Clownfish keep dying in my display tank

Radar1721 · 09/25/2016, 09:42 PM

Just pulled out my second pair of clowns that died after putting them in my display tank. The tank has been up about 8 months and really seems to be thriving. I have a blue hippo, yellow tang, Royal gramma, orange spot goby, and some blue green chromis. They are all fat and eating great. Not a spec of ich even on the blue hippo. I have a small bta, and some rock anemones that look great. Probably around 15 corals. Every water parameter you can test is right on. I added a small pair of true perculas about three months back and they never seemed to eat that well and we're pretty lethargic. Ended up dying within a couple of days of each other. I bought a small pair of occellaris clowns a few weeks ago and kept them in a qt for a few weeks. They seemed good and we're eating well. I moved them into the display tank and they seemed ok, but I noticed they seemed to stop eating a couple of days ago and got lethargic. The both died today. I did see any white spots or slime on them and I haven't had any trouble with any other fish the entire time. I really want a pair of clowns and it has been so frustrating that I'm about to have to buy my third pair of what is supposed to be one of the easiest fish to keep.

Any ideas what my problem might be? Am I just unlucky? Are clownfish maybe not as bullet proof as they seem? My only thought was that maybe they were struggling with the flow in the bigger tank versus a small one. I would say I have a medium amount. Both pairs have been about one inch.

Thanks

farfromsea · 09/25/2016, 10:35 PM

Do you treat them with meds in QT?
Did you buy both pairs from the same source?

Radar1721 · 09/26/2016, 07:25 AM

I did not treat them, but I kept them in the qt tank for about 4 weeks. What would be the recommendation for a product to treat them? From research it seemed like brook would be the mostly likely issue affecting only the clownfish, but it seems like formalin is really the only thing that works on that and it's recommended to not treat fish with that if you don't see any symptoms.

curtcherry · 09/26/2016, 08:00 AM

IME Brook will kill every fish in the tank. So if there are no other fish that have died then I can't imagine Brook being the cause. Did you see any long stringy white poop on the clowns? Living as long as they did then the symptoms they had makes me think it could be internal parasites. Which could infect other fish in the tank as well.

Either way Brook or something else, two sets of clowns die in the DT doesn't seem like coincidence.

Radar1721 · 09/26/2016, 08:27 AM

I did not notice any white string poop on this pair, but I did on one fish of the last pair.

curtcherry · 09/26/2016, 08:35 AM

I do see fish come in from LFS and Distributors with white stringy poop because they have only eaten mysis shrimp while in those places. I feed NLS 1mm sinking pellets. If I don't see their poop change from white stringy to brown in a day or two, I suspect internal parasites. I feed NLS Hex Shield or treat with PraziPro. If they are not eating you can only treat the water as the treated food has no effect if they don't eat it. If every fish in your DT is eating, you might want to try the food route. Would keep you from having to catch them all and move them to at QT - IF you suspect it is internal parasites. If you suspect something else like brook, then you have to move them to QT and keep your tank fallow for a period of time.

curtcherry · 09/26/2016, 08:44 AM

Check this link

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1994597

Babydaull · 09/26/2016, 09:32 AM

I know it sounds extremely weird but it might be the chromis. They actually aren't schooling fish and can get very aggressive if they don't have the right amount of hiding spots. I had a single chromis kill three separate clowns in my tank. I got rid of the chromis and now I have had a pair for 3 months and they are thriving.

curtcherry · 09/26/2016, 09:46 AM

I didn't even think of that in my replies. The OP should QT the chromis! if he doesn't suspect a disease. I truly can't see a disease as every fish would have it. Especially after two pairs of clownfish. But every tank seems to be different.

Radar1721 · 09/26/2016, 11:09 AM

You know, I had suspected the chromis in the back of my mind. They were the first fish I got when I setup the tank. I got 5 of them because they were cheap and I was told they were hardy and a cool schooling fish. I did have a couple of them that seem to go into some kind of shock one at a time. They just kind of floated against the wall at the top of the aquarium. They almost acted like they couldn't see. They never died, but I eventually flushed them. First one and then after I got rid of the other one another one did the exact same thing. The three that are in there will occasionaly pick at each other, but I've never noticed them bother another fish. They are big,fat full sized chromis and much bigger than the clowns I'm putting in. The other fish in the tank are larger than them.

Babydaull · 09/27/2016, 03:40 PM

The same thing happened to my uncle when he started his 75 gallon. the fish store told him they were a cool schooling fish and he bought 10 of them. he now only has three. They like to attack at night and will chase other tank mates smaller than themselves out of the tank. The three are doing fine now because he got a flame angel and a tang. The tang and flame angel are also bigger than the chromis, so they don't get bossed around by the chromis. like I said originally this happened to me with a chromis killing three different clownfish. I finally realized it was the chromis. I took it out and now I have a really nice clownfish pair.

09/25/2016, 09:42 PM	#1
Radar1721 Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 46	Clownfish keep dying in my display tank Just pulled out my second pair of clowns that died after putting them in my display tank. The tank has been up about 8 months and really seems to be thriving. I have a blue hippo, yellow tang, Royal gramma, orange spot goby, and some blue green chromis. They are all fat and eating great. Not a spec of ich even on the blue hippo. I have a small bta, and some rock anemones that look great. Probably around 15 corals. Every water parameter you can test is right on. I added a small pair of true perculas about three months back and they never seemed to eat that well and we're pretty lethargic. Ended up dying within a couple of days of each other. I bought a small pair of occellaris clowns a few weeks ago and kept them in a qt for a few weeks. They seemed good and we're eating well. I moved them into the display tank and they seemed ok, but I noticed they seemed to stop eating a couple of days ago and got lethargic. The both died today. I did see any white spots or slime on them and I haven't had any trouble with any other fish the entire time. I really want a pair of clowns and it has been so frustrating that I'm about to have to buy my third pair of what is supposed to be one of the easiest fish to keep. Any ideas what my problem might be? Am I just unlucky? Are clownfish maybe not as bullet proof as they seem? My only thought was that maybe they were struggling with the flow in the bigger tank versus a small one. I would say I have a medium amount. Both pairs have been about one inch. Thanks

09/26/2016, 08:00 AM	#4
curtcherry Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 195	IME Brook will kill every fish in the tank. So if there are no other fish that have died then I can't imagine Brook being the cause. Did you see any long stringy white poop on the clowns? Living as long as they did then the symptoms they had makes me think it could be internal parasites. Which could infect other fish in the tank as well. Either way Brook or something else, two sets of clowns die in the DT doesn't seem like coincidence. __________________ DT- 180. 78 degrees, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Phosphate >1 ppm. 40B FOWLR with Flame Angel. 2 QT Tanks - 29G & 20GL. Current Tank Info: 180 gallon. 40B FOWLR.

09/26/2016, 08:35 AM	#6
curtcherry Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 195	I do see fish come in from LFS and Distributors with white stringy poop because they have only eaten mysis shrimp while in those places. I feed NLS 1mm sinking pellets. If I don't see their poop change from white stringy to brown in a day or two, I suspect internal parasites. I feed NLS Hex Shield or treat with PraziPro. If they are not eating you can only treat the water as the treated food has no effect if they don't eat it. If every fish in your DT is eating, you might want to try the food route. Would keep you from having to catch them all and move them to at QT - IF you suspect it is internal parasites. If you suspect something else like brook, then you have to move them to QT and keep your tank fallow for a period of time. __________________ DT- 180. 78 degrees, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Phosphate >1 ppm. 40B FOWLR with Flame Angel. 2 QT Tanks - 29G & 20GL. Current Tank Info: 180 gallon. 40B FOWLR.

09/26/2016, 08:44 AM	#7
curtcherry Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 195	Check this link http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1994597 __________________ DT- 180. 78 degrees, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Phosphate >1 ppm. 40B FOWLR with Flame Angel. 2 QT Tanks - 29G & 20GL. Current Tank Info: 180 gallon. 40B FOWLR.

09/26/2016, 09:46 AM	#9
curtcherry Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: St. Louis MO Posts: 195	I didn't even think of that in my replies. The OP should QT the chromis! if he doesn't suspect a disease. I truly can't see a disease as every fish would have it. Especially after two pairs of clownfish. But every tank seems to be different. __________________ DT- 180. 78 degrees, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Phosphate >1 ppm. 40B FOWLR with Flame Angel. 2 QT Tanks - 29G & 20GL. Current Tank Info: 180 gallon. 40B FOWLR.

09/25/2016, 10:35 PM	#2
farfromsea Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 549	Do you treat them with meds in QT? Did you buy both pairs from the same source?

09/26/2016, 07:25 AM	#3
Radar1721 Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 46	I did not treat them, but I kept them in the qt tank for about 4 weeks. What would be the recommendation for a product to treat them? From research it seemed like brook would be the mostly likely issue affecting only the clownfish, but it seems like formalin is really the only thing that works on that and it's recommended to not treat fish with that if you don't see any symptoms.

09/26/2016, 08:27 AM	#5
Radar1721 Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 46	I did not notice any white string poop on this pair, but I did on one fish of the last pair.

09/26/2016, 09:32 AM	#8
Babydaull Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Location: Ohio Posts: 465	I know it sounds extremely weird but it might be the chromis. They actually aren't schooling fish and can get very aggressive if they don't have the right amount of hiding spots. I had a single chromis kill three separate clowns in my tank. I got rid of the chromis and now I have had a pair for 3 months and they are thriving.

09/26/2016, 11:09 AM	#10
Radar1721 Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 46	You know, I had suspected the chromis in the back of my mind. They were the first fish I got when I setup the tank. I got 5 of them because they were cheap and I was told they were hardy and a cool schooling fish. I did have a couple of them that seem to go into some kind of shock one at a time. They just kind of floated against the wall at the top of the aquarium. They almost acted like they couldn't see. They never died, but I eventually flushed them. First one and then after I got rid of the other one another one did the exact same thing. The three that are in there will occasionaly pick at each other, but I've never noticed them bother another fish. They are big,fat full sized chromis and much bigger than the clowns I'm putting in. The other fish in the tank are larger than them.

09/27/2016, 03:40 PM	#11
Babydaull Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Location: Ohio Posts: 465	adding on this The same thing happened to my uncle when he started his 75 gallon. the fish store told him they were a cool schooling fish and he bought 10 of them. he now only has three. They like to attack at night and will chase other tank mates smaller than themselves out of the tank. The three are doing fine now because he got a flame angel and a tang. The tang and flame angel are also bigger than the chromis, so they don't get bossed around by the chromis. like I said originally this happened to me with a chromis killing three different clownfish. I finally realized it was the chromis. I took it out and now I have a really nice clownfish pair.