Did my Ricordea's kill my Ocellaris?

[GF3]

Sad morning. Woke up to find that one of my clowns didn't wake up. I was on high alert search team mode with my CREE flashlight checking rear chambers, around the tank, behind the dresser, everywhere! Fish just couldnt be found. Finally caught just a glimpse of it as sunday buffet for my cleanup crew... Both clowns were looking/acting perfectly normal yesterday, and my snowflake still looks fine, albeit a little confused where his buddy is. I dont think either was sexually mature yet, no real pairing dances have taken place, both fish are no larger body size than a fingernail, the snowflake being a little smaller.

The only things that have changed in the tank this week was my normal 15% water change friday afternoon, and yesterday I mounted a bunch of new ricordea to one of the rocks in my tank to create a rico-garden. I kept the rock submerged in a container of tank water the entire time, only bringing it out to dab the spot I would mount a rico then back in the container. I did however introduce about a dozen ricordea to the tank at one time when the rock went back into the tank after getting a rinse of clean saltwater from the same batch I did my water change with. All my water test levels were on par with last week, nothing spiking or rising out of the ordinary. The only other thing I can think is that adding that many ricordea at once, could that have affected a clown? Or could this have just been a coincidental natural death, albeit an awful premature one?

 

[EMUReef]

Sad morning. Woke up to find that one of my clowns didn't wake up. I was on high alert search team mode with my CREE flashlight checking rear chambers, around the tank, behind the dresser, everywhere! Fish just couldnt be found. Finally caught just a glimpse of it as sunday buffet for my cleanup crew... Both clowns were looking/acting perfectly normal yesterday, and my snowflake still looks fine, albeit a little confused where his buddy is. I dont think either was sexually mature yet, no real pairing dances have taken place, both fish are no larger body size than a fingernail, the snowflake being a little smaller.

The only things that have changed in the tank this week was my normal 15% water change friday afternoon, and yesterday I mounted a bunch of new ricordea to one of the rocks in my tank to create a rico-garden. I kept the rock submerged in a container of tank water the entire time, only bringing it out to dab the spot I would mount a rico then back in the container. I did however introduce about a dozen ricordea to the tank at one time when the rock went back into the tank after getting a rinse of clean saltwater from the same batch I did my water change with. All my water test levels were on par with last week, nothing spiking or rising out of the ordinary. The only other thing I can think is that adding that many ricordea at once, could that have affected a clown? Or could this have just been a coincidental natural death, albeit an awful premature one?

rics are not preditorial hunters even at that i dont think the sting could be anywhere near what a nem gives off which clowns are immune too.
So something else must have made your clown pass.

 

[Silfer]

no bigger than a fingernail? damn that's way too small, a hermit could probably catch and kill that in the night.. or you could have a rogue crab

Also no a ric won't kill a clownfish.. only those giant elephant ear mushrooms can catch a fish and that's at a push.

 

[steamboat]

I have 15 or so ricordeas in with my clown fish and have never had any issues.

 

[SushiGirl]

Did you use something to glue the frags?

 

[GF3]

Used the standard gel superglue, never had any issues before, like i said too, the rock was in a container of tank water while i put the garden together, and then rinsed with clean saltwater, same stuff as i used friday for my water change. Honestly body size on them is like 3/4" plus the tail, so yea, they are small, but not really quite fingernail small, just saying they arent mature yet. I was just hoping that it wasnt from introducing so many shrooms at once that might have gotten it sick or anything, cause I still have the other one ive got my eye on for signs of trouble at this time...

I doubt that even if i do have a hitchhiker hiding in my rocks, it wouldn't get to the clowns, they pretty much live at the back top of the tank swimming between the hydor flo and nano powerhead. They havent been very big on exploring the tank, sometimes making laps around the front a few times and going back to their comfort zone.

BTW, since this happened, should I just chalk it up as a bad experience and let the snowflake grow a little more solo and become female? I was so psyched about it being a little smaller than the beautiful ocellaris that was his woman to be....I dont think dropping a LFS ocellaris in the tank with this little guy would be a good idea, he would get his tailfins handed to him... Would it honestly be any less entertaining to just have one clown in the tank instead of a mated pair?

 

[Silfer]

less entertaining definately (sorry to say), but a clownfish pair are great fun to watch, especially as they mature and start spawning.

 

[GF3]

Well, I guess it doesn't matter now, the snowflake passed overnight. My firefish and blenny are both doing just fine thou so I really don't know what to think about it all. The tank gets fed well with dry pellets and Rod's Original, no reason anything would be hungry enough to attack the clowns. All I can think is they reacted to something in the tank my tests don't look for.

 

[holmstar]

Was there anything off in terms of their appearance? Brooklynella can sometimes kill clowns very quickly.

 

[GF3]

Nothing I could observe with the naked eye when I was looking it over after the first one passed. I need to do another round of basic tests after work today to make sure my water quality isn't affected by the deaths and subsequent feasting by the cleanup crew.

 

[GF3]

:mad2: Just need to vent now, been grumbling all day about it. Last night for the first time EVER i saw some hitchhiker crab in the tank after lights out. I thought it was my uber friendly emerald crab at first, then saw them.... Those hideous EVIL POINTY claws! Im so ****ed right now, if that little b-stard was the one responsible for killing my innocent little clowns, he WILL suffer a horrendously slow death once I catch his punka$$. That is all, hopefully this closes the case on the mysterious sudden deaths of my baby clowns mere days apart from each other with no apparent symptoms of illness.

 

[Frantz]

Sorry to hear about your loss, but at least you know it wasn't a flaw with your system. Enjoy your revenge.