# clown just died :(



## fader (May 31, 2011)

Any thoughts guys?

Came home and the ocellaris clown was at the bottom of the tank dead. Head was separating a bit from the body but there were no marks or cuts. i'll post a pic later tonite.

Checked my params and everything is at zero like Amm, etc.

Could one of the other fish have killed him? I added a purple dottyback a few weeks ago and it's been acting a bit aggressive. There are 2 clowns in the tank first and the other clown is ok so far.


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## J-Miles-21 (Sep 25, 2010)

that sucks man...the same thing actually just happened to me...woke up this morning and the clown was missing...full body intact, just a dead fish behind the rocks....it actually took me 10 minutes just to find it...i even thought it coulda jumped out somehow cuz it took me so long to find a body


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Need a lot more information than that, and even then it is hard to pinpoint:

1. Water parameters

2. Tank size

3. Tank stocking

4. Maintenance and filtration


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## J-Miles-21 (Sep 25, 2010)

sorry if im hijacking your thread...but i tested my water after and my pH and nitrates were slightly elevated...how much of that would be due to a dead fish floating around the tank all night


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## fader (May 31, 2011)

probably a little wouldn't it? the dead fish would start rotting fairly fast.

my tanks 25 gallons with a Aquaclear 70 attached with cheato inside.

params are 0 for amm, nitrate, nitrite and 8.2 for pH. SG 1.024.

stocked with 2 clowns, 1 yellowtail damsel, 1 yellow wrasse and 1 purple dottyback.

maybe I was pushing the dissolved O2? i've no bubbler and was relying on the AC70 flow.

otherwise everything seems solid tankwise. tanks been up for 2 months now.


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## fader (May 31, 2011)

trying to keep my 2 year old from hijacking the thread too  keeps wanting to hit all the keys on the keyboard.

i've also got an MP10 for extra flow but the AC70's what's breaking up the water surface.

forgot to add i've also some hermits, a cleaner shrimp and a emerald crab as a CUC plus some snails.

mysterious clown death.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

LOL my little one is always with me on the comp... Really hard to reply. haha.

Just a thought, did the temps go crazy in the tank the past two days or do you have good AC? I lost everything with a heat wave one year and very quickly..

Everyone else is looking okay? 

I have no experience with multiple fish stocking since I only kept clowns in the past.


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## fader (May 31, 2011)

i don't think the temps would have spiked. i've got good AC and it's set all day. tank temp ranges from 78-79 but it's pretty consistent.

the other fish are ok and doesn't look like they've got any issues, diseases, etc at all. all of them are around 1" in length.

all i can think of so far is either 5 fish is too much and the O2 is depleting. or the purple dottyback could kill another fish couldn't it? or maybe the other clown did? the surviving clown is the bigger one.

i got both clowns together but the surviving clown grew larger while the dead one stayed the same.

sigh... mysterious tank incidents. maybe I should install a security camera


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

The dotty back could have killed it, or pestered it to death.

The tank could be low on O2, and the extra stress of fleeing could have suffocated it.

The larger clown was becoming the female, and the one that was small was the male.

IMO - your tank is stocked pretty heavy. Damsels are known to be a pest, clowns are pretty docile (unless they have eggs, ask my trigger that is regrowing tail fins...) and that dotty back will hold its own. So will that wrasse. In a small tank, that is a lot of chasing/fleeing.

Try moving that MP10 up a bit. It should more than easily be able to ripple the surface, and increase the O2 in the tank. There doesn't need to be tidal waves, just good rippling.


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## fader (May 31, 2011)

Took the dotty out. It was definitely pestering everyone else too so at least the tank is more harmonious without it. Talk about a pain though. Had to take apart the rock work to get at the dotty.


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## ecoleshill (Jan 22, 2009)

Have you watched your tank at night? I had two hitch hikker stone crabs in my live rock. I hear if not removed quickly they can a) tear apart your live rock and b) catch fish when hungry. 

Just a thought.


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## fader (May 31, 2011)

lol. i have the habit still of sitting and checking out the tank even after lights out. don't think there is anything like that in there. the most i've seen are a couple of bristle worms.


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