so.
LFS got in a group of clarkii's. I tried to pick one out that was smallish among the bunch and not engaged in spats with any of the others... watched the tank for maybe 20 minutes trying to sort out who was who.
I think I did okay picking the fish. Got it home, got it acclimated. Let it float, after acclimation, in the bag (all punched full of holes and spread out to make a psuedo-specimen container) about 6 inches from the edge of what I term clownfish zone...the area around the 'nem that causes my Clarkii to alternate between lunging at me and hiding whenever my fingers/arm get in it. Some minor curiosity, and one or two mini-headbutts toward the bag were all that my Clarkii did before going back to her 'nem. The newbie, even separated in the bag, promptly faced his belly toward Spike and shivered like crazy. Good signs, I thought. So, I let him go after 30 minutes of nothing major.
Spike showed much more interest once the newbie was free... came over, got shown some more belly. She started doing this jaw thing, opening an closing her mouth real fast, that made audible popping noise. Didn't even know they could make noises. No grabbing for fins or anything, just lunges and that popping. The newbie popped back once I think, but mostly just swam away from the confrontation or tilted over and shivered. He kept coming back for more after each time he swam away, so I was hopeful...
After nearly an hour of little matches and displays, he must have decided he needed a rest, and he swam back behind some rocks...right into my pistol shrimp's main warren. I can't see back there real well, but I know that shrimp has nearly twice the body-length of the new clown. I heard him pop, and saw a bunch of sand puff out from under the rocks.
I got a phone call and had to leave off my vigil at the worst moment, of course. Came back, and the newbie clown was out from the rocks, swimming all slow, and breathing much faster than I had previously noticed. He got into it a few more times with Spike, and then went and hid behind some other rocks.
Fast forward about three hours; I check on them again, and they are still alternating between the whole "I shiver and show my belly, you lunge like you want to headbutt me but stop and pop your jaw instead" thing, and him just swimming off to the other end of the tank. Still accelerated breathing, still swimming a bit funky.
Fast forward another hour and twenty minutes or so... I go in and am greeted by the sight of all my hermits dog-piled on the new clown's dead body.
I don't know if the stress of the re-location coupled with pairing was too much, or if the pistol shrimp is capable of actual harm (I don't doubt it, hes big, but hes never hurt anything before). Or maybe I am mis-interpretting their behaviors, and the newbie was a female?
I don't really know if there is any actual advice that would have helped, unless the gender was the problem. In which case, what is a better way to tell who is who in the groups at the store?
If it was the pistol shrimp, I will just have to hope the next suitor has better sense than to go down under those particular rocks, cause there is no way on earth I could get him out, and I don't particularly want to. He and his goby friend make for interesting tank-watching.
Anyway, just documenting the effort, in hopes of adding to the knowledge pool I guess.
EDIT: jeez, I just looked back and saw how long that post was. sorry
