Exquisite Firefish dead overnight.

thelongfloater · Mar 26, 2022

My pretty baby seemed to die overnight! I am new to the hobby. I don’t have any pictures of it suffering, but last night it was swimming on the ground and I noticed the crest of its fins seemed ripped in one area. I wasn’t sure what to do so I figured I’d observe it for another day before taking action. Woke up this morning to my hermit crabs eating him. I’m so sad. Another question is do I need to immediately do a water change? My clowns and spotted mandarin fish seem happy as ever. I always do meaty feedings. I lost a hermit crab the other day. Is this related? This is my first live stock stock death.

Lavey29 · Mar 26, 2022

Clowns probably attacked him if he had ripped fins before he passed.

threebuoys · Mar 26, 2022

Sorry for your loss.

Without pictures or other indicators, diagnosis at this point is impossible.
I assume your water parameters are all good? The tank has cycled? No ammonia? No parasites obvious on other fish?
I also assume you haven't had the fish very long given you are new to the hobby.
Unless something is out of line, no need for water change.

If you wish to share more info, we can critique your methods / actions to advise if anything looks out of line, other wise, unfortunately deaths of new fish occasionally occur.

vetteguy53081 · Mar 26, 2022

From your description, it was likely aggression and likely the larger of the two clowns which is the female which claims a hierarchy and try to claim an area of the tank or even the whole tank
Best way to tell is- if you ever introduce another fish, set your phone on video mode and record tank for 30-45 mins
YOU MUST WALK AWAY- somehow they know you’re there.
Feed tank before you leave as an aggressive fish will try to claim all the food
Come back and review video and you should be able to see your culprit

Jay Hemdal · Mar 26, 2022

thelongfloater said:
My pretty baby seemed to die overnight! I am new to the hobby. I don’t have any pictures of it suffering, but last night it was swimming on the ground and I noticed the crest of its fins seemed ripped in one area. I wasn’t sure what to do so I figured I’d observe it for another day before taking action. Woke up this morning to my hermit crabs eating him. I’m so sad. Another question is do I need to immediately do a water change? My clowns and spotted mandarin fish seem happy as ever. I always do meaty feedings. I lost a hermit crab the other day. Is this related? This is my first live stock stock death.

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Sorry to hear about the firefish. As mentioned, we would need more background information to try and figure out want went wrong, and if that may involve your other animals at some point. The post linked here gives som hints as to how to provide that information:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay Hemdal