clown losses

[jelwyoming]

I have a well established 120g reef tank. I have had a GBTA with a pair of ocellaris in it for 2 years. I recently added a RBTA to the opposite side of the tank. After it settled in, I added a small pair of gold stripped maroons. The female immediately found the RBTA. The male tried to join the GBTA crowd but was brushed off by the Ocellaris as expected. The next day it found the RBTA. The female wondered off breathing very fast and a day later disappeared completely. This was about 4 days ago. Yesterday, the same thing has happened to the male ocellaris. No sign of him this morning. Other than the rapid breathing, they looked fine, they just disappeared. Note that the maroons were tank breed specimens. Water is perfect. All other fish and inverts are in good shape including a sensitive blue linkia star and a copperband butterfly. I cannot figure what is happening other than possibly stress. I never saw them fight at all though.
The Ocellaris pair had backout of the GBTA some what before all of this... meaning they stay near it, but not in it. I was thinking that they were guarding some eggs that I couldn't see.
Any ideas?

[cschweitzer]

The maroons stressed and killed the ocellaris...this is exactly what I would expect would happen. No two pairs of clownfish should be in the same tank regardless of genus or species. Most likely any two pairs will fight. In this case, the maroons are much more vicious, hardy, and stronger than the ocellaris, hence the reason these died and the maroons lived.

Sorry for your loss, but it is to be expected with those pairs together...

[GSMguy]

you shouldent keep two pairs especially with maroons

[xxseawolf]

maroons are like my wife(life sucking bi@#$ which there is no escape. sorry for your loss

[AquaKnight]

I think he's missing his maroon's, not the ocellaris...(maybe?)

[jelwyoming]

I lost the small male ocellaris and the large female maroon. The remaining two are getting along fine.
I did find my problem though. I had a sea cucumber that managed to climb out of the sand and into the LR where it starved to death. It happened to be right in the vacinity of where the established ocellaris hung out; and where the large maroon hid when I put her in the tank. Toxins from the dying sea cucumber must have done it. Both showed no sign of injury. Both were breathing very fast...poisoning. I had done a good water change when the second clown died as a safety precaution; I think that may have saved more of my fish. I think that as we noted above that clowns were stressed to begin with, so the toxins were that more potent to them.
No more sea cucumbers for me!