Sudden Clownfish Death

[sm0ggers]

This morning I sadly woke up to one of my juvenile ocellaris clownfish dead in the wavemaker.

We've had "her" for over 6 months, and the tank has been running for just over 8 months. She ate and acted normally last night, and was always the bigger, stronger swimmer of the two clowns. All 4 other fish look fine - no physical signs of illness, lethargy, etc.

I ran tests immediately and all parameters are all stable since last week (see screenshot). The heater, pump, and UV sterilizer (runs overnight) are working fine.

The only recent change was yesterday's addition of 3 nassarius snails, a sand sifting sea star, and a frogspawn frag (dipped in coralrx). I'm wondering if a parasite or disease may have hitched a ride on the inverts, and if so, what to do. Thank you in advance. RIP Dip.

25gallon IM AOI lagoon
RODI + RedSea salt only
Hygger mini wavemaker (26-55g set to sine wave at mid power)
See image for parameters

Video is from last night around 7pm - the black and white clown is the one who died overnight.
View attachment 20260111_130203_655B1BE5-2D09-4B90-9CF8-D39B30660C45.mov

 

[Jay Hemdal]

This morning I sadly woke up to one of my juvenile ocellaris clownfish dead in the wavemaker.

We've had "her" for over 6 months, and the tank has been running for just over 8 months. She ate and acted normally last night, and was always the bigger, stronger swimmer of the two clowns. All 4 other fish look fine - no physical signs of illness, lethargy, etc.

I ran tests immediately and all parameters are all stable since last week (see screenshot). The heater, pump, and UV sterilizer (runs overnight) are working fine.

The only recent change was yesterday's addition of 3 nassarius snails, a sand sifting sea star, and a frogspawn frag (dipped in coralrx). I'm wondering if a parasite or disease may have hitched a ride on the inverts, and if so, what to do. Thank you in advance. RIP Dip.

25gallon IM AOI lagoon
RODI + RedSea salt only
Hygger mini wavemaker (26-55g set to sine wave at mid power)
See image for parameters

Video is from last night around 7pm - the black and white clown is the one who died overnight.

Nothing stands out here. tank and water all look good. The ripped fins could be from being caught in the impeller, but if not, it is possible that the pair bond between the two fish suddenly broke down.

It is very rare, but not impossible that it just accidentally got caught in the wavemaker.

Just watch the remaining clown for any symptoms; rapid breathing, lack of appetite or lethargy.

 

[sm0ggers]

Nothing stands out here. tank and water all look good. The ripped fins could be from being caught in the impeller, but if not, it is possible that the pair bond between the two fish suddenly broke down.

It is very rare, but not impossible that it just accidentally got caught in the wavemaker.

Just watch the remaining clown for any symptoms; rapid breathing, lack of appetite or lethargy.

Thank you. The other clown appears totally healthy for now but I'll be keeping a close eye. How long do you recommend monitoring before adding a smaller new clown? I don't want Chips to get too used to being a lone wolf.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thank you. The other clown appears totally healthy for now but I'll be keeping a close eye. How long do you recommend monitoring before adding a smaller new clown? I don't want Chips to get too used to being a lone wolf.

I would wait 14 days, 30 is better.

Adding a new clown in a day or in a month is still going to be risky - be prepared to drop in a tank divider if need be.