Clownfish keep dying???!

B

Brady Castro

New Member
I bought one clownfish that died within 24 hours and couldn’t figure out what the issue was, water parameters were perfect and showed no sign of any disease. 2 weeks later I bought 2 more smaller clowns and they died within hours with no signs of any disease again. Tested the water again and no issues. I can’t seem to figure out what’s going on as I’m new to the hobby. Could any one help me find the cause of this?
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
How were the fish behaving prior to these deaths? What were the water parameters Of the water in the bag.
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
This isn’t necessarily your problem but it is a good practice. You need to check the salinity of the water in the bag. Many places keep salinity around 1.015 to mask diseases. Fish can not handle a fast increase in salinity. no more than 0.002 in 24 hrs. It is always best to quarantine new fish for 30 days. That gives you the ability to match the salinity in the bag to the quarantine tank. It also allows you to treat any diseases prior to adding the fish to the main tank As well.
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
I agree with above. Its common in my area, lfs keep tanks around 1.017. My tank is 1.025. It can take me hrs, 5-6 to get the salinity matched. I keep my dt and qt close aswell. Just easier taking fish out of qt and putting in dt
 
RBLLL

RBLLL

New Member
Perhaps it is the stock? Not all sources of fish are equal & unfortunately some are really bad. If the fish hadn’t been properly handled or been damaged/ ill not even super water helps. If you have purchased only from 1 place I would suggest researching other suppliers and get a carefully chosen, recommended Clown from them. Best of luck!
 
J

joneyelik1996

Member
t doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong. The only thing I can think of is that the strips aren't giving an accurate reading. I don't know about your fish store but see if they can test your water using drops, they give a way more accurate reading and some actual numbers. Often times when I see people losing fish when they have an established tank it's because of nitrates raising over time. Fish especially hardy ones like you have can get used to them raising but new fish usually get shocked. Laying on the bottom of a tank is usually a sign of discomfort as well. That's the only thing I can really think of.
 
Last edited:
SALTWAT3RFISH

SALTWAT3RFISH

Administrator
Staff member
Test strips are notoriously inaccurate. what do the fish do once added? Have you noticed signs of stress in the bag?
 
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