I have had two large-ish fish die in a week. Both in weird ways.
Cleaner wrasse I found curled up in a corner gasping. When I went to fish him out he tried to swim but couldn’t. He had a weird puff of flesh at the join on his fin and it wasn’t working at all. He’d been in the tank since the start a year ago.
Then a week later my newish (but very large well over 3inches) Mandarin Goby died. He was acting strange during the day (yesterday) and was aggressively head butting the glass, never seen that before. But I figured it was nothing. Then this morning I find him unable to swim, gasping and thrashing and in minutes he’s dead. Body looked unharmed. I’m really upset. I loved him. He’s been in the tank a couple months no issues. Fed with monthly copeopods etc.
All the water parameters are good. 20g Waterbox Tank is a year old. Stock: live rock, tiny Royal Gamma, pizza anemone, 2 porcelain crabs, standard LPS corals, one large peppermint shrimp I never see.
The weirdness I saw yesterday with him was happening in the morning in the afternoon I added three new fish, all very tiny. Coral goby, court jester goby and a not even one inch yellow spotted box fish (I know they get larger I’m planning a bigger tank). The mandarin was the biggest thing in the tank by two inches.
I don’t know what the heck is going on. I’m new to reefing and stupidly get attached to my fish. Watching him die this morning was horrifying.
I don’t understand how a cleaner wrasse breaks a side fin?? I thought maybe a porcelain grab bit it but my LFS says not likely. Thought could it be the pizza anemone that and the crabs are the newest things in the tank? But I didn’t think the anemone would poison the mandarin?
Cleaner wrasse I found curled up in a corner gasping. When I went to fish him out he tried to swim but couldn’t. He had a weird puff of flesh at the join on his fin and it wasn’t working at all. He’d been in the tank since the start a year ago.
Then a week later my newish (but very large well over 3inches) Mandarin Goby died. He was acting strange during the day (yesterday) and was aggressively head butting the glass, never seen that before. But I figured it was nothing. Then this morning I find him unable to swim, gasping and thrashing and in minutes he’s dead. Body looked unharmed. I’m really upset. I loved him. He’s been in the tank a couple months no issues. Fed with monthly copeopods etc.
All the water parameters are good. 20g Waterbox Tank is a year old. Stock: live rock, tiny Royal Gamma, pizza anemone, 2 porcelain crabs, standard LPS corals, one large peppermint shrimp I never see.
The weirdness I saw yesterday with him was happening in the morning in the afternoon I added three new fish, all very tiny. Coral goby, court jester goby and a not even one inch yellow spotted box fish (I know they get larger I’m planning a bigger tank). The mandarin was the biggest thing in the tank by two inches.
I don’t know what the heck is going on. I’m new to reefing and stupidly get attached to my fish. Watching him die this morning was horrifying.
I don’t understand how a cleaner wrasse breaks a side fin?? I thought maybe a porcelain grab bit it but my LFS says not likely. Thought could it be the pizza anemone that and the crabs are the newest things in the tank? But I didn’t think the anemone would poison the mandarin?
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