New fish dying

[dr.dator]

So I added a pair of black ocellaris and one fire goby to my 30 gallon tank 4 days ago. Now they are all dead... :sad2: First my fire goby died after about 48 hours and yesterday I found one of the ocellaris dead in my sump (I have no idea how it got there...) and this morning the other one was dead on the sand.

I have 2 orange ocellaris since before which are doing fine and my corals are also looking good (except one bleached montipora digitata). I did drip acclimate the fish and I think my params are ok...

Temp: 75
Salinity: 1.026
PH: 8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0.5 ppm
Phosphate: 0.00 - 0.05 ppm

Any ideas on why this would happen? I think I will go back to my LFS and have them test my water also.

 

[wnppmy]

Unfortunately some are caught with lethal dosing to be easier caught. Fish die a few days and weeks later. Course could be something else going on but as your earlier fish still going strong this is a strong possibility.

 

[kissman]

Some times clowns don't mix well. I have heard not to mix cliwns, i use to have a problem with my Sixline Wrasse taking swims down my overflow. When i bought my DIY screen kit for my lids i had some extra and zip tied it around my over flows.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Did you quarantine these fish? Any fish can carry something deadly into your DT. Never keep more than one pair of clowns in the same tank. they are fine as juvis, but will not tolerate each other when mature. No way to tell what killed your fish without water params and a good description of the dying/dead fish.

 

[dr.dator]

Did you quarantine these fish? Any fish can carry something deadly into your DT. Never keep more than one pair of clowns in the same tank. they are fine as juvis, but will not tolerate each other when mature. No way to tell what killed your fish without water params and a good description of the dying/dead fish.

Hm.. I didn't quarantine them. I don't have a QT and I've never done that. On the other hand the only fish I've had so far are the two orange ocellaris.

The guy at my LFS said that you can have two pairs of clowns if they are small when introduced to the tank. I actually specifically asked him about that because I've heard you shouldn't have more than one pair. I guess I was stupid enough to trust him... But I don't think that is what killed them because they seemed to be getting along fine with each other. They also ate what I fed them and looked normal to me.

When I found the fire goby dead, one of my hermit crabs was eating on him. Other than that I didn't see anything suspicious... I do have a few small aiptasia but that can't kill a fish, correct? And also, I think my salinity is a bit high. Could it be that?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Like I said above, juvi clowns will do fine together; LFS keep many of them in a tank. When they pair off, they become extremely territorial and very seldom (never say never) tolerate any other clowns, especially in small tanks. Your SG isn't a problem. I can't guess what killed all of your fish, it could be acclimation or a serious disease/parasite that went unnoticed. I'd set up a QT before you start adding fish again; they are really vital. If a parasite was involved; you should leave your tank fishless for 10+ weeks to kill any forms of any parasite. Protozoan parasites are very common and some can kill very quickly. I'd do some research while your tank is fallow, maybe start by reading some of the parasite stickies at the top of the disease forum .

 

[upnext]

Agreed. I think for a 30 gal two pairs are little to the edge but again it could be from how the cought them.

 

[Fish Biscuit]

Long term 2 pairs of clowns in a 30 won't work. Firefish are very timid & do best if they are the first fish in a tank.