Scottatmiles
New Member
The fish don't seem to be laboring to breath. And other than the clown I just replaced, there haven't been any additions to the tank since December.
Please help
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Scottatmiles
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As expected the tang didn't make it through the night:squigglemouth:
Sorry to hear that, Scottatmiles. Do the other fish seem okay? You mentioned the new clown to replace the one that died, but were there any other additions to the tank within the last month or two?
I doubt it was an oxygenation issue, personally. Your skimmer can provide some gas exchange provided that the stand isn't completely airtight. And IME fish w/ low oxygen tend to swim at the surface with their mouths up at the waterline. I think you would have mentioned that if it happened.
Since I don't know how long the fish were together, I'd venture a guess that the clowns weren't sexed properly. If you get two females, they will fight for territory and will stress each other. One might have been stressed, which led to a weakened immune response, and then infection, which spread to the tang. From the photos, both clowns seem to be of similar size, so it's possible that they were fighting. Again, this is based on not knowing their history. Was the 2 inch clown that died the larger or smaller picasso?
I think I see a maxi mini anemone in the 3rd pic. Did the clown ever go near it? I've seen several stories of clowns attempting to host, then being killed by maxi mini anemones. They're not compatible, so it's a calculated risk to keep them together. And captive-bred fish aren't picky about hosts, so it's not a total shot in the dark to think it might have gotten too close, been stung, died and passed something on to the tang.
I doubt it was an oxygenation issue, personally. Your skimmer can provide some gas exchange provided that the stand isn't completely airtight. And IME fish w/ low oxygen tend to swim at the surface with their mouths up at the waterline. I think you would have mentioned that if it happened.
Since I don't know how long the fish were together, I'd venture a guess that the clowns weren't sexed properly. If you get two females, they will fight for territory and will stress each other. One might have been stressed, which led to a weakened immune response, and then infection, which spread to the tang. From the photos, both clowns seem to be of similar size, so it's possible that they were fighting. Again, this is based on not knowing their history. Was the 2 inch clown that died the larger or smaller picasso?
I think I see a maxi mini anemone in the 3rd pic. Did the clown ever go near it? I've seen several stories of clowns attempting to host, then being killed by maxi mini anemones. They're not compatible, so it's a calculated risk to keep them together. And captive-bred fish aren't picky about hosts, so it's not a total shot in the dark to think it might have gotten too close, been stung, died and passed something on to the tang.
Scottatmiles
New Member
All other fish seem fine. No labored breathing what so ever. The two piscasso clowns went in in December and nothing new until last Monday. The piscaso came from the same breeder at the same time. One was slightly larger. The one that died was the bigger of the two. The clowns you see in the pics include the new addition. Again from same breeder and also one slightly larger. They are pretty young. The small one is maybe inch orinch and a half and other is two inches. I did not know about the mini carpet nem not being compatible. I bought this thing when it was the size of a nickel and told by Lfs that it would stay small. Not the case it keeps getting bigger. A local reefer came by today and asked if anyone may have put some metal in the tank. I said no and then remembered the hose clamp in the sump on a rubber 90 to redirect flow from my return. We looked and it had started to rust a little. The clamp has been removed now and I hope this don't happen again.
