Did i make a fish combination mistake?

[Reef_at_Sea]

Hello,

Fast short story.

I have a 20g reef tank wich i first added a gobidion histori 2 weeks ago & 2 days ago i added a couple of clownfish.

Sadly i found my goby dead today, it looked it had been attacked, probably the clownfish that did it.

Did i make a stupid mistake? I thought this fish would be small & fast enough to hide & establish a little safe place.


Thanks all

 

[TX_REEF]

20 gallons is quite a small tank. It is likely that it is small enough that the clowns are claiming the entire thing as their territory.

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

20 gallons is quite a small tank. It is likely that it is small enough that the clowns are claiming the entire thing as their territory.

Yeah, i’m not adding more fish

 

[doodledreads]

What type of clowns and how big are they?

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

What type of clowns and how big are they

The normal ones, amphripon occelaris

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

What type of clowns and how big are they?

They are still very small

 

[doodledreads]

If they are very small, I doubt they are that aggressive, but then again I cannot generalize. Since they are all new, it could be other reasons, may be the clowns or any cuc bit the goby once it is dead? IMO, 20g (display) is plenty for a pair of clowns and a goby. Still, I would wait a few weeks before adding another fish.

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

If they are very small, I doubt they are that aggressive, but then again I cannot generalize. Since they are all new, it could be other reasons, may be the clowns or any cuc bit the goby once it is dead? IMO, 20g (display) is plenty for a pair of clowns and a goby. Still, I would wait a few weeks before adding another fish.

Are there any small singular fish wich would grant a higher succes rate?

 

[doodledreads]

Are there any small singular fish wich would grant a higher succes rate?

If you still believe the clowns are aggressive, a dottyback or a damselfish or a sixline wrasse can stand their ground. But again, these are all a bit aggressive themselves, so look them up and make informed decision.

Personally, I have never seen small clowns being that aggressive. As they grow and establish, they do become territorial, depending on the species, they can do quite a bit of damage. But your clowns are too new to have established a territory. Its barely enough time for them to even settle down.

Wait a couple weeks, test your water, pick a healthy fish thats suitable for your tank, acclimate properly, dim the lights and add it. Your original combo wasn’t a mistake, sometime fish die due to myriad reasons.

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

If you still believe the clowns are aggressive, a dottyback or a damselfish or a sixline wrasse can stand their ground. But again, these are all a bit aggressive themselves, so look them up and make informed decision.

Personally, I have never seen small clowns being that aggressive. As they grow and establish, they do become territorial, depending on the species, they can do quite a bit of damage. But your clowns are too new to have established a territory. Its barely enough time for them to even settle down.

Wait a couple weeks, test your water, pick a healthy fish thats suitable for your tank, acclimate properly, dim the lights and add it. Your original combo wasn’t a mistake, sometime fish die due to myriad reasons.

Hmmm ok, so weird because it was eating properly & was super healthy. Didn’t look sick at all but his fins where munched on for sure.

Thanks for the help

 

[MnFish1]

Lets back up - can you give some more information about your tank - the symptoms if any, the fish had (the dead one), Did you quarantine all of the fish? Did you treat any of them? I would be watching your small clowns for any illness..

Second - I would not aim to find a fish that can 'match' the clown's scrappiness. It likely (not for sure) will merely result in more aggression/attacks (whether from one side or the other). Would you be able to share a picture of your whole tank - and PS - sorry about the Gobi

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

Lets back up - can you give some more information about your tank - the symptoms if any, the fish had (the dead one), Did you quarantine all of the fish? Did you treat any of them? I would be watching your small clowns for any illness..

Second - I would not aim to find a fish that can 'match' the clown's scrappiness. It likely (not for sure) will merely result in more aggression/attacks (whether from one side or the other). Would you be able to share a picture of your whole tank - and PS - sorry about the Gobi

I will be watching my clownfish for the next weeks for sure, no new fish in the near future or maybe never.

The goby showed no symptoms at all, it ate yesterday & was chilling between the rocks, today it was dead. (I did read they were pretty difficult to get trough their first period in the tank?)

Fish were bought quarantined, i don’t have a quarantine tank myself.

Tank is 7 weeks old & looks healthy, i did tests yesterday & i had no concerning values.
It now has 3 soft coral sp. & 2 clownfish + a small cleaner shrimp.

 

[MnFish1]

I will be watching my clownfish for the next weeks for sure, no new fish in the near future or maybe never.

The goby showed no symptoms at all, it ate yesterday & was chilling between the rocks, today it was dead. (I did read they were pretty difficult to get trough their first period in the tank?)

Fish were bought quarantined, i don’t have a quarantine tank myself.

Tank is 7 weeks old & looks healthy, i did tests yesterday & i had no concerning values.
It now has 3 soft coral sp. & 2 clownfish + a small cleaner shrimp.

Do you happen to know what quarantine protocol was used?

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

Do you happen to know what quarantine protocol was used?

Sadly no, the fish store is pretty renown for having good fish tho, but that’s not important.

All i can do atm is watch my clown fish, they are tank bred that is what i do know.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If they are tank bred and very small, then I'm not sure if they are really the prime suspects. Without a body to examine and no pics no qt method no water parameters no info, nothing, its hard to agree the clownfish is definitely the killer.

 

[ryanjohn1]

99.9% of clown fish are jerks

 

[MnFish1]

Sadly no, the fish store is pretty renown for having good fish tho, but that’s not important.

All i can do atm is watch my clown fish, they are tank bred that is what i do know.

No matter what, I would tend to treat both fish with copper and prazipro in a hospital tank - keep your main tank fallow for 8 weeks, and then put them back in. UNLESS you can document the quarantine protocol from the store (which should not be hard - maybe I'm remembering incorrectly - but I thought you said they were quarantined). Or keep them as they are - watching for problems (which may be fine) - just be aware - if you add new fish - there may be issues disease-wise

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

No matter what, I would tend to treat both fish with copper and prazipro in a hospital tank - keep your main tank fallow for 8 weeks, and then put them back in. UNLESS you can document the quarantine protocol from the store (which should not be hard - maybe I'm remembering incorrectly - but I thought you said they were quarantined). Or keep them as they are - watching for problems (which may be fine) - just be aware - if you add new fish - there may be issues disease-wise

i'm not adding a new fish in the foreseeable future.

 

[NkSde]

I’ve definitely ran into the same issue with a pair of mocha clowns that claimed a whole 20L it just turned it into a clown tank til a feeder fault crashed the whole thing on vacation

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

I’ve definitely ran into the same issue with a pair of mocha clowns that claimed a whole 20L it just turned it into a clown tank til a feeder fault crashed the whole thing on vacation

Sorry to hear that.