why can't I keep clown fish?

[boyer]

So I have had really bad luck with trying to keep clown fish. My first pair were two false percs which My damsels killed one of them so i got rid of the damsels and the other clown I think got brook... a few weeks later i bought a pair of yellow stripe maroon clowns. one died same day floating around he couldn't keep himself afloat. the other maroon did fine i put another maroon in a week later and same thing he lasted a few days and same thing. the larger of the maroon did great for... i'd say 2 months? and last night i found him kinda sitting at the bottom of the tank and this morning he would lay against the rocks and wasn't able to do much of anything so i went to work and my wife called me and said he was on his side but breathing heavy... she flushed him shortly after...

all water parameters test fine, do I have brook still in my tank? If i do why wasn't the larger maroon affected till now?

if you need a stocking list let me know, I had a mandarin goby die recently I think it was do to lack of food, I have a HOB refugium but my pod pop was low... also now that I think about it my clown didnt seem to eat a lot the entire time I've had him... I feed mysis, and cyclopeeze. and some pellet food.

Thanks!

 

[MelloW33]

What fish do you currently have in there now? Are you getting all these fish at a nice, reputable LFS?

 

[Josh_Canada]

there is either a huge flaw your overlooking, or the fish may have been caught with cyanide. Given your luck, i would probably blame the LFS.

 

[davocean]

Might want to list all tank specs/gear and params w/ actual numbers.
Just fine doesn't really tell us much.
How long has tank been running?

 

[boyer]

ph 8.1
nitrates 0
calcium is around 420
SG is 1.026

tank has been running for 6 months
stocking list was a gold stripe maroon clown, a mandarin goby and a sand sifting goby, then a cleaner shrimp

since this morning current fish are a sand sifting goby who is doing fine, a cleaner shrimp, a peppermint shrimp to rid the aiptasia, a rbta, and a hawaiian carpet anemone. and a stock of corals.

as far as gear, AC70 HOB rufugium with some chaeto, and a hob skimmer 20lbs lr and 20lbs live sand

 

[boyer]

the mandarin and the maroons were baught from a reputable store the false percs were a maybe

 

[SkullV]

What size tank? Ammonia/nitrate numbers? Any additional flow?

 

[boyer]

I have a koralia nano 240 and a koralia 420
And it's a 12g with led lighting 2x evil's par38 20k

 

[SkullV]

The issue is most likely the size of the tank. A 12g is barely large enough for a pair of small clowns (Occelaris/Percula) let alone a maroon. A mandarin will also not ever survive in a 12g unless it is taking prepared food and you can feed it that prepared food constantly.

A 12g is suitable for one, maybe 2 fish (3 if they are all tiny gobies). If I were you I would go get one Occelaris/Percula clown and call it a day.

 

[jbax]

the mandarin and the maroons were baught from a reputable store the false percs were a maybe

the mandarin and the maroons, were not bought at a reputable store. a reputable fish store would ask.

what size tank do you have?
how long has it been setup?
what kind of equipment do you have?
what do you plan on keeping in it?

a good LFS would refuse to sell a mandarin and maroons to a customer with a 12g tank and running for only 6mths. even the ora mandarins are still difficult eaters. and i could be wrong but a sand sifting goby needs a mature sand bed to sustain life.

 

[boyer]

im not so sure he is a sand sifting goby he doesnt sift sand he looks actually like a diamond spotted goby and he eats mysis like no other

 

[SkullV]

im not so sure he is a sand sifting goby he doesnt sift sand he looks actually like a diamond spotted goby and he eats mysis like no other

Diamond goby is a sand sifter. If he is taking mysis and actually keeping it down (watch to see if it passes through his gills) then he should be good. With that goby you can look into adding ONE more Nano fish. I really love my Swissguard Basslet and one of those would do well in a 12g with a goby.

 

[boyer]

I'm gonna try another clown, maybe a small perc, when I move next year I will be upgrading to a 30gallon cube, I have a rbta which I want the clown to host in. it's a small one gonna wait a few weeks before I add anything.

 

[jestr]

the mandarin and the maroons, were not bought at a reputable store. a reputable fish store would ask.

what size tank do you have?
how long has it been setup?
what kind of equipment do you have?
what do you plan on keeping in it?

a good LFS would refuse to sell a mandarin and maroons to a customer with a 12g tank and running for only 6mths. even the ora mandarins are still difficult eaters. and i could be wrong but a sand sifting goby needs a mature sand bed to sustain life.

Even the good stores are not going to turn down sales in this economy but they will suggest against it

 

[SkullV]

Wait you have an RBTA in that tiny cube too? That is going to put a huge strain on your bioload. I would consider getting rid of the RBTA or not adding anymore fish until you upgrade.

 

[jbax]

Even the good stores are not going to turn down sales in this economy but they will suggest against it

well i can only speak for one LFS who does refuse sales.

one example: this guy had a tank running for 3 days and couldn't understand why the owner wouldn't sell him a laundry list of fish. the lfs tried to give the guy advise on how to go about starting a saltwater tank and all the in and outs of cycling a tank. but at the end of the conversation, all the advice fell on def ears. so the owner pointed him down the road and said i'm sure the fish store down the street will sell you these fish but i won't.

a quote from the owner " i'm not having my name associated with that slaughter"

 

[Ethan_W]

ph 8.1
nitrates 0
calcium is around 420
SG is 1.026

tank has been running for 6 months
stocking list was a gold stripe maroon clown, a mandarin goby and a sand sifting goby, then a cleaner shrimp

since this morning current fish are a sand sifting goby who is doing fine, a cleaner shrimp, a peppermint shrimp to rid the aiptasia, a rbta, and a hawaiian carpet anemone. and a stock of corals.

as far as gear, AC70 HOB rufugium with some chaeto, and a hob skimmer 20lbs lr and 20lbs live sand

both of the anemones should be taken out. im surprised you havent run into chemical warfare problems between the 2. both will get too large for a 12g anyway

 

[boyer]

everything in the tank is doing awesome, I do weekly water changes of about 2 1/2 to 3gallons i only feed twice a week and my readings are dead on. I am getting ready to build a larger tank roughly 35 gallons, and will transfer everything there. but for now everything is thriving. And I'm not going to change it. But I appreciate all comments suggestion and advice. I think I'm going to blame the death's on starvation, the mandarin which I take 100% responsibility for not having my pod population booming before I got him. and the clown because I never really paid attention to his eating, but as I recall the past few weeks he has not been eating like he had in the past.

gonna give it a few before i make any changes.

 

[SkullV]

35g will not be enough for 2 full grown BTAs either unless it's all you want in the tank. Apparently you are just going to do whatever you want (not sure why you even asked for advice). Good luck with your tank.