Second Unexplained Clownfish Death in Two Years

[Spyderturbo007]

Either there is something in my tank that lays dormant for months before it strikes or I had purchased two genetically defective clownfish.

Here is my timeline:

10/12/2012 - Purchased two Black Onyx Snowflakes

11/18/2012 - Removed clowns from QT and placed in DT

2/9/2013 - The female randomly dies with no external signs within a few hours

12/22/2013 - Purchased juvenile clownfish and placed him in QT

1/25/2014 - Placed male in DT

Saturday - The female clown (the male from the original two) starts laying near the bottom of the tank breathing heavily and is no longer eating.

This morning - She died. All color was completely washed out. I watched her breathing slow, she spasmed a few times and perished.

Does anyone know what the hell might be going on in my tank? I haven't lost any other fish. Just the two clowns 18 months apart.

Was it a genetic defect or is it possible there is something in my tank that only effects clowns randomly?

 

[Neebles]

I assume your water params are in good order? Could any cleaning supplies, air fresheners, something on your hands etc gotten into the tank?

 

[Spyderturbo007]

Nope. Nothing. No Ammonia, no Nitrite, nothing harmful. My wife and I are hypersensitive when it comes to cleaning supplies, candles, etc. Nothing like that is allowed in the living room. Everything else in the tank is fine.

The female has always had slightly flared gills and always breathed faster than all the other fish. It didn't look labored, per say, but it was noticeable. I just assumed that's how she was and never though much of it.

 

[HumbleFish]

I think Brooklynella can be an opportunistic parasite, lying in wait (like ich). Case in point: I walked a fellow reefer thru how to do formalin baths for a pair of clowns with obvious Brook symptoms. However, she didn't take my advice to go fallow - she put the clowns right back in the DT they came out of. To my amazement, symptoms never returned. Flash forward like 6 months later, and she moves the tank. The clowns get Brook again, but another formalin bath clears it up and she puts them right back into the DT.

So, either her clownfish enjoy some sort of temporary immunity to Brook. Or the "stress" of the move lowered their immune systems enough for the parasite to reinfect. But you should have noticed some sort of visible symptoms if these clowns died of Brook.

The only "unseen" killer I can think of that they might have eventually succumbed to is ich.

 

[Spyderturbo007]

If it could go dormant, then QT would be ineffective, regardless of the duration. All fish went through QT for the recommended 4-6 weeks period. Hypothetically, if I were to remove all the fish and go fallow for the recommended time frame, there would be no assurance that the Brook would be eradicated in the DT.

The only signs I saw, were labored breathing and she was very pale this morning when I woke up about 10 minutes before she died. I suspect the paleness is normally when a fish has breathing problems. There was no abnormal amount of slime, which I've read is common with Brook.

I've followed all the rules and now there is a chance that I have something in my tank anyway. Makes QT seem like a complete waste if that is actually the case. :sad2:

I don't know what to do....

 

[HumbleFish]

It could just be something random or bad luck. I wouldn't get paranoid or make any changes until you have more to go on.