Bad luck or killer clownfish?

[Snowmank]

Hello! I am looking for some advice. I have had my tank up and running since November. First 2 fish in were 2 local bred Ocellaris clowns. I got the biggest and smallest my lfs had. They were doing great for about 3 months as I added corals and a few other fish over the next couple months and then one day I woke up and one of them was dead. All my tests were normal so I put it down to bad luck. I waited about three weeks to make sure everything was OK before I went to my local fish store this time buying a Ora clown from a separate lfs. I got the smallest one, and they seemed to get along with my big female. Then yesterday I see my small male laying on my big mushroom. I think it’s cute that he is trying to host (and I have no anemone). Today he is laying on the bottom of the sand/hiding under rocks/not being able to say in open water.

What I’m confused about is am I getting some really bad luck with an eternal parasite that’s taking a couple months to show up in my tank? Does my tank have some sort of disease in it even though my other clown, mandarin dragonette, royal garamma, yellow watchmen goby and my neon goby seemed fine?

Or is my clown turning into a psycho a couple months after having a new friend and bullying them to death? It’s been really brutal watching another one get sick and look like possibly die? I’m just trying to see if I should stop trying to pair my clowns and maybe just be a one clown tank?

 

[KrisReef]

Sorry for your luck so far, but your experience with pairing these devil spawn fishes isn't uncommon. You have a picky female and if the male doesn't suite her she will banish him from her presence. If you want a sure thing, then get an established pair that swim together and that have been together for a year or more. Otherwise, buying small fish "hoping" that she will approve is risky, as you have found out.

Same thing with trading in your large fish. Getting two fish, or what I call a "fish store pair" that is two young clowns swimming in the same tank and appearing to get along often ends sometime down the road when the young fish start to mature, and one fish dies in the process.

Wild caught pairs are sometimes available, and they may have a better chance of being a real pair.

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but this is how captive clownfish behave.

 

[lienbetta]

Honestly sounds more like aggression/pairing issues than some hidden parasite, especially if all your other fish are doing fine. A big female can absolutely bully a smaller clown if the pairing doesn’t work out. The laying on the mushroom was normal hosting behavior, but hiding on the sand and under rocks after is usually stress or getting chased.

I’d watch closely for torn fins or the female constantly charging him. Some clowns pair easily, some just never accept another fish unfortunately.

 

[Snowmank]

Honestly sounds more like aggression/pairing issues than some hidden parasite, especially if all your other fish are doing fine. A big female can absolutely bully a smaller clown if the pairing doesn’t work out. The laying on the mushroom was normal hosting behavior, but hiding on the sand and under rocks after is usually stress or getting chased.

I’d watch closely for torn fins or the female constantly charging him. Some clowns pair easily, some just never accept another fish unfortunately.

Thank you to both of you. The male passed away about an hour after I posted. When I got him out I did not see any torn fins, but he looked sad by then?

Would buying an acclimation box be worthwhile?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

So sorry about your loss. I would get an acclimation box if I were you. They are well worth having if you have territorial fish.