Clown fish died tonight :(

[leftyfb]

I noticed 1 of my clown fish are breathing heavy. I originally purchased 2 of these tiny clown fish 2 weeks ago. After about a week we noticed 1 was missing. Last weekend I bought 2 more bringing the total to 3. Now the past 2 nights I have noticed 1 of them has been swimming by itself and usually lower in the tank closer to the sand. Now tonight it's breathing heavy. I have it in a floating breeder tonight but I don't think it's going to last long. I've notice it sort of trying to hop out and maybe even gasping at the top. He also seems a bit tattered. None of my other fish or the other 2 clowns show any of these symptoms. I just did a water change Sunday morning before getting these 2 new fish.

Ammonia is 0, salinity is 1.024, temp is at 79. Again, nothing has changed and all other fish are fine including 2 of the other clown fish.


Here's a video I took of him an hour before he died: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/102233/aquar... 38 PM.mov

This was a half hour before he died:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p822dGuONak

 

[7IHd]

So sorry to hear that. He looked in really bad shape in that second vid. Color all faded, stationary, and breathing heavy. All bad signs. Some fish just become malnourished and stressed and it might not have anything to do with your params. Could have been picked on by the other clowns, too. But best of luck with all your other fish.

 

[aiaman]

did the lost clown stay in a colder environemt more than the others?
they slow way down and have a hard time catching up, could be problem.
Also, did you get a chance to talk with MPevine11 about his clown issues
yu never know, chould be same species or same lfs, should give a pm

 

[stingythingy45]

- 1 hippo tang. He's been through some of my "learning experiences" and seems to have what looks like lots of tiny little scratches/scars but otherwise seems fine.**** red flag*****
- 1 Yellow Tang. He had a bad case of something bad back in September: ****red flag*****http://dl.dropbox.com/u/102233/aquarium/poorfish.jpg but seems to be all cleared up now.
- 3 new tiny clownfish
- 1 Banggai Cardinal
- 1 manderin fish
- 1 Lyretail Anthias

First off,sorry for the loss.
It seems like you have one heck of a bioload for a 72 gallon tank.
Is there any reason why you are introducing 3 clown fish instead of 2?
The fact that the YT and Hippo had something tells me that your tank could have a parasite.Yes,you say the other fish are fine.But,fish can also build up some immunity to cryto.This would be my first guess.
Second guess would be that the fish are fighting with each other to determine who will be the female.Many time 2 clowns will kill the third and then fight over who will be the female.
Third,you have introduced a parasite(maybe even flukes) from the LFS along with these clowns.
It is always a good idea,imo,to quarantine new fish.
I would wait before adding another fish and see how things look with the fish you have now.The Hippo will definitely show signs if ich has entered your tank.
Good luck.

 

[leftyfb]

This is the 3rd out of the 4 clowns I bought. He died today. I have 1 left who again, doesn't seem to be experiencing any issues. Or my hippo tang, yellow tang, banggai cardinal, manderin or anthia.