Found clownfish dead in chamber— how did he die so easily?

[lulubap]

Context:

I recently added nassarius snails and hermit crabs in my tank, so I had the lid off for quite a while trying to get them acclimated.

Towards the end I realized with my mom that the male clownfish of our pair was missing, so we immediately set to find him.

Under the stand, behind the tank, perhaps burrowing with the nassarius snails? Nowhere to be found.

We even checked the chambers (fluval 13.5) and couldn’t find him for the life of us. Hell, we even took a hammer to our dry rock hoping he was stuck in there with no way out.

At some point we called up my stepdad and a fight was started over this fish. All hope was lost.

Until my mother flipped the stock sponge that held the carbon and bio media and found that he was hiding there.

All. Along.

Turns out there was a hole built in the tank that we neglected for a while that connected to the second chamber, that was *just* big enough for the male clownfish to slip in. We flipped the sponge and there his carcass was, in all of its rotting glory.

Now, I beg the question:

How did he die so easily?

There is some obvious discoloration on his body near his belly(warning: dead fish ahead) so I’m not sure if it was just rubbing harshly against the bio bag that did it for him.

I’d appreciate some input, even if it’s as simple as “he probably didn’t have enough water”. Would just like some closure to this quagmire.

Thank you all.

 

[ambuncher]

He could have stressed out a lot, and that didn't help. In addition, if there wasn't much water, and he was there for a bit, he could have used up the oxygen in the water. Lastly, if he was by the filter, there could have been more waste (ie ammonia) than he was used to and that poisoned him if he was stuck there.

 

[lulubap]

He could have stressed out a lot, and that didn't help. In addition, if there wasn't much water, and he was there for a bit, he could have used up the oxygen in the water. Lastly, if he was by the filter, there could have been more waste (ie ammonia) than he was used to and that poisoned him if he was stuck there.

These are all very good points. Definitely will be looking for a way to cover that hole. Thank you for your input! Probably not worth pursuing this issue further, since anything could have happened, but I really appreciate you trying to narrow it down.

 

[MnFish1]

Context:

I recently added nassarius snails and hermit crabs in my tank, so I had the lid off for quite a while trying to get them acclimated.

Towards the end I realized with my mom that the male clownfish of our pair was missing, so we immediately set to find him.

Under the stand, behind the tank, perhaps burrowing with the nassarius snails? Nowhere to be found.

We even checked the chambers (fluval 13.5) and couldn’t find him for the life of us. Hell, we even took a hammer to our dry rock hoping he was stuck in there with no way out.

At some point we called up my stepdad and a fight was started over this fish. All hope was lost.

Until my mother flipped the stock sponge that held the carbon and bio media and found that he was hiding there.

All. Along.

Turns out there was a hole built in the tank that we neglected for a while that connected to the second chamber, that was *just* big enough for the male clownfish to slip in. We flipped the sponge and there his carcass was, in all of its rotting glory.

Now, I beg the question:

How did he die so easily?

There is some obvious discoloration on his body near his belly(warning: dead fish ahead) so I’m not sure if it was just rubbing harshly against the bio bag that did it for him.

I’d appreciate some input, even if it’s as simple as “he probably didn’t have enough water”. Would just like some closure to this quagmire.

Thank you all.

It seems like getting trapped in that 'hole' caused a trauma - that could not be escaped - and he succumbed to a bacterial infection. Sorry this happened.

 

[threebuoys]

Stress, unable to move or turn around to get out

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Context:

I recently added nassarius snails and hermit crabs in my tank, so I had the lid off for quite a while trying to get them acclimated.

Towards the end I realized with my mom that the male clownfish of our pair was missing, so we immediately set to find him.

Under the stand, behind the tank, perhaps burrowing with the nassarius snails? Nowhere to be found.

We even checked the chambers (fluval 13.5) and couldn’t find him for the life of us. Hell, we even took a hammer to our dry rock hoping he was stuck in there with no way out.

At some point we called up my stepdad and a fight was started over this fish. All hope was lost.

Until my mother flipped the stock sponge that held the carbon and bio media and found that he was hiding there.

All. Along.

Turns out there was a hole built in the tank that we neglected for a while that connected to the second chamber, that was *just* big enough for the male clownfish to slip in. We flipped the sponge and there his carcass was, in all of its rotting glory.

Now, I beg the question:

How did he die so easily?

There is some obvious discoloration on his body near his belly(warning: dead fish ahead) so I’m not sure if it was just rubbing harshly against the bio bag that did it for him.

I’d appreciate some input, even if it’s as simple as “he probably didn’t have enough water”. Would just like some closure to this quagmire.

Thank you all.

That is a very small clown. Was it acting fine before all this? If so, then it was probably entrapment and suffocation. However, a small, weak clown could have had predisposed issues to being trapped there. Sorry to see!
Jay