lost 2 percs - what is going on??

[kerriann]

ok so about 8 months ago i bought my first perc and a week later added a second. after being together and doing their "twitching" thing, they were getting along super great until the perc i bought first died about 6 weeks later - COMPLETELY unexpected!! checked the params, had the LFS check the params, everything seemed fine and nothing else in my tank had any problems or was acting any differently so we just assumed it was just some sort of fluke. i get a new perc since the second one i got was still young enough that he'd accept him. the new guy ended up taking the dominance and they were INSEPERABLE!!! they've been together for, oh, 6 months or so now and last night i come home to find the second of the three percs i got being a feast for my hermit crabs!!! i don't understand what's happening here!! are these clowns not supposed to be an incredibly hardy fish?? why is it that i can maintain a purple firefish, a yellow clown goby, a sebae anem, a sand sifting star yet i can't keep two clowns to save my life!!!!
Params:
Temp - steady 76 degrees
ph - 8.2
nitrite - 0
nitrates - 0
phosphates - between 0 and .1

 

[m0nk]

Did you buy these clowns at the same place? I have a hard time keeping fish alive that I've bought from one particular place. I've bought 4 fish over the past 6 months from one particular store and 3 of them died within a few days, yet I buy fish from 2 other places and they all survive perfectly. Though I'm not sure how much that plays into things being it was 6 months there...

 

[lexluethar]

I would purchase from a different store. See if that resolves the issue. It would seem that after 6 months it wouldn't be the supplier of the fish, but the water. But since everything seems fine i don't know. What are your alk? cal? am?
Does your temp fluctuate at all? 76 is a bit low and if it were to dip jsut a few degrees from that at night/winter it could be stressing/killing your fish.

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by KerriAnn
http:///forum/post/2462610
ok so about 8 months ago i bought my first perc and a week later added a second. after being together and doing their "twitching" thing, they were getting along super great until the perc i bought first died about 6 weeks later - COMPLETELY unexpected!! checked the params, had the LFS check the params, everything seemed fine and nothing else in my tank had any problems or was acting any differently so we just assumed it was just some sort of fluke. i get a new perc since the second one i got was still young enough that he'd accept him. the new guy ended up taking the dominance and they were INSEPERABLE!!! they've been together for, oh, 6 months or so now and last night i come home to find the second of the three percs i got being a feast for my hermit crabs!!! i don't understand what's happening here!! are these clowns not supposed to be an incredibly hardy fish?? why is it that i can maintain a purple firefish, a yellow clown goby, a sebae anem, a sand sifting star yet i can't keep two clowns to save my life!!!!
Params:
Temp - steady 76 degrees
ph - 8.2
nitrite - 0
nitrates - 0
phosphates - between 0 and .1

I feel your pain... I have exhausted all my options and resources thus far and my tank remians fallow. Yet I have a RBTA and various corals that thrive, but I cannot keep a fish alive.
Some advise thrown my way was... stray voltage, is there any and if so how much. Environmental, open top tank? Any cleaning agents that hit the air, automatic air fresheners, sprays etc.? Do you run carbon? If so how often and how long? What about adding Purigen to help aid in removing any toxins or chemical that could be affecting you. Any corals die or melt in your tank reciently?

 

[kerriann]

where to begin - i'll have to double check the calcium, alkalinity and ammonia but i've had 2 different LFS's test it and my water tests out perfectly fine and my bf has slightly higher nitrates and phosphates yet he loses nothing!!
it has been 76 year round since it's in an area of the room where the temperature does not fluctuate and is nowhere near a window that could cause it to get cold. i could turn the heater up in there a bit tho...
i have bought these percs from the same place b/c thats where we've bought ALL of our fish from and have yet to have a problem.
its a 24 gal nano so its all closed up, nothing near it other than a bookstand that really just has some pictures and the fish stuff on it. haven't tried carbon or purigen and no, i haven't had any problem with my corals - although i only have two zoas in there...

 

[o2ngk]

I don't think the LFS has anything to do with "bad" fish if it survived for 6 months already. Also if there is anything wrong in the tank like chemical or electrical surge, usually it will kill all your fish if not majority, not just one.
Clownfish is a teritorial fish, so it doesn't swim around the tank, just around an area or anenome/home. So base on your explaination there are only 2 things that I can come up with 1. It dies fighting or 2. Brooklynella
#2 is less likely because usually it infect the other one too, although I have one before that only kill one but not the other.
My advice to you is to pay close attention to the tank mates especially the one that seems to roam around the clown.