what did this to my firefish??

[maleks.reef]

My firefish has been gone for 3 days. Today i found its remains. Its absolutely gutted, nothing but skin. What could possibly do this to it?? I have 2 clowns in my tank + cuc
As i was trying to remove it, the big clown did try to bite it and take it away. Would the female clown kill it? Or did the firefish die and then the clown ate it?

 

[Wyvern]

Unknown cause of death, but essentially everything in the ocean is cannibalistic, so they all probably had a serving.

Yes, clowns are damsels, so they can become territorial, especially when mature.

 

[blaxsun]

Never underestimate the power and attraction of a free meal.

 

[maleks.reef]

Unknown cause of death, but essentially eveything in the ocean is cannibalistic, so they all probably had a serving.

But would the clown be the killer in this case? It has shown signs of aggression so i wouldnt be too surprised. Ive had the clowns and firefish for months now though.

 

[homer1475]

Thats what your CUC is supposed to do.

 

[Wyvern]

But would the clown be the killer in this case? It has shown signs of aggression so i wouldnt be too surprised. Ive had the clowns and firefish for months now though.

Probably, just do a quick water quality check and make sure your heater is working.

Pay attention to any illness for the next couple weeks.

 

[maleks.reef]

Thats what your CUC is supposed to do.

My main question in this thread is that I want to know what killed it. It was out eating and swimming 3 days ago. Then it went into its hiding spot but never came out. I thought it was just being shy because i added 4 new corals. If the big clown is what killed the firefish then i want to get rid of it. Not long ago the big clown ate a sexy shrimp i got as soon as i put it in the tank, that might be on me though because i dropped into the water as if it was food. The clown also seems to nibble on the smaller clown's fins alot during the day, but i never see any real damage. Same thing happened a few days ago but with my cleaner shrimp, the clown went after it for 2 seconds, gave it a small very light bite and left it alone.

 

[homer1475]

Hard to say for sure. It very well could have been, but I wouldn't jump to conclusions.

Do you quarantine your fish? Could very well have been a disease that killed it too.

 

[maleks.reef]

Hard to say for sure. It very well could have been, but I wouldn't jump to conclusions.

Do you quarantine your fish? Could very well have been a disease that killed it too.

no i dont have a QT. Also, the other 2 clowns look healthy as far as i concerned, and theyve been in the tank before the firefish. If the firefish was sick, would that disease suddenly cause it to die after months of being healthy?

 

[homer1475]

Unlikely if you have had it for a few months.

 

[blaxsun]

Sometimes fish just die for no apparent reason. When that happens, it’s like ringing a silent dinner bell.

 

[MaxTremors]

Unknown cause of death, but essentially everything in the ocean is cannibalistic, so they all probably had a serving.

Yes, clowns are damsels, so they can become territorial, especially when mature.

The fish was eaten by crabs, snails, worms, pods, etc. Not eaten by another firefish, so not cannibalistic.

 

[maleks.reef]

Ive had half my snails randomly die on me in the last month, could it be related?
After 5 months of not knowing why my lps died in a mattter of days, i think its because of a rusty WC pump. The heavy metals would explain the death of LPS and snails right? and therefore it's unrelated to the firefish's death(?)

Oh and my peppermint shrimp disappeared 5 days after being added. No trace of him.

 

[Wyvern]

The fish was eaten by crabs, snails, worms, pods, etc. Not eaten by another firefish, so not cannibalistic.

Without a doubt the clowns had a sample.

A fish is a fish.

In fact, most fish food contains fish.

 

[blaxsun]

Rust is never good in a reef tank.

 

[Wyvern]

Ive had half my snails randomly die on me in the last month, could it be related?
After 5 months of not knowing why my lps died in a mattter of days, i think its because of a rusty WC pump. The heavy metals would explain the death of LPS and snails right? and therefore it's unrelated to the firefish's death(?)

Oh and my peppermint shrimp disappeared 5 days after being added. No trace of him.

Do you run carbon? It helps remove toxins, but yeah, get a new pump/clamps.

Copper kills inverts, you can get a low range copper test to see if its in your system.

 

[homer1475]

Rust is never good in a reef tank.

Not entirely true. GFO is basically rust.

 

[Wyvern]

Not entirely true. GFO is basically rust.

I knew Fords were good for something!

 

[Bribo12]

I think you’re looking for an answer no ones gonna know. Your cuc did that to your fish but we can only speculate as to what the cause of death was. Like others have said sometimes fish just disappear and die for no explainable reason.

 

[MaxTremors]

Without a doubt the clowns had a sample.

A fish is a fish.

In fact, most fish food contains fish.

A primate is a primate, an ape eating a person is not cannibalism.

And even that is too specific, ‘a fish is a fish’ is like saying ‘mammal is a mammal’.