Fishy Funerals: Have you ever done anything that resulted in a fish or coral death?

[timmyrules]

I needed fish food…so I went and bought some for cheap on Amazon, all fish were dead the next morning.

 

[saltienewb]

Moved rock work out to catch a damsel, didn’t notice Halloween urchin hanging out. Fell onto the floor, put him back and he kept moving for a day. Then woke up to my big hermit chowing down and spines all over the sand. RIP spike

 

[Tiny Bubbles]

I had added a new seahorse that I didn't realize was pregnant, and it surprised me with loads of fry one morning. I thought I was doing a good thing by hanging a small plastic tank with a lot of small holes drilled into it inside the main tank to raise the fry in so they would have the benefit of being in a fully cycled tank instead of trying to keep them in a new sterile setup. Unfortunately, one morning shortly afterward I caught one of the tank's cleaner shrimp with its claws inside the holes grabbing the babies and pulling them out through the holes and eating them. I felt terrible about that.

 

[Mr. Acantho]

Dead ($5,103; $1,960 fish + $3,143 corals) :
1. Black Storm Clownfish (1/8/2023 - 8/3/2023 jumped to its death $90; The Coral Corall)
2. Blue tang (3/5/2023 - 4/19/2023; $100; Marine Warehouse)
3. Red ripple trachy (4/1/2023 - 6/26/2023 hit by a rock; $399; World Wide Corals - Orlando)
4. Blue tang (4/22/2023 - 4/23/2023; $90; Fish and other Ichty Stuff; Phillipines)
5. Black Storm Clownfish (1/8/2023 - 9//1/2023 caught in protein skimmer; $90 The Coral Corall)
6. Barbonius anthias (8/4/2023 - 9/13/2023; $250; Koral King; uronema possibly)
7. Ultra Trachy (7/12/2023 - 9/20/2023; $199; Koral King; eaten by crabs)
8. Blue tip elegance (8/5/2023 - 10/21/2023; $249; World Wide Coral; CoralRX)
9. Pretty N Pink Cyanrina (7/1/2023 - 2/1/2024; $599; World Wide Corals; vermetids + dinos)
10. Barbonius anthias (8/4/2023 - 2/6/2024; $250; Koral King; lost eye)
11. Gossamer's Indophyllia (11/6/2023; $799: World Wide Coral)
12. Sangria Cyanrina (7/1/2023 - 6/5/2024; $299; World Wide Corals)
13. Ultra Acantho (5/6/2023 - 6/29/2024; $499; Top Shelf Aquatics; negligent light placement)
14. Daisy clove (3/5/2023 - 7/13/2024; $100; Marine Warehouse; dominated by hair algae)
15. Oreni Tilefish (7/13/2024; $840; Top Shelf Aquatics; jumped out of tank)
16. Barbonius anthias (8/4/2023 - 7/27/2024; $250; Koral King; swim buoyancy issue euthanized while at veterinarian)

 

[rpkneumann]

My first reef a 32 gallon BioCube. “Upgraded” lights to Steve’s lights. String Algea bloom. I mean BLOOM. Could harvest them by the hand full and made wigs out of them. Then neglecting the signs that things will get worse in the tank. No measurements, no cleaning. Ended in sudden death of a wonderful 12” toadstool and 6 fish. All overnight.
I learned that husbandry is something serious and regret that I went that way.

 

[saltytanked]

Why would you bring sats like this when there are groups trying to shut down this hobby due to this very issue with people.

Let’s not give them easy numbers and ammo to use against the hobby….

 

[PharmrJohn]

1991. Petco special (both hardware and advice). 29g with HOB, undergravel filter and heater. No live rock. Told to put in about 1 inch of fish per gallon (over about a 3 week period). MANY deaths later, the tank leveled out and I had what survived for abt 3 years, until either wife or I left the slider open while we were away on a long weekend......In the middle of winter. Oops. Only the Coral Banded Shrimp survived. Tough little bugger!

My sin was to not do my own research. I still feel guilty about that whole thing.......Never again will I do anything remotely as stupid as that.

 

[kingranch2003]

Moved rock work out to catch a damsel, didn’t notice Halloween urchin hanging out. Fell onto the floor, put him back and he kept moving for a day. Then woke up to my big hermit chowing down and spines all over the sand. RIP spike

Probably a yellow damsel. Mine was a demon. He "died" but did not get a funeral.

 

[Craigsin]

My mistake that killed several coral and some inverts was disturbing the anoxic region of my then deep sand bed, releasing toxic gas. Learned a lot about deep sand beds, anoxic regions and the dangers involved after that one!

 

[saltienewb]

Probably a yellow damsel. Mine was a demon. He "died" but did not get a funeral.

It was a Starcki. He got a new home, fellow reefer got a pretty fish, and my gramma can come out of her cave now haha.
Once you get a damsel they are staying unless you put the work in

 

[Age3ntAar0n]

I entered into the saltwater hobby (on and off) about 15-16 years ago. Thankfully I had a good friend with a lot of experience and took it very slow. I am the type of person to read everything at least twice to make sure I am accurate, and research almost everything that goes in my tank.

Had my yellow clown goby jump out of my office tank. I had taken the cover off while I was at work and had to run to a different part of our campus for a few hours. I found him dead on the floor.

I had a fire fish jump from a nano tank at home several years ago...never found that one.

When my daughter was about 3-4 years old (she is 22 now), she fed my cichlid tank an entire box of malted milk balls. I didnt see it until the next morning when I woke up for work. Everything except a couple small catfish and my pleco was dead.

 

[cmoresps]

Had a vlaminghi tang for 18 years. He was a show size fish. He had popey and was in QT. Went out of town for a few days. He was fine come back, checked and he was fine. While I was checking in him I didn't notice the heater thermostat out if the water. Cooked him.

 

[galaxynovaLV]

Leaving a recently acquired huge and beautiful rock covered in Xenia in a freshwater dip for an hour. Thought the Xenia would pull out of it, they didn’t and nuked my tank. Water change, water change and water change.

 

[RC_Reefer]

For My QT, the WC ejection method i have is a 1/2" diameter clear tubing that connects to some PVC that exits the patio room, then dumps into the storm drain on the side of my house.
Was doing a WC one day and couldn't find a Six Line wrasse after the WC.
I guess I sucked him up..
It was raining that day.. neighbors saw me frantically looking in the gutters in front of my house...
Never found the little guy..
I'd like to believe he's living in the sewer system somewhere in Southern California.