Clownfish tail gone?

nickloeuf · Feb 2, 2017

Hi guys,

I'm really concerned about my clownfish! 2 days ago I woke up and there was a missing spot in his tail fin.. and this morning its tail is almost completely gone and its right fin seems hurt too?!?!

What can possibly be happening to the fish? I don't think I have anything in my tank that can actually attack him.. I have another clownfish and a blue chromis... 2 starfish 2 urchin , a shrimp and hermit crabs and snails...

My water parameter are actually fine too..

it doesn't look good for the fish

here's a picture

MaiReef · Feb 2, 2017

must be the chromis?

4FordFamily · Feb 2, 2017

Do the clowns get along?

nickloeuf · Feb 2, 2017

MaiReef said:
must be the chromis?

To be honnest they seem to get along pretty well, at least during the day.. they always swim together ... maybe the chromis is bipolar and gets really mad at night but i'd be surprised?! lol

Zack K · Feb 2, 2017

MaiReef said:
must be the chromis?

Very Slim chance. Chromis are part of the damsel family but are Very passive. IME they only show aggression to each other. Clowns do become territorial,especially over and anemone, so it could be another clown. I have 5 chromis and they don't touch my shrimp,firefish, or any other fish. I don't believe it is the chromis

nickloeuf · Feb 2, 2017

4FordFamily said:
Do the clowns get along?

Well they seem to get along just fine! when I added the second clownfish to my tank 3 weeks ago.. they had 1 rough day but after that everything was fine

nickloeuf · Feb 2, 2017

Zack Klabunde said:
Very Slim chance. Chromis are part of the damsel family but are Very passive. IME they only show aggression to each other. Clowns do become territorial,especially over and anemone, so it could be another clown. I have 5 chromis and they don't touch my shrimp,firefish, or any other fish. I don't believe it is the chromis

+1 .. i'd be shocked if the Chromis did that

4FordFamily · Feb 2, 2017

nickloeuf said:
Well they seem to get along just fine! when I added the second clownfish to my tank 3 weeks ago.. they had 1 rough day but after that everything was fine

They may have had a very serious divorce. Are they similar in size or is the other one larger?

nickloeuf · Feb 2, 2017

4FordFamily said:
They may have had a very serious divorce. Are they similar in size or is the other one larger?

They have the same size... and now they are all three swimming together happilly .. this is what makes everything confusing mhmm..

4FordFamily · Feb 2, 2017

nickloeuf said:
They have the same size... and now they are all three swimming together happilly .. this is what makes everything confusing mhmm..

Three? This makes me worry, this definitely sounds like a scuffle. Clowns are very nasty to each other and if they're the same size the risk increases - it's best to have one large and one small. If you are going to have many clowns, a very large tank would be best.

nickloeuf · Feb 2, 2017

4FordFamily said:
Three? This makes me worry, this definitely sounds like a scuffle. Clowns are very nasty to each other and if they're the same size the risk increases - it's best to have one large and one small. If you are going to have many clowns, a very large tank would be best.

Three = 2 clowns and the blue chromis! hehe ! That's interesting, the petshop told me i should always have 2 clowns same size... im starting to think they're full of crap!

4FordFamily · Feb 2, 2017

nickloeuf said:
Three = 2 clowns and the blue chromis! hehe ! That's interesting, the petshop told me i should always have 2 clowns same size... im starting to think they're full of crap!

That's definitely poor advice! :/

tgionet · Feb 2, 2017

Would put my money on the other clown being the culprit.

macnets · Feb 3, 2017

I wouldn't go to that LFS anymore lol

tutmatt3 · Feb 3, 2017

Is this the bigger or the smaller clown?
Typically it is advised (from what I've read/heard) to introduce both clowns at the same time, and pick a bigger one and a for sure smaller one.

The bigger one becomes (if not already) the female, and the smaller becomes to male. Any other additional smaller remain genderless (once again form what ive read)

If the 2nd clown introduced was the biggest clown in the tank it was in, there's a good chance they are both females, and sometimes fight to the death I've heard

I personally don't know if a female clown getting punked would recede into a male, but I'll leave that for the more experienced members to note.

r33fertank · Feb 3, 2017

If the clowns are the same size i would def bank on it being the other clown and find a new LFS.

tutmatt3 · Feb 3, 2017

r33fertank said:
If the clowns are the same size i would def bank on it being the other clown and find a new LFS.

Honestly, maybe take back the hurt clown & see if you can get credit towards a much smaller one.
If not possible, I'm not really sure. QT? Trade w/ a friend? Give to a friend?