Cant keep a clownfish alive

[reefdude37]

hey, I cant keep a clownfish alive to save my life. Ok, well lets start a couple weeks ago when i brought a false percula clownfish for 10 dollars. I brought him home drip acclimated him in a brand new bucket for 2 hours and i put him in my 10 gallon with a net. The next day I find him laying in my back left corner gasping for air. then later on hes dead . So then last week I brought another one, did the same thing and the same thing happend. I thought my water wasnt right but it is. I have had a royal gramma in the same tank for almost 3 weeks and hes fine eating good and everything :happyfish . So 2 days ago i brought 1 more clownfish. Hes still alive but going to the same coner and gasping for air. He wont even swim around. I've tried feeding him but he doesnt swim after it he just waits for the food to come to him and he will eat it. I think hes about to die just like the other ones but i hope not. Any adivice on keeping these fish?? thanks alot

Ben R

 

[surfer11]

are they coming from the same lfs?

 

[ithorian_r]

what size tank?how old is the tank? list all parameters...
pH
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
calcium
alk
this will help in figuring things out....

 

[reefdude37]

ok yes they are all coming from the lfs. But she only has a couple fish, so I tell her to order me 1 then when she orders it I just go and pick it up.
ph: 8.3
ammonia: 0
nitrite:0
nitrate:0
calcium: have no idea
alk: have no idea.
salt: 1.023
temp: 80-82
I change a gallon a week with distilled water. Also my clownfish started swimming a little more today but he just swims in that back coner. Hopefully he will stay alive.

 

[ithorian_r]

okay here is another thing to consider...are the clowns wild caught or aquacultured? i had a wild caught tomato that could not adapt to aquarium life, all my water parameters were perfect, as well as the other fish/inverts were thriving. if they are wild, then they are new to aquarium tank life and generally dont show problems at a fish store cuz they arent there long enough. a quarantine tank would be a good option. another thing is try buying a clown from another store. and tank raised or aquacultured fish are generally healthier/hardier than wild caught fish.

 

[reefdude37]

aquacultured

 

[ithorian_r]

hmmm, thats interesting. well i guess try buying from another store, see if that works. im really out of ideas, it seems like ur doing things right. only other thing i can think of is if the royal gramma is bullying it. i know they are peaceful fish b/c ive kept one. i doubt this is the problem, but have u seen any aggression whatsoever?

 

[bobothewizard]

Acclimate them correctly and you will not have any problems.

 

[snailheave]

i've noticed in my short time of fish keeping if i acclimate the fish right (at least two hours) they survive better, in fact, none has died. if i am impatient and rush things through, they don't survive.

 

[reefdude37]

i acclimated my clownfish for 2 hours to be exact. Also my royal gramma is not bullying my clownfish, i watch them all the time. the clownfish just likes to hide. the royal gramma likes to hid to. i dont no what the problem is, maybe i might just trade them fish back to the petstore and go to a difftert fish store and try another clown and maybe a clown goby or something

 

[suprbeagle]

Are you testing the salinity & pH of the water the clown is in to make sure it matches your tank's? Also, FWIW, it's a good idea to QT all new fish. Brook is very common in clowns and tends to be worse during seasonal changes (ie, this time of year) so you are taking a real risk by putting them in your display tank w/o QT for ~6 weeks.