Dead fish, need opinions

[Samina]

Ok guys need some help from you experts. My two snowflake clown were added a few weeks ago and they got along just fine. They would swim together and stay close to each other.

Two days ago, one of them started getting aggressive towards the other clown. The aggressive one would twitch and they would literally face off for a bit. Then towards the end of the day, it escalated to the aggressive one chasing the other clown. I figured, the aggressive one was sexing and it would subside.

Well yesterday, the aggressive one beat and bit the other clown so badly that by the afternoon I was told he was just lying on the sandbed in the back of the tank. By the time I came home from work, he was dead. I tried getting him out but it’s really difficult where he was as it was the back of the tank and it’s a 30” tall tank so I just couldn’t reach him even with grabbers. The only option would be to take all the rock out from that area and try to grab him. I tried to get like a spear type of stick to see if I can get him that way and in doing so, I think he ended up getting buried in the sandbed because I couldn’t see what I was doing back there. Now I can’t see him or find any trace of where he is. All the other fish in the tank seem to be doing great and are swimming and eating just fine. No heavy breathing or anything. Coral look good as well. CUC are all alive as well. I got a slight tint of green (not quite 0.25ppm but not 0 either) on the API ammonia test and I dosed Prime and added some bacteria. I turned my fuge lights on as I’ve heard that it also helps. The dead fish is about 2.5” long and it’s a 110g. What do you suggest I do? Will leaving him buried somewhere in the sand bed eventually take care of his corpse or do you think it can cause a loss of other life in the tank?

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

No expert by any means. If I was faced with the same situation , I would remove the rock to try to get to it. I like your spear technique . Just for the peace of mind.

I would think with that volume being established would be able to handle 1 2.5 inch fish.

I’m sure you’ll get a better answer as experts chime in

 

[Pdash]

What size tank? If it isn't a nano and has a reasonably well established bio filter a single dead clown should be completely trivial for it to process.

 

[Jon Fishman]

CuC will take care of it.

My two flurry clowns did the same thing, but it ended with the smaller jumping to his death

 

[Samina]

Thanks everyone. It’s a 110g. I figured last night when it ended up getting buried that the critters in the tank will take care of it. But when I got a slight tint on the API test this morning, I became concerned because I don’t want to loose anything else. Taking it out will be a bear of a feat because of how tall the tank is and the rocks that are in the way. But I would still do it. Maybe I’ll just test the tank frequently and see if ammonia rises anymore. Hopefully the CUC gets to work quick

 

[foxt]

You'll be fine. An advantage of a tank on the larger side is that you have lots of volume to deal with this sort of thing.

One trick you can try if you're ever faced with a puzzle like this one, trying to get something out of the tank where you can't easily reach it, is to use a siphon hose to either suck it out, or to at least get it moving to a different spot.

 

[Samina]

Thanks, you know that’s a really good idea actually. I’m definitely going to do that going forward. Actually, if ammonia starts to creep, then I’m going to try that and see if I can get it that way before I remove the rock from that area.

 

[Samina]

Well it was hard, but I got the little guy out. I tried the siphon tube thing nd it didn’t work as well as I was hoping since it’s a tough spot to reach. I ended up attaching a fork to a long piece of bamboo and scraping the sand until I found the little guy. Had to move a few pieces of rocks and then used the long grabbers to get him out.

I decided it was best to do so since all of the corals were starting to release mucus and close up. Fish look good though and are swimming around and everything. But coral look angry. Mostly euphyllia, some softies, and a Birdsnest.

I had dosed a good amount of prime earlier. But when I did another API just now, it was def at 0.25ppm. Planning on a water change and will continue to dose prime until ammonia goes back down. I know that API ammonia still shows positive even after prime since it measures total and not free but either way, I’m hoping the bacteria will catch up quick and bring that down.

Hopefully things don’t go south from the ordeal and me messing around in the tank that much. Dam clown aggression.