Strange Clownfish Deaths

About a week ago, I purchased four small false percuala clownfish from the same tank at the LFS. After letting them go in the tank, after a day, they took up home in my saddle carpet anemone. About a day or two later, I noticed that one left the anemone and the other three clownfish. It had a white slime coating its whole body and then it died. Well, the next day another left the anemone and had the white slime on him and died. The next day another. Well, for the last one, I was off work so I did a FW dip. It took the slime coating away and he started swimming in the anemone again. Well, later I found him dead with that white slime again. WTH is going on with my anemone and/or clownfish???? Did the anemone kill them? The anemone appears fine and I touched him and he is still really sticky and eating well. I am not sure though that the clownfish were eating. Only because I been super busy this week and have only put the food in there not watch afterwards. None of my other fish have any signs of distress or illness, which is making me think the anemone didn't like them and therefore killed them. I think it would have been easier to have just eaten them. Does anyone know? Because I don't want to get another clownfish if he wants to be alone????!!!!!???????

 

Check salinity...clownfish are very sensitive to high salinity...have seen that "white slime" before.

Sorry about loss...:-[

Scott

 

Sorry to hear about the fish losses! I'm not too sure that false percs take to saddle carpets normally so perhaps the fish just couldn't "adapt" to that particular anemone's nematocysts. How is the one remaining clownfish doing now? Oh, and you don't want to put more than a mated pair of clownfish in the same tank regardless of what you decide to do. They will pick each other off until you're left with one mated pair.

 

Sounds like clown fish disease

HI,
Lost a true percula to this every one was fine but I think they had it when I bought them

Clownfish Disease - Brooklynella Diagnosis and Treatment

SO many diseases...
Doug

 

Wow...good info. I was just going to post a question about that. My Maroon Clown is stressing badly (nose up, barely swimming at the water surface, breathing fast). I have some copper, but I don't want to use it because I'm trying to rid my tank of it from the last dose (I want some inverts!!).

 

Bummer. thanks for the info about a breeded pair~!

 

Sad to hear about clown loss.

Took me a couple trys to come up with a mated pair of maroons. Could not keep them from killing each other off.

Both wanted to be "boss" (female) I guess.

Best bet is to introduce very small pair at same time, and let them duke it out to see who is going to wear the pants (or skirt) in family.