Clownfish have disappeared (1 Viewer)

[julio]

So i bought 8 baby clownfish for my 65, 4 dvincies and 4 occs. I know some will say it cant be done in that small of a tank but it has been done before and i thought id do it too. Bought last sat and everything was good until i seen my firehawk eat 2 of them. Put him in the sump. Six clowns left with the only other fish a yellow tang. Bought 2 more clowns and everything was good until 4 days later when 3 clowns disappeared. Thought maybe they were killed off by the meaner clowns and kept a eye on the tang but he showed no signs of aggression. One day later all 5 remaining are gone. What gives? I was feeding crushed pellet food 2 times a day and no other predators in the tank. I could see they were eatimg but didnt seem to be voracious eaters. Tang, firehawk in sump, snail/crabs, coral are all doing great. What happened to my clowns?? Any ideas?

 

[G-reef]

DARN!!
IS YOUR TANK THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE??

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[julio]

Smh...could be. Forgot to add they are not in my overflow. I screened the overflow with window screen to keep that from happening

 

[rehab]

Smh...could be. Forgot to add they are not in my overflow. I screened the overflow with window screen to keep that from happening

You definitely have a predator in there some where. I got 4 from G-reef, 2 about 1/2" and 2 about 1/4", and they all more than double their sizes in less than 3 weeks. They are tough as nail and held their own with 2 other 3" wrasses. Something in your tank is either eating them for sure. Have you check for large crab or hobbit worm yet? Where did you get your live rock?

 

[Diesel]

That's weird!
How long is this tank running?
You have any test results from your water?
Can you post a few pics up from your tank?

 

[julio]

Tank has been up for 4 months, i have red/blue leg crabs some large but nothing out of the norm. Hobbit worm? Thats one ugly critter but dont know if i had one hitch hike in coral that ive bought. Is there a way to check for them? I bought all my dead/dry rock from person on craigs and bought live sand from lfs. Here are a couple pics with lights on white to get better pic. Yellow tang is hiding in back

 

[rehab]

Did the Corals you buy come with any good size rocks? The size of those clown fishes make it hard to pinpoint what happened since they could be snack for anything tbh.

 

[Reefahholic]

Sounds like a predator. Or it could be Brooklynella or Velvet. Did you observe the fish closely?

 

[julio]

After the tank cycle the only things that have gone into the tank are fish, cuc from reef cleaners, coral from my nano and sps frags from members. I think i would have seen a potential nasty hitch hiker on frags. I had a pair of clowns for 3 months that were 1.5" with no problems. At lights out the babies would hang out in upper corner, unless they would drift to sand bed or rocks later in night i dont see a crab eating them. I wish i had a camera on the tank

 

[Reefahholic]

After the tank cycle the only things that have gone into the tank are fish, cuc from reef cleaners, coral from my nano and sps frags from members. I think i would have seen a potential nasty hitch hiker on frags. I had a pair of clowns for 3 months that were 1.5" with no problems. At lights out the babies would hang out in upper corner, unless they would drift to sand bed or rocks later in night i dont see a crab eating them. I wish i had a camera on the tank

Now I'm leaning towards a disease. This may have been brought in with the new additions. It may be one of these. You would be surprised the animals that can go undetected in a reef.



Check out this video on YouTube:


HUGE Eunice / Bristle Worm - YouTube

 

[julio]

Holy jesus....thats a monster! I read up on brook and velvet... My clowns didnt show symptoms of either but read either disease can come on quick and be deadly. If thats the case I need to keep my tank fishless for 6 weeks. Dang the luck

 

[Reefahholic]

I had Velvet that came up on a blue tang one time that appeared 21 days into my QT period and was virtually not even noticeable had I not been looking very carefully. Came from Live Aquariua too. The tank it went in was set up from a dry tank.

 

[Diesel]

It might be a decease you had, again it might!!
You said you had a yellow tang and a flamehawk in there, how are they doing?
I would closely monitor those for a while and if no signs.
After a week or so you can get one or two clowns again but this time keep them in a acclimation box in your tank for a few days or better yet get a 10 gallon tank with a HOB and QT them.
Never release a new fish in the DT without a acclimation time of at least 2 days.

 

[Reefahholic]

I never let a fish in my DT until it's been in QT for 4-6 weeks. All new arrivals get Prazipro, 4 tank transfers (every 72 hrs or three days), and 4-6 weeks of inspection. Just think of all fish like really nice ACRO's that are suspected of having AEFW's. Most fish, regardless of LFS, are usually infested with something. Just because you do not visually see anything on the fish and are eating- doesn't necessarily disprove potential parasitic diseases. Just like AEFW's, ICH and other parasites can remain undetected (for example: In the gills) for quite sometime. AEFW's can also go unnoticed and require consecutive dips to get the possible eggs that may be left behind.

 

[julio]

Ive come to the conclusion i have some kind of disease. A couple months back i bought a naso, powder blue and copperband. They were all fine until a week later the copperband died then naso and powder blue developed what looked like ich and died too. I think its velvet or brook though, as it seems to affect clowns aswell. Watching the tang i noticed he would scrape a rock or glass every so often but he eats like a pig, is fat and looks healthy. Same with the flamehawk. Im sure because they eat so well they are able to fight it off. Looking at the clowns i mentioned earlier that are in a seperate tank now i noticed one had a slimey look...signs of brook and velvet. Thanks for helping me think this thru and figuring it out. Im going to set up a qt with water from my nano tank and go fishless for 6 weeks. Learned i should always quarantine. Sorry for all the long post

 

[G-reef]

Those clowns were tank raised.
In tanks with nothing else in them EVER.
No way it came in thru them.
Healthy and thriving.
Out of 100s of fish theses are the only one this has happened to.




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[Diesel]

Ive come to the conclusion i have some kind of disease. A couple months back i bought a naso, powder blue and copperband. They were all fine until a week later the copperband died then naso and powder blue developed what looked like ich and died too. I think its velvet or brook though, as it seems to affect clowns aswell. Watching the tang i noticed he would scrape a rock or glass every so often but he eats like a pig, is fat and looks healthy. Same with the flamehawk. Im sure because they eat so well they are able to fight it off. Looking at the clowns i mentioned earlier that are in a seperate tank now i noticed one had a slimey look...signs of brook and velvet. Thanks for helping me think this thru and figuring it out. Im going to set up a qt with water from my nano tank and go fishless for 6 weeks. Learned i should always quarantine. Sorry for all the long post

In that case the earlier fish brought in the decease and not the clowns.
Glad you figured it out and I believe the Gallon sale is still on at petco.
Get a 20gallon long and a HOB filter with a cheap heater all you need.
If you do the TTM you need a 10 gallon too.
Good luck my friend.

 

[Clownfish Chris]

Lee, It is important that you indicated how your fish were raised. the disease obviously came from the three additions before the clowns.

Julio, Unfortunately, it looks like it is time for a fallow period for your tank. I have a 55g you could borrow as a qt if you need it. It is just the tank so you would need to provide your own filtration. if you soak your skimmer in a bleach solution for a few hours and run carbon, you should be fine. As you probably know keep an eye on ammonia. I would only ask that you do not use any copper in the tank.

 

[julio]

im sure the disease came from the 3 fish mentioned. ill let this take its course and be more cautious with new additions.

??? so bleach my skimmer and run carbon for 6 weeks? i have a 30 gallon long i can use as qt but i appreciate the offer chris!

 

[Clownfish Chris]

im sure the disease came from the 3 fish mentioned. ill let this take its course and be more cautious with new additions.

??? so bleach my skimmer and run carbon for 6 weeks? i have a 30 gallon long i can use as qt but i appreciate the offer chris!

That is how I would run a hospital tank. The carbon would work as a place for a nitrifying bacteria more than anything. it cannot be used with medication though. Only for observation. The reason for bleaching the skimmer is so you do not transfer diseases with it. I would use a skimmer for oxygenation of the water as well as removal of waste. Maybe someone with more experience will chime in as I can be a complete idiot.