Clownfish passed away

[RustySailor]

Hello everyone. Today I lost one of my clownfish and I need some help determining the cause. I think the fish either got sick and passed away or was killed by my fairy wrasse.

I have a 55 gallon saltwater tank with live rock and live sand. I added a pair of clowns 5 months ago after the tank had spent 2 months cycling. I received them from my LFS, where I got all of my other fish. Over those 5 months I added 3 chromis, an orange spotted sleeper goby, cleaner shrimp, tonozukai fairy wrasse and a royal gramma.

Over the last few days I had noticed one of the clowns hanging out in the top corner of the tank and it was also breathing heavy. It was on the same side to the tank it always was and it was still eating 3 so I didn’t think much of it. My water parameters are (0 ammonia 0 nitrite 15 nitrate).

The Tonos fairy wrasse was added about a month ago after QT for 3 weeks. Everything but the royal gramma was already in the tank when I added it. It took the chromis sleeping spot and would chase them into hiding but that eventually stopped, the wrasse still chases the chromis but way less that it did, and the chromis don’t hide anymore.

Initially I didn’t think the wrasse seemed to care about the clowns at all until maybe a couple weeks ago. I noticed it slowly swimming into the clowns making them just swim down or up. But then it would swim away. My clowns never had any nipped fins are anything and never saw the clowns being chased away from their corner. The wrasse just showed a disregard of personal space.

My other clown fish doesn’t seem to show signs of stress and is swimming around the heater like he normally does. When the tank lights went out I saw the clowns swim into their corner and then when I woke up the one clown had passed away and was stuck to the wave maker.

Do you think the wrasse would/could have killed the clown ? I knew Tonos are deadly to other fairy wrasse but I was told they are peaceful to other fish? Do fish attack others in the night ? Or could my fish just have gotten sick over the last few days and passed away ? I’ve watched the tank for hours and the wrasse only seems to chase the chromis and doesn’t seem like a killer.

A week ago I added another 10lbs of live rock because I added a tank raised royal gramma. I QT the fish and used and acclimation box for the first time and the other fish leave it alone. The fairy wrasse lets it hang out right by its cave too.

I’ll post a photo of my dead clown Eve rip and the pic of my tank. Thanks in advance for any tips or advice.

 

[Formulator]

Sorry for your loss. It is possible the wrasse killed the clown, but I don’t think it would have been at night. Wrasse are extremely diurnal and typically completely inactive at night. Although the fairy wrasse doesn’t bury itself in the sand like other wrasse, it does build a little mucous cocoon every night and stays put in the rocks.

Keep an eye on your other fish for signs of illness. Honestly you may never know for sure, but I understand the desire to understand what killed your fish!

 

[RustySailor]

Sorry for your loss. It is possible the wrasse killed the clown, but I don’t think it would have been at night. Wrasse are extremely diurnal and typically completely inactive at night. Although the fairy wrasse doesn’t bury itself in the sand like other wrasse, it does build a little mucous cocoon every night and stays put in the rocks.

Keep an eye on your other fish for signs of illness. Honestly you may never know for sure, but I understand the desire to understand what killed your fish!

Thanks for the reply. Do you think I should remove the wrasse to be cautious ? I love the wrasse but would hate to lose another fish !

 

[Formulator]

Thanks for the reply. Do you think I should remove the wrasse to be cautious ? I love the wrasse but would hate to lose another fish !

I wouldn’t jump to drastic measures like that without knowing for sure. Sometimes fish just die - cancer, heart attack, genetic defect, etc. clown fish will usually hold their own pretty well, even in aggressive tanks, so I’m betting he was already weak or it wasn’t related to bullying at all.

 

[Daniel Doherty]

I wouldn’t jump to drastic measures like that without knowing for sure. Sometimes fish just die - cancer, heart attack, genetic defect, etc. clown fish will usually hold their own pretty well, even in aggressive tanks, so I’m betting he was already weak or it wasn’t related to bullying at all.

Hello everyone. Today I lost one of my clownfish and I need some help determining the cause. I think the fish either got sick and passed away or was killed by my fairy wrasse.

I have a 55 gallon saltwater tank with live rock and live sand. I added a pair of clowns 5 months ago after the tank had spent 2 months cycling. I received them from my LFS, where I got all of my other fish. Over those 5 months I added 3 chromis, an orange spotted sleeper goby, cleaner shrimp, tonozukai fairy wrasse and a royal gramma.

Over the last few days I had noticed one of the clowns hanging out in the top corner of the tank and it was also breathing heavy. It was on the same side to the tank it always was and it was still eating 3 so I didn’t think much of it. My water parameters are (0 ammonia 0 nitrite 15 nitrate).

The Tonos fairy wrasse was added about a month ago after QT for 3 weeks. Everything but the royal gramma was already in the tank when I added it. It took the chromis sleeping spot and would chase them into hiding but that eventually stopped, the wrasse still chases the chromis but way less that it did, and the chromis don’t hide anymore.

Initially I didn’t think the wrasse seemed to care about the clowns at all until maybe a couple weeks ago. I noticed it slowly swimming into the clowns making them just swim down or up. But then it would swim away. My clowns never had any nipped fins are anything and never saw the clowns being chased away from their corner. The wrasse just showed a disregard of personal space.

My other clown fish doesn’t seem to show signs of stress and is swimming around the heater like he normally does. When the tank lights went out I saw the clowns swim into their corner and then when I woke up the one clown had passed away and was stuck to the wave maker.

Do you think the wrasse would/could have killed the clown ? I knew Tonos are deadly to other fairy wrasse but I was told they are peaceful to other fish? Do fish attack others in the night ? Or could my fish just have gotten sick over the last few days and passed away ? I’ve watched the tank for hours and the wrasse only seems to chase the chromis and doesn’t seem like a killer.

A week ago I added another 10lbs of live rock because I added a tank raised royal gramma. I QT the fish and used and acclimation box for the first time and the other fish leave it alone. The fairy wrasse lets it hang out right by its cave too.

I’ll post a photo of my dead clown Eve rip and the pic of my tank. Thanks in advance for any tips or advice.

I’d a similar experience two 4 months ago. The clown started hanging out on its own in the top corner but didn’t think too much of it. His stomach had been kind of shallow/ sunken so I was feeding heavy with different foods. He seemed to be kind of lethargic and had no interest in the female. I found him dead after a few days and I reckon it must have been some sort of genetic defect/ parasite/ worm maybe? All my other fish were perfectly healthy, water chemistry was bang on etc.
If all your other fish particularly your clown seem to be okay then I’d come to the conclusion that it was nothing you could have prevented! Hope this helps

 

[PharmrJohn]

Looking at the fins and body, I don't see overt signs of any sort of struggle. I don't think it was aggression.

 

[RustySailor]

I wouldn’t jump to drastic measures like that without knowing for sure. Sometimes fish just die - cancer, heart attack, genetic defect, etc. clown fish will usually hold their own pretty well, even in aggressive tanks, so I’m betting he was already weak or it wasn’t related to bullying at all.

I’d a similar experience two 4 months ago. The clown started hanging out on its own in the top corner but didn’t think too much of it. His stomach had been kind of shallow/ sunken so I was feeding heavy with different foods. He seemed to be kind of lethargic and had no interest in the female. I found him dead after a few days and I reckon it must have been some sort of genetic defect/ parasite/ worm maybe? All my other fish were perfectly healthy, water chemistry was bang on etc.
If all your other fish particularly your clown seem to be okay then I’d come to the conclusion that it was nothing you could have prevented! Hope this helps

Thanks it helps a lot! Everyone seems to be ok, I guess sometimes things like this happen.

 

[Ocean2222]

Hello everyone. Today I lost one of my clownfish and I need some help determining the cause. I think the fish either got sick and passed away or was killed by my fairy wrasse.

I have a 55 gallon saltwater tank with live rock and live sand. I added a pair of clowns 5 months ago after the tank had spent 2 months cycling. I received them from my LFS, where I got all of my other fish. Over those 5 months I added 3 chromis, an orange spotted sleeper goby, cleaner shrimp, tonozukai fairy wrasse and a royal gramma.

Over the last few days I had noticed one of the clowns hanging out in the top corner of the tank and it was also breathing heavy. It was on the same side to the tank it always was and it was still eating 3 so I didn’t think much of it. My water parameters are (0 ammonia 0 nitrite 15 nitrate).

The Tonos fairy wrasse was added about a month ago after QT for 3 weeks. Everything but the royal gramma was already in the tank when I added it. It took the chromis sleeping spot and would chase them into hiding but that eventually stopped, the wrasse still chases the chromis but way less that it did, and the chromis don’t hide anymore.

Initially I didn’t think the wrasse seemed to care about the clowns at all until maybe a couple weeks ago. I noticed it slowly swimming into the clowns making them just swim down or up. But then it would swim away. My clowns never had any nipped fins are anything and never saw the clowns being chased away from their corner. The wrasse just showed a disregard of personal space.

My other clown fish doesn’t seem to show signs of stress and is swimming around the heater like he normally does. When the tank lights went out I saw the clowns swim into their corner and then when I woke up the one clown had passed away and was stuck to the wave maker.

Do you think the wrasse would/could have killed the clown ? I knew Tonos are deadly to other fairy wrasse but I was told they are peaceful to other fish? Do fish attack others in the night ? Or could my fish just have gotten sick over the last few days and passed away ? I’ve watched the tank for hours and the wrasse only seems to chase the chromis and doesn’t seem like a killer.

A week ago I added another 10lbs of live rock because I added a tank raised royal gramma. I QT the fish and used and acclimation box for the first time and the other fish leave it alone. The fairy wrasse lets it hang out right by its cave too.

I’ll post a photo of my dead clown Eve rip and the pic of my tank. Thanks in advance for any tips or advice.

I'm so sorry to hear. It's so tough. I just went through the same thing. I have no answers to give you can't find any for my situation either. We become attached...... my heart goes out to you.

 

[Ocean2222]

Hello everyone. Today I lost one of my clownfish and I need some help determining the cause. I think the fish either got sick and passed away or was killed by my fairy wrasse.

I have a 55 gallon saltwater tank with live rock and live sand. I added a pair of clowns 5 months ago after the tank had spent 2 months cycling. I received them from my LFS, where I got all of my other fish. Over those 5 months I added 3 chromis, an orange spotted sleeper goby, cleaner shrimp, tonozukai fairy wrasse and a royal gramma.

Over the last few days I had noticed one of the clowns hanging out in the top corner of the tank and it was also breathing heavy. It was on the same side to the tank it always was and it was still eating 3 so I didn’t think much of it. My water parameters are (0 ammonia 0 nitrite 15 nitrate).

The Tonos fairy wrasse was added about a month ago after QT for 3 weeks. Everything but the royal gramma was already in the tank when I added it. It took the chromis sleeping spot and would chase them into hiding but that eventually stopped, the wrasse still chases the chromis but way less that it did, and the chromis don’t hide anymore.

Initially I didn’t think the wrasse seemed to care about the clowns at all until maybe a couple weeks ago. I noticed it slowly swimming into the clowns making them just swim down or up. But then it would swim away. My clowns never had any nipped fins are anything and never saw the clowns being chased away from their corner. The wrasse just showed a disregard of personal space.

My other clown fish doesn’t seem to show signs of stress and is swimming around the heater like he normally does. When the tank lights went out I saw the clowns swim into their corner and then when I woke up the one clown had passed away and was stuck to the wave maker.

Do you think the wrasse would/could have killed the clown ? I knew Tonos are deadly to other fairy wrasse but I was told they are peaceful to other fish? Do fish attack others in the night ? Or could my fish just have gotten sick over the last few days and passed away ? I’ve watched the tank for hours and the wrasse only seems to chase the chromis and doesn’t seem like a killer.

A week ago I added another 10lbs of live rock because I added a tank raised royal gramma. I QT the fish and used and acclimation box for the first time and the other fish leave it alone. The fairy wrasse lets it hang out right by its cave too.

I’ll post a photo of my dead clown Eve rip and the pic of my tank. Thanks in advance for any tips or advice.

Wow your reef is just beautiful......great job!