What was your most significant loss?

[Sophie"s mom]

At some point, while keeping reef tanks, we will encounter some loss. Maybe we will lose a coral or a fish, or the entire tank will crash. I am wondering what the most significant loss you have ever had in the hobby is. Photo Credit: @kevgib67

I am early on at the moment, so I will have to say my firefish, who decided to go carpet surfing while I was at work.

 

[VintageReefer]

The clown ate the lunar wrasses eyes? Must have been one mean clown.

Yes. Bit out the eye because it came by the clowns spot one too many times.

The eye socket healed up solid and smooth. He could swim and eat fine. But I didn’t want him to lose the other eye. So I relocated the wrasse and let him live peacefully alone in a coral tank

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Yes. Bit out the eye because it came by the clowns spot one too many times.

The eye socket healed up solid and smooth. He could swim and eat fine. But I didn’t want him to lose the other eye. So I relocated the wrasse and let him live peacefully alone in a coral tank

What kind of clown was it, if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[Paul B]

Probably 20 years ago I changed my water with NSW that I collected. The water had a lot of seaweed, myd and all sorts of gunk in it so I added Clorox Bleach. Then let it sit and in 3 days use chlorine eliminator. It worked for years and ,No, I didn't invent that.

Well that time I used "New Fresh scent Clorox" and immediately the fish started jumping out.

I saved some of them and still have some of them today. But the rest were toast.

Some of the fish I lost was a 10 year old mandarin and an 18 year old brutalyd or cusk eel.

 

[Doctorgori]

Indeed, I’ve lost entire tanks from either power outages or velvet/ich outbreaks….
added: I’ve had a 100g tank actually explode with nowhere to immediately put the flopping fish

A couple of the tanks were over 3-5 yrs old..
amongst the heartbreaks were:
VERY hard to get:
eating Morrish Idols (several, feeding and healthy)
eating Rock beauties
Mated pair of Marine Bettas,
Trio Black Caps,
very old clams, larger coral colonies

…if you can’t take the heartaches, I’d advise to get out of the hobby

 

[Nano_Man]

I am going back early 90s and I bought a lovely copper band all was good for a couple of years and then it died I was gutted that fish was my favourite and they still are today. A reef doesn’t look complete until there’s a copper band

 

[VintageReefer]

What kind of clown was it, if you don’t mind me asking?

It was this guy
I done remember what kind it was

And the victim was a 5” banana / sunset wrasse that looked like this

The clown hosted the large toadstool on far left and wouldn’t tolerate any fish coming near it for too long

 

[Gumbies R Us]

This is up there for me as far as corals go

Grew him from a baby. The yellow / green contrast was incredible in person, my photography was crap back then

Wow, hate that you lost that one!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Both of these were really tough. The Naoko was my first big loss. It was a dream fish and though I only had it a couple of weeks it had shown so much personality. Unfortunately it UNWD and watching it slowly die until finally I had to euthanize was awful.

The regal was another dream fish and I still consider them perhaps the most beautiful fish in the hobby. Mine was a tiny CB one that someone had given up. It had some HLLE when I got it but I managed to get it back and healthy and beautiful. Then I introduced an unquarintined tang. The regal was my last fish to die of velvet and perhaps the closest I’ve come to quitting the hobby.

So sorry you lost the regal. That is one fish I have always wanted (when I get a bigger tank, haha.)

 

[Hooz]

About a year ago I had BJD run through my tank. I lost 86 heads of torches, hammers and frog/octospawn in a matter of days. Thousands of dollars and a collection that took me years to build.

A cipro treatment stopped it from being even worse, but the damage was already done.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

It was this guy
I done remember what kind it was

And the victim was a 5” banana / sunset wrasse that looked like this

The clown hosted the large toadstool on far left and wouldn’t tolerate any fish coming near it for too long

Wow, that really sucks! It looks like it could possibly be a maroon clown, and they are inherently mean. Beautiful wrasse. They say that all clowns change in personality as they age, but man, this is crazy.

 

[VintageReefer]

Wow, that really sucks! It looks like it could possibly be a maroon clown, and they are inherently mean. Beautiful wrasse. They say that all clowns change in personality as they age, but man, this is crazy.

It was a black and white clown but I forget the type. Was not a maroon variant

Edit: black and white ocellaris clownfish

 

[McPuff]

I have had 3 major losses:

1) Several months after surviving the great northeast power outage of 2003, I made a bad decision to buy a new fish and ended up losing everything to a bacterial infection. This was a fowlr but I had some beautiful fish. All dead. This led to a complete reset a few months later.

2) In 2006/7 a power compact light caught fire when I was out of town (luckily didn't start the house on fire!) and caused the circuit to blow. The power outage led to all but 3 fish dead (the pink spotted watchman goby stayed with me until about a year ago!). Again, amazing fish almost all lost. The soft corals I had were all fine.

3) In 2017 I traveled a lot for work through the summer and maintenance was neglected. My wife also likely overfed the fish. The reef experienced a lot of sedimentation and an outbreak of calothrix (I believe). Lots of manual effort to remove this successfully. Overall, I lost about 1/2 of my corals in a short time.

Lessons learned each time but they still stung. The first two more than the last as I like the fish more than the coral. Sorry, not sorry. :0)

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I am early on at the moment, so I will have to say my firefish, who decided to go carpet surfing while I was at work.

Mine tried to do that a couple of times, got a lid, and it never tried again.

 

[Savage Henry]

I lost my female ocellaris clownfish about two years ago. I had had her for about 10 years. She jumped and I heard the splash but didn’t check. She left behind her partner, who I still have. I have had him, or more correctly her, for almost 12 years. I am almost about to lose my Coral Beauty who I have had since July 2012 (who was 6.6cm then). I don’t know whether it is dying due to old age or because it got stuck under a rock while in a transfer tank as I get ready to set up a new tank.

 

[shakacuz]

my OG bounce melting presumably from a bacterial infection. as well as my CSB BTA taking a nose dive into my jebao gyre and ending its own life. definitely hurt the ego lol.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Mine tried to do that a couple of times, got a lid, and it never tried again.

Crazy thing is I have one of those mesh lids for that very reason. it has little 1/4" square holes in it. He must have gone upward with enough force to push thru one of those holes is the only thing I can come up with. He was very small, but I did not think small enough to fit thru there. It really sucked because he was just getting comfortable enough to come out during the day. I think it was my diamond goby who probably chased him, but I never saw it happen in my presence.

 

[shakacuz]

Both of these were really tough. The Naoko was my first big loss. It was a dream fish and though I only had it a couple of weeks it had shown so much personality. Unfortunately it UNWD and watching it slowly die until finally I had to euthanize was awful.

i lost a naoko to UNWD. i'd say my favorite wrasse(reef safe)

 

[jasonrusso]

My first porcupine puffer, he was a baby when I got him and he was 14+" when he died.

Then last week I lost my Gold Dwarf Moray after 8+ years. What makes it worse is that you can't get them anymore.

 

[Silly clownfish]

Last Labor Day weekend, I came home after 5 days to find that the GFCI out,et had tripped. Lost all fish, including a clown I had for over 25 years. Since my worthless Apex constantly disconnects, I had no warning.

Other painful loss a few years back, my 19 year old flame hawk jumped and was desiccated on the canopy. The clownfish mentioned above acted depressed for months after until I got a juvenile clown to be her new buddy. Yeah, I would not think a fish would get depressed, but it was the only explanation- she ate, etc, but was less active, playful.