Bummer, Ocellaris semi-snowflake died

[dakineacct]

I have had a pair of ocellaris semi-snowflake clowns for about 20 months. They are kept in a 120 gallon soft coral and LPS tank with only 2 other fish (tang and damsel), and all 4 of them have been in the tank together for 20 months. Saturday, my daughter called me to the tank because the male clown was acting strange, he was near the top of the tank and not moving much. I had to take care of something else, left the room and when I returned about 10 minutes later, the male clown was dead on the bottom of the tank.

No detectable nitrite or ammonia spikes, and all other tank inhabitants are fine. No livestock additions or any other changes I can think of. Pretty sad about the loss, I have been keeping saltwater tanks for over 5 years, and while I have lost some corals, never lost a fish.

Anyway, thinking of getting another semi-snowflake for my remaining female. First, should I, do clowns do better in pairs? Any issues I need to be aware of in introducing another clown?

 

[AJD84]

Debatable. They seek mates in the wild so one could easily argue yes on the premise alone.

My black misbar Ocellaris chased 2 suitors out of her 210 before she found one that was tolerable. IMO the smaller the male the better so there is less fuss about who the female will be. My A. Barberi pair were (2" and 1") and set their roles on day 1 with little dispute. I would have been really ****ed if my black misbars were the price of snowflakes though. Monitor their interactions closely after the quarantine period.