Hi I have a question about why my big fish keep dying> I had 5 fish that were on the bigger side and I added snails and they seemed to die off but since that incident it has been about a month or more and I bought a Maroon Pair and a type of tang it had the shape of a yellow tang but it wasn't a yellow tang. It is a 210 gallon aquarium that is getting turned into a reef tank slowly. The fish inside of the tank currently are 2 Maroon Clownfish, 2 anemones, 3 blue damsel fish, 1 hawk fish to be removed,1 engineer goby and 6 shrimp. I'm not sure if the arrow crab is still alive and I also have two small clown fish waiting to be taken out and probably 130 snails or more. Whenever I add a fish it seems to be fine for a week or two then looks stressed, sick and eventually dies and its happened to every fish that is on the bigger side except the maroon clown fish. I thought it was a parasite but nothing else but the tank looked sick and my other thought was the damsel fish are hiding in the rock and nipping at them when they are getting to close to the rock. Any ideas of what it could be or if I'm right about the damsel fish. Anything advice of what I should do so this stops helps.
All my big fish seem to get sick and die off except my maroons
SudzFD
Active Member
It’s most likely the maroon clowns. They are beautiful fish but extremely aggressive.
I had a single maroon clown but got rid of him because I couldn’t add anything else to my tank.
But to rule out anything else, what are your water parameters?
BCrown
New Member
Alright ill have to keep an eye on the tank about the maroons i haven't seen them go after anything other than the small clownfish and I will have to check the water again but a week or two ago when I last checked they were all fine
BCrown
New Member
I also had a Naso tang that died of before i picked up the maroon pair and everything else was in the tank expect the maroon pair and the other tang and that guy seemed to hide away then eventually got and died. Im not sure if that gives any other viewpoint. Everything in the tank seems to be perfectly fine so im not sure
BCrown
New Member
So this is what the tank is currently looking like from the front and both sides and on the inside of the rock is decently hollow for fish to get in and out of.
I thought it could of been parasites but nothing inside of the tank seems to be sick or acting weird except the tang that just passed. I'm not positive if its the Maroon pair they are normally nippy with each other which is pretty rare to see and they bully the small clownfish for getting to close to the anemone. My female maroon was trying to flip the anemone and the tang was swimming basically in her face and she didn't seem to mind. I used to own a bit of other fish but when I added the snails most of them died off but i thought it started to pass until the Naso tang that was swimming around started to get lazy and sick than eventually died but that was before the pair of maroons got into the tank. So I'm not to sure I want to believe it is the 3 blue damsel fish in the tank nipping but I don't have any proof of really anything fighting except the clowns when I'm around or looking at the tank.
I thought it could of been parasites but nothing inside of the tank seems to be sick or acting weird except the tang that just passed. I'm not positive if its the Maroon pair they are normally nippy with each other which is pretty rare to see and they bully the small clownfish for getting to close to the anemone. My female maroon was trying to flip the anemone and the tang was swimming basically in her face and she didn't seem to mind. I used to own a bit of other fish but when I added the snails most of them died off but i thought it started to pass until the Naso tang that was swimming around started to get lazy and sick than eventually died but that was before the pair of maroons got into the tank. So I'm not to sure I want to believe it is the 3 blue damsel fish in the tank nipping but I don't have any proof of really anything fighting except the clowns when I'm around or looking at the tank.
SudzFD
Active Member
A couple thoughts.So this is what the tank is currently looking like from the front and both sides and on the inside of the rock is decently hollow for fish to get in and out of.
I thought it could have been parasites but nothing inside of the tank seems to be sick or acting weird except the tang that just passed. I'm not positive if its the Maroon pair they are normally nippy with each other which is pretty rare to see and they bully the small clownfish for getting to close to the anemone. My female maroon was trying to flip the anemone and the tang was swimming basically in her face and she didn't seem to mind. I used to own a bit of other fish but when I added the snails most of them died off but i thought it started to pass until the Naso tang that was swimming around started to get lazy and sick than eventually died but that was before the pair of maroons got into the tank. So I'm not to sure I want to believe it is the 3 blue damsel fish in the tank nipping but I don't have any proof of really anything fighting except the clowns when I'm around or looking at the tank.
The rock on that tank makes it look brand new. Less than a month old?
Those are not maroon clowns. They are Percula or false percula clowns. This changes things completely as these fish aren’t going to attack the fish in question. The damsels while aggressive, are unlikely to kill a Naso tang.
I think your tank is to new, hadn’t fully cycled and you had spikes in ammonia that severely stressed your fish and made them die of disease, or outright killed tgrm.
Clowns are more tolerant of these water parameter swings.
In a young tank like this you should be checking the water at least three times a week and at least once a day after adding fish.
Troylee
all about the diy!!!!!
hard to say but naso tangs have a really bad track record currently as they’re collected with cyanide and dying off for everyone just not you.
saltcats
Active Member
Agree with you on all points but look back at the second pic - that looks like a maroon clown. OP said they have the maroons and another pair currently which will be going.
OP - can you post the results of your water tests? The actual numbers. A timeline of the additions and deaths would be really helpful too - it's hard to follow what happened in what order currently!
SudzFD
Active Member
Sorry but I don’t see maroon clowns at all. Definitely ocellaris to me.
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You can't mix maroon with other oscellaris or percula, the maroon will kill them eventually. You need to rehome one pair or the other.
If you aren't QT'ing your new fish, you are going to run into disease issues and risk the health of your current livestock. Acclimation may also be an issue to examine.
If you aren't QT'ing your new fish, you are going to run into disease issues and risk the health of your current livestock. Acclimation may also be an issue to examine.
SudzFD
Active Member
Ahhh there they are!! Thanks! Dark and camouflaged I missed them!Definitely ocellaris? Looks like a maroon to me.
SudzFD
Active Member
Yes, and as cool as maroons are. I’d get rid of them. They are too aggressive. I’ve kept them and had to rehome myself.
BCrown
New Member
Sorry I've been out all day yesterday thank you for the responses. The tank has been running for a few months now i can't say exactly the time frame. The tank cycled for about 3-4 weeks before adding anything into it. When I thought it was finished cycling I added in the 2 False clownfish an engineer goby, and an emerald crab from a smaller tank that was being tanked down because of the 210. After about a week or two my fish that I had added into the big tank seemed to be doing really well. Eventually I got a few shrimp, a few blue legged hermit crabs along with a few fish to start seeing things swim around. The first fish was a Fu Manchu Lion fish which I know can be difficult putting into a reef tank but I did a tad bit of research and found out they do prefer to live in reef areas so I decided to get it when I saw it at the store and it just loved to hang out on the rock and stay away from the other fish and they would stay away from him and leave him alone. The next fish was a powder blue tang which enjoyed racing back and forth around the tank and in between the rocks. They were all doing fine and getting along for about another week or 2. I did end up getting a flagfin angel fish, a naso tang, a watchman goby with a pistol shrimp, 2 fox faces and 3 blue damsel fish aswell. During this time I haven't started to dip my toes into coral so I didn't have to worry about anything nipping. Aswell as all of this was going on I did not have a quarantine tank and I did understand the risk stupidly not doing something about it immediately. I ended up waiting a month to see how everything would pan out since the fish were being dropped in together. Everything to my knowledge was fine. No one was fighting and they would all swim around quite fine. Then it came down to me adding snails about a week or two after. The bad on my part I did not get them from where I normally do and I also did not quarantine them. Their were about 130 snails that were added and on the first day and a half everything was fine but 3-4 days after that I noticed everything going downhill. The angel fish kept twitching and the power blue tang was looking stressed or losing color. I attempted to treat my tank but I honestly don't know if I made it worse. The first fish to go was the lionfish he just started to float then passed later that day. The powder blue started to get worse would lay on his side and eventually died or my crab got him which led to his death. A few days passed and it seemed like thing were getting better but then I got home after being gone for about a day and the angel fish was laying on its side but not straight it had an arch I tried to help him stay up but anything I did made it worse or didn't help then his sides started to turn really red and he ended up passing a few hours after and within a day the watchman goby died of the same way but he was still moving. Again a week later it started to look alright but my fox faces were getting sick and I looked up quite a bit on freshwater dips because I read they can help and the one ended up dying an hour later and the other one died roughly 6 hours after. I asked a buddy of mine and he said they were already too sick but im not sure so I stopped trying to attempt that method. I took everything out of my tank and cleaned it redid and then let it somewhat clean and cycle itself. The 2 small clowns and their anemone, damsels, engineer goby, all the shrimp and the naso tang made it out alive. 2-4 weeks later the naso tang seemd to get lazy and then started to lay on his side for a few days, stopped eating and I never saw anything hurt, chase or try to bully it. It did end up dying. I thought it was still something with parasites and I never questioned the water since my last test because everything was still alive and fine 2 weeks later. Shoot to a little over a month later everything seemed stable, the water was fine and it was cleaned up. I ended up going to the store and got an anemone a pair of maroon clownfish and a type of tang who swam everywhere. For a week everything was fine and at the end of the second week the tang seemed stressed. I didn't notice anything wrong with its fins and it started to get white spots which I believe is ich and he ended up dying. since that I have just let it sit until I know and can test other things. Currently there is a pair of clownfish, a small pair which is going, 3 damsels id like to get rid of, a hawkfish that needs to go aswell , the snails, 6 shrimps, 1 emerald crab and 2 Mono fish im not sure of the exact name. I thought it was a illness but still everything else in the tank fails to get sick or catch anything. My maroon clownfish really only push away or bully the small clownfish. The tang always swam by them or right up to them and I never saw them attack or push away for that matter. I want to say the 3 damsel fish keep going in between the rocks and nipping at him or his fins which stresses him out but I have nothing to go off of that really shows its them or the maroons.
The two little mono fish I put in as a small test to see if they would get sick or killed by the maroons but the only thing ive seen so far are the 5 smaller fish trying to bite at that
I will try and get another water test today or tomorrow and send that in aswell and hopefully this helps with anything or I made it more clear to understand.
The two little mono fish I put in as a small test to see if they would get sick or killed by the maroons but the only thing ive seen so far are the 5 smaller fish trying to bite at that
I will try and get another water test today or tomorrow and send that in aswell and hopefully this helps with anything or I made it more clear to understand.
SudzFD
Active Member
Ok,
A couple standing out things for me. That I need more info on.
1) you treated your tank with what?
2) you took everything out and recycled your tank again. If this means you removed all your rocks and stuff, it could very well mean that a lot of bacteria were removed and your tank started to be cycled again.
3) you do not have a test kit. I’d get one so you can check your parameters daily. One good test today does not mean it will be good tomorrow.
4) lionfish will make a dinner out of a lot of your fish. Best to leave him out of the mix for the future.
5) do you still have the snails in your tank? Curious if there was a big die off when you treated the tank?
In my opinion this is all related to new tank syndrome. Ie. you were not cycled yet and added a ton of stock and placed aggressive and predatory fish in with reef fish that stressed and caused them a weakened immune system that coupled with likely ammonia spikes did them in.
My two cents. Water parameters and answers to the above questions will help.
A couple standing out things for me. That I need more info on.
1) you treated your tank with what?
2) you took everything out and recycled your tank again. If this means you removed all your rocks and stuff, it could very well mean that a lot of bacteria were removed and your tank started to be cycled again.
3) you do not have a test kit. I’d get one so you can check your parameters daily. One good test today does not mean it will be good tomorrow.
4) lionfish will make a dinner out of a lot of your fish. Best to leave him out of the mix for the future.
5) do you still have the snails in your tank? Curious if there was a big die off when you treated the tank?
In my opinion this is all related to new tank syndrome. Ie. you were not cycled yet and added a ton of stock and placed aggressive and predatory fish in with reef fish that stressed and caused them a weakened immune system that coupled with likely ammonia spikes did them in.
My two cents. Water parameters and answers to the above questions will help.
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