A tank bully?

[Novicereefer]

Hey guys,

I woke to a dead clownfish this morning. I've had it for about 11 months. It's the bigger of the 2 clownfish so I'm assuming this one is the female. The only other tank inhabitants besides these 2 clownfish are a regal tang (added 2 months ago and is smaller than the bigger clownfish), a Mandarin Dragonette and a few snails. This clownfish has asserted dominance over the smaller one months ago to where the smaller clownfish would do this move like it's glitching whenever the bigger clownfish came near it. About a month ago however the smaller clownfish got VERY territorial with a torch coral I added that he now calls home. I started to notice the smaller clownfish nipping at any fish that came near it including the bigger one. A few days ago I see the bigger clownfish at the bottom of the tank not wanting to eat and looking weak AND the tang and smaller clownfish taking turns nipping at it. I moved her to a breeder box and tried to spot feed her but she refused to eat and died this morning. Clearly, as the picture shows she was attacked BADLY. I also added a picture to show the smaller clownfish's home.

My question is, could this have been avoided by me? I need to know because I want to add another clownfish or 2 (smaller ones of course) in the near future or is that a bad idea?

 

[Biokabe]

Did you actually observe lethal bullying, or just the end-of-life actions?

My suspicion would be that you don't have a tank bully; rather, that your larger clownfish weakened and died of something unrelated, and that the nipping you observed was essentially the hyenas nipping at the corpse.

 

[Novicereefer]

Did you actually observe lethal bullying, or just the end-of-life actions?

My suspicion would be that you don't have a tank bully; rather, that your larger clownfish weakened and died of something unrelated, and that the nipping you observed was essentially the hyenas nipping at the corpse.

Hmm good point! I only saw the last few days when the fish was nearing it's end. You could be right. After looking at the picture again, the larger clownfish has bulging eyes

 

[Uncle99]

Cant see how you are responsible for that.
As long as you can rule out disease, add another.
1/2” is best, same species and colour pattern helps, but different colour morphs can work if your into that designer look.
Stuff happens, unfortunate, but captivity can change the game.

 

[Biokabe]

Agreed. I'd wait a few weeks and observe your fish to see if either of them show the same symptoms. If not, feel free to add another clown.

 

[Novicereefer]

Cant see how you are responsible for that.
As long as you can rule out disease, add another.
1/2” is best, same species and colour pattern helps, but different colour morphs can work if your into that designer look.
Stuff happens, unfortunate, but captivity can change the game.

Oh good to know. Yea the other fish seem fine. Corals are doing great. It must be a one off but I'm keeping a close eye on the other fish. So I can only add 1 new clownfish? Not 2-3 small ones?