Snow Storm Help

[cathihaas]

Hi, I'm new to the saltwater reef tank. Two or three weeks ago I bought two white Snow Storm clownfish. One died and one is missing. I think Flake (fish name) is either dead or hiding in the back of the tank. Unfortunately, Snow died. I think one of the neon blue devil damsel did this. Because my another other orange clownfish fish was trying to keep the neon blue devil damsel from Flake. This morning she is gone.
Also the second orange clownfish is gone maybe a week ago.
All four of the clownfish got along.

Any suggestions?

 

[blaxsun]

Clownfish are notorious for picking each other off. What's the size of your tank and what all do you have for reef inhabitants?

 

[shakacuz]

clowns are bullies. they’re nice at first then change later on once established. from when you did see them in the tank, did any show signs illness?


welcome aboard the r2r board!

 

[cathihaas]

Hi,
Tank is 90 gallon
Button coral, star polpy, 1 mushroom, 3 sponges, one of the sponge has a claim under it, 2 neon blue devil damsel, 1 chrodamasel that hides, 1 small watchmen goby, 2 cardinals, 1 skunk shrimp, 1 blood shrimp, 1 orange and white clownfish, different small frags, 2 bubble tip amone's.

Saltinty 1.024
All other are in range
Tank about a month old. We transferred some from an old tank that was established

 

[cathihaas]

clowns are bullies. they’re nice at first then change later on once established. from when you did see them in the tank, did any show signs illness?


welcome aboard the r2r board!

The two snow storms were at the bottom of the tank laying down and fins moving. They sleep on the sand at night

 

[jsker]

Tank about a month old. We transferred some from an old tank that was established

Slow down, wait, your system is a month old, this is one of the reasons you are losing fish. I would suggest to wait another 30 days to let your system get more established before adding any more fish. Do you have a clean up crew? The clean up crew would be the first thing I would add wait two weeks, add a couple of Harty corals, then add a fish our two.

 

[cathihaas]

Slow down, wait, your system is a month old, this is one of the reasons you are losing fish. I would suggest to wait another 30 days to let your system get more established before adding any more fish. Do you have a clean up crew? The clean up crew would be the first thing I would add wait two weeks, add a couple of Harty corals, then add a fish our two.

We had an established 45 gallon and moved it to the 90 gallon
Clean up skunk shrimp, blood shrimp, watchmen hobby and a blenny

 

[bnord]

Welcome and glad you joined

good luck -agree on. the wait awhile and 1) blue damsels are called devils for a reason and 2) I try to get a young pair of clowns (ocellaris) and they work out well - skunks seem to be more convivial in numbers, and avoid maroons, clarki, tomatoes etc...

 

[KQuillan]

We had an established 45 gallon and moved it to the 90 gallon
Clean up skunk shrimp, blood shrimp, watchmen hobby and a blenny

That is double load. I would still slow down a bit.

 

[cathihaas]

We had an established 45 gallon and moved it to the 90 gallon
Clean up skunk shrimp, blood shrimp, watchmen hobby and a blenny

Left then right side of tank

Slow down, wait, your system is a month old, this is one of the reasons you are losing fish. I would suggest to wait another 30 days to let your system get more established before adding any more fish. Do you have a clean up crew? The clean up crew would be the first thing I would add wait two weeks, add a couple of Harty corals, then add a fish our tw

Welcome and glad you joined

good luck -agree on. the wait awhile and 1) blue damsels are called devils for a reason and 2) I try to get a young pair of clowns (ocellaris) and they work out well - skunks seem to be more convivial in numbers, and avoid maroons, clarki, tomatoes etc

That is double load. I would still slow down a bit.

Thank you

 

[jsker]

The tank looks great by the way.

 

[AmbergrisCaye]

Yes, very nice tank @cathihaas. Good luck with that devil.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hi, I'm new to the saltwater reef tank. Two or three weeks ago I bought two white Snow Storm clownfish. One died and one is missing. I think Flake (fish name) is either dead or hiding in the back of the tank. Unfortunately, Snow died. I think one of the neon blue devil damsel did this. Because my another other orange clownfish fish was trying to keep the neon blue devil damsel from Flake. This morning she is gone.
Also the second orange clownfish is gone maybe a week ago.
All four of the clownfish got along.

Any suggestions?

Welcome! Glad you joined. Sorry for your losses. Already there is good information here above. Clownfish by their species nature are known to bully others to establish who will become female (often to death), tank will still cycle due to transition so slow down (BUT clownfish are tough so I wouldn't think your mini cycle had anything to do with it...), and damsels are NOT ladylike... Little was said about perhaps what might have happened to clowns before they reached you, so also can't rule out disease or general mishandling between wholesaler / shipping / LFS before even reaching you. Sad for you.

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread under Forum > Member Aquariums and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID). I'd copy and paste those photos just to get going because WOW - GORGEOUS!!

This might help you find people local to you in Palmetto:

Local Reef Club Discussion

Looking for some locals to share frags and info with? This is the place! Find a local club that meets in your area! If you want to add your club just contact us.

www.reef2reef.com

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no where near simple. This task is going to take patience, a ton of...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[cathihaas]

Welcome! Glad you joined. Sorry for your losses. Already there is good information here above. Clownfish by their species nature are known to bully others to establish who will become female (often to death), tank will still cycle due to transition so slow down (BUT clownfish are tough so I wouldn't think your mini cycle had anything to do with it...), and damsels are NOT ladylike... Sad for you.

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread under Forum > Member Aquariums and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID). I'd copy and paste those photos just to get going because WOW - GORGEOUS!!

This might help you find people local to you in Palmetto:

Local Reef Club Discussion

Looking for some locals to share frags and info with? This is the place! Find a local club that meets in your area! If you want to add your club just contact us.

www.reef2reef.com

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no where near simple. This task is going to take patience, a ton of...

www.reef2reef.com

Fish Think Pink
Thank you I will build my Thread and check out the two suggestions

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Fish Think Pink
Thank you I will build my Thread and check out the two suggestions

I did an edit on above to include this, so you might not have seen I added:

Little was said about perhaps what might have happened to clowns before they reached you, so also can't rule out disease or general mishandling between wholesaler / shipping / LFS before even reaching you. Sad for you.​

 

[jabberwock]

We had an established 45 gallon and moved it to the 90 gallon
Clean up skunk shrimp, blood shrimp, watchmen hobby and a blenny

Understood, but that does not mean equilibrium. This is a new system regardless of how you started it.

 

[Sean Clark]

Welcome to the party.

 

[cathihaas]

Understood, but that does not mean equilibrium. This is a new system regardless of how you started it.

Understand and thank you

 

[cathihaas]

Welcome to the party.

Thank you

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome, glad you are here! Your tank is beautiful. When I got back into the hobby over a year ago I got two juvenile ocellaris clowns. They got along swimmingly for a month and then the one turned on the other and killed it. I then got a larger one and they have been great. Pairing clowns isn’t always easy. The damsels worry me as well. Try getting a larger one and start from scratch but keep an eye on those damsels. I wish you luck.