Clownfish got sick and died within 8 hours

banghair · Jun 12, 2022

Hi, new here and new to reef-keeping.

I got 2 tank raised clownfish on Thursday and they have been doing great, they have been eating and calmly exploring their tank. Last night I added a hammertip coral (first coral in the tank), which is also doing great and 2 hermit crabs + 2 nasarrius snails. Everything was fine, last night the clownfish were pigging out per usual, bright colouring, swimming around, and they were interested in the coral, I saw them nip at it a few times before I went to bed. Woke up this morning and one of them was very white on one side and its fin looked quite deteriorated, and it was swimming sideways, within 2 hours of me waking up it was dead. I tried to get a picture but it was tough on my camera.

Just tested and nitrite was a bit on the high side at 0.5, nitrates are 25, and ammonia is sitting at 0.

Any ideas of what happened?

EDITED TO ADD: My other clownfish is completely normal, bright colours, eating a lot, and swimming, it does have a nip in one fin and I just noticed the other one is clamped.

laezur · Jun 12, 2022

I’m so sorry to hear about your clown. It’s very unlikely the new inhabitants did any damage. Have you seen any fighting between your clowns? Any sign of disease?

Jay Hemdal · Jun 12, 2022

banghair said:
Hi, new here and new to reef-keeping.

I got 2 tank raised clownfish on Thursday and they have been doing great, they have been eating and calmly exploring their tank. Last night I added a hammertip coral (first coral in the tank), which is also doing great and 2 hermit crabs + 2 nasarrius snails. Everything was fine, last night the clownfish were pigging out per usual, bright colouring, swimming around, and they were interested in the coral, I saw them nip at it a few times before I went to bed. Woke up this morning and one of them was very white on one side and its fin looked quite deteriorated, and it was swimming sideways, within 2 hours of me waking up it was dead. I tried to get a picture but it was tough on my camera.

Just tested and nitrite was a bit on the high side at 0.5, nitrates are 25, and ammonia is sitting at 0.

Any ideas of what happened?

Is the remaining clownfish acting normal and eating?

This may have been aggression from the other clownfish.

Jay

Sharkbait19 · Jun 12, 2022

Any fuzzy white appearance or white spots?
The fin being chewed up makes me think aggression as well, which is very common with clowns.

banghair · Jun 12, 2022

Sharkbait19 said:
Any fuzzy white appearance or white spots?
The fin being chewed up makes me think aggression as well, which is very common with clowns.

Aggression is interesting, my other clownfish is noticeably smaller but has a nip out of its fin as well. Would my smaller clownfish be able to do that much damage?

banghair · Jun 12, 2022

Sharkbait19 said:
Any fuzzy white appearance or white spots?
The fin being chewed up makes me think aggression as well, which is very common with clowns.

Jay Hemdal said:
Is the remaining clownfish acting normal and eating?

This may have been aggression from the other clownfish.

Jay

Yes, it is still very bright, swimming, and it ate a fair amount.

Someone else also suggested aggression but my other clownfish is noticeably smaller, it’s not a huge difference but you can definitely tell. Would it be able to do that much damage?

busfullofderps · Jun 12, 2022

They certainly can. When they are young, they will be more aggressive with each other as they are establishing which has dominance. In large groups this is generally fine as the aggression is shared equally, but with an unestablished pair they will bicker until one establishes dominance. The dominant one will sex to become the female in the pair, ultimately growing larger. Clowns are cute, but savage little bullies. The female will become ballsy enough to nip your hand while cleaning the inside of your tank. The stress of the new tank and the bullying could be the prime suspect in sending your clown to Valhalla.

Watch your nitrites, if your tank is new and they continue to climb you may be adding livestock faster than the bacteria can keep up with.

banghair · Jun 12, 2022

busfullofderps said:
They certainly can. When they are young, they will be more aggressive with each other as they are establishing which has dominance. In large groups this is generally fine as the aggression is shared equally, but with an unestablished pair they will bicker until one establishes dominance. The dominant one will sex to become the female in the pair, ultimately growing larger. Clowns are cute, but savage little bullies. The female will become ballsy enough to nip your hand while cleaning the inside of your tank. The stress of the new tank and the bullying could be the prime suspect in sending your clown to Valhalla.

Watch your nitrites, if your tank is new and they continue to climb you may be adding livestock faster than the bacteria can keep up with.

Good to know. Would it be a bad idea to add a new clownfish do you think?

Thank you, I will definitely watch my nitrites as per your advice!

Sharkbait19 · Jun 12, 2022

Typically adding a clown much smaller than the female works for pairing. It also helps when they are the same breed.

busfullofderps · Jun 12, 2022

^^^ This

banghair · Jun 12, 2022

Sharkbait19 said:
Typically adding a clown much smaller than the female works for pairing. It also helps when they are the same breed.

The current clown is pretty small, so if I can’t find a smaller one should I just hold out?

Chortanator · Jun 12, 2022

Something similar happened to my clownfish. She was 8 years old, and one day she was covered in white film with torn fins (it wasn't brook as it didn't start on the head and my other clown didn't get it, there were no white spots either). She died in less than a day. I chalked it up to some sort of freak accident or something

banghair · Jun 12, 2022

Chortanator said:
Something similar happened to my clownfish. She was 8 years old, and one day she was covered in white film with torn fins (it wasn't brook as it didn't start on the head and my other clown didn't get it, there were no white spots either). She died in less than a day. I chalked it up to some sort of freak accident or something

That’s where I’m at. I watch them with hawkeyes because it’s my first tank and Om definitely overzealous with my pets, and there were no signs of any disease or stress, and all of this happened within hours so i’m having a hard time thinking it’s disease.

busfullofderps · Jun 12, 2022

banghair said:
The current clown is pretty small, so if I can’t find a smaller one should I just hold out?

This hobby rewards patience, I would hold out it grows larger and you find a replacement that is noticeably smaller.

banghair · Jun 12, 2022

busfullofderps said:
This hobby rewards patience, I would hold out it grows larger and you find a replacement that is noticeably smaller.

Thanks so much.

vetteguy53081 · Jun 12, 2022

Was fish alive when introduced? Was it by chance pinched in corner of the bag ?
If alive , how were they acclimated/introduced and how long before release into tank ?

banghair · Jun 12, 2022

vetteguy53081 said:
Was fish alive when introduced? Was it by chance pinched in corner of the bag ?
If alive , how were they acclimated/introduced and how long before release into tank ?

Yes, very alive haha. It was colourful and eating up until this morning. It was introduced through drip acclimation over an hour.

We’re going to set up a QT tank here soon as well.

vetteguy53081 · Jun 12, 2022

banghair said:
Yes, very alive haha. It was colourful and eating up until this morning. It was introduced through drip acclimation over an hour.

We’re going to set up a QT tank here soon as well.

QT would be good and assure you equalize salinity. Hopefully you did not use bag water