7 year old clown fish just died.

[IDoHomeLoans]

Hi all! I am brand new to this forum and I hope someone out there can assist me.

I had a clownfish for about 7 years now. It was one of my very first fish I ever purchased and has been with me through a lot. It had hosted in a new pink bubble tip and so I thought it would look cool if I got another one for him to have a friend.

So I purchased one that ended up not eating and died quickly. I went back to same fish store and got another one that was eating.

I kept him in a little mini netted tank thing for a few days so they can used to each other, then let him loose. They seemed to bond within an hour or so. I did not see them bite each other one time, just a little bit of fluttering. It was so awesome that they were hanging out in the anemone together.

After about 1 week the newest clown had a spot that was kind of looked like a bruise but I have no aggressive fish. I have a pipefish in my tank for gods sake. Also there were no signs of a fight other than that one bruise lookin spot.

Within a couple more days he died. And the last day he was alive my old clown was hiding in the back of their anemone which was not like him. He didn't come out to eat either. I figured he was sad. So for the next couple days I would squirt the food in the back where he was. On the 3rd day after the newest clown died, I get a phone call from my wife that says, "honey, I have some bad news for you.... Your little clownie died" I was freaken shocked!!

I didn't know he was in danger of dying or I would have gotten help, he was my little buddy. Sigh.

Anybody have any idea what could have caused his death? All my corals are thriving. No other fish died. And I didn't feed him anything different. Thanks for any feedback.

I included a pic of my tank. Not sure why it uploads upside down.

 

[OrionN]

You got sick two clown fish to your tank, These two clown fish transmitted what they got to your clown and all three died. You should quarantine your fish before put them in your DT. Even though you keep fish for 7+ years, it does not appear that you are good at observation of your animals. All three fish death come at a complete surprise to you.

Most likely they got Brooklynella and died. I did not come up with this diagnosis from what you told me but this disease is very common in clowns, and both of the new clowns were sick with something you did not know about.

 

[natsak1]

Sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, I have to agree that you probably inadvertently gave something to your existing clownfish by not having a separate quarantine tank for the new one. Are you planning on getting more? If so, I'd definitely set up a QT to hold them before putting them in your main tank. That way you can treat them if you notice anything. I'm not positive that your clownfish had Brooklynella, but it would be my guess, too. Brooklynella kills pretty quickly, but can be treated. I've successfully used a freshwater dips to help them recover. You can also do a search for other treatments.