only fish. Really only need testing for this when you have corals. Should be no need to dose anything into a fish only tank.

Personally I would add another powerhead on the opposite side to get more flow and more surface agitation than even your second video. I would also get more rock, the tank looks a bit empty.

Ok thank you for the advice!

 

[SaltyCajun]

Clown on the right quite thin with unusual swimming motion and May be brooklynella. Darker clown appears to be shaking, breathing in a fashion as if it is irritated at gill and trying to dislodge something but hard to tell as video wasnt long enough. I dont see this as water movement issue but rather a filtration issue also existing. Your filter is a mechanical unit, however you want to have mechanical , biological and chemical to manage proper water quality. The aquaclear will polish water and trap particles via the cartridge.
Chemical is what traps and breaks down chemical compounds such as feces and uneaten food often accomplished carbon and GFO
Biological is what utilizes the natural process of biological filtration such as use of ceramic nuggets, bio blocks, and microscopic bacteria surfaces as examples. Best it to add or use a hang on refugium such as Reef octopus or AquaMaxx unit and even add a hang on skimmer such as ice cap K1- or K2 100
Ammonia spike may be very possible and often undetectable after the spike event especialy of filter does not keep up with tank.

Ok I’ll start pecking away at this. Really appreciate the advice!

 

[SaltyCajun]

Took this video when I got home today. Is this too much flow? Do you think the clown is getting shrimp stuck in its gills?

 

[JayM]

Took this video when I got home today. Is this too much flow? Do you think the clown is getting shrimp stuck in its gills?

Flow might be just a little much, but I'm sure it'd be fine to leave it as is.

If you could post video under white lighting, it would help a ton in getting a better idea of what's going on.

 

[SaltyCajun]

Flow might be just a little much, but I'm sure it'd be fine to leave it as is.

If you could post video under white lighting, it would help a ton in getting a better idea of what's going on.

Thanks for the reply. I turned it down 1 notch. It looks like there may be a piece of shrimp or something sticking out of left side of gill. I’m not sure.