clownfish suicide 2 nights in a row...Need Help

[Mr.BlubBlub]

Good afternoon everyone,  this isn't the introduction to my tank I'd hoped for but Im at a complete loss for words right and absolutely devastated. I'm gonna add all the details I think might be relevant so sit tight.  Yesterday morning I woke up to find 1 of my clown fish dried up on the floor. I have a lid on the tank, but it leaves about an inch gap in the back for the filter. My 2 clownfish loved a corner in the back next to the filter for when they went to sleep. I noticed 3 slime trails on the outside of the tank also. Which led me to find 3 snails on the ground. I pick them and they are still alive and toss em back in the tank. Further inspection I found that one of the slime trails was exactly where my fish sleep.  So I thought my clownfish must of been spooked in the middle of the night by the escape snail and flopped out of the tank. My clownfish were only ever jumpy when I first introduced the cleanup crew snails into the tank. Up until now though they haven't shown any stress towards the snails.

 

I normally do my water changes every sunday, but since I was out this past weekend the water change was delayed until wednesday. I had a small outbreak of cyanobacteria/red slime algea which I've been successfully combating the past 2 weeks by way of turkey baster. So on wednesday I changed the water and scrubbed the walls of the algea build up, the same thing Ive always done.  Thursday morning I find 3 snails have escaped from the back portion of the tank and my clownfish(My wife and I called her Miss Frizzle) on the floor. 

I tested the water parameters again and everything is normal. 

 

0 ammonia 

0 nitrites 

15 nitrates 

8 PH --- This PH has been consistent for the life i've had the tank.

1.025 Salinity 

78 degrees Fahrenheit 

The tank is 3 months old

We got the clown fish 2 months ago

1 x Nassarius snail from my Local Fish Store

10g Reef cleaner site pack. 

 

Nothing out of the ordinary parameter wise so I figured she had to of been spooked by a snail while sleeping.  I put painters tape in the back area to ensure it cant happen again while I figure out a better cover this upcoming weekend.  I've used this method before when we first got them for a 2-3 weeks so I know its fine and gas exchange is fine.  I look at my other clownfish (Dostoevsky ) and he seems fine. He's swimming against the waterflow and exploring the tank as he normally does. 

 

Well, I woke up today and my wife says she can't find him in the tank. I thought that was crazy, I taped it to ensure no more suicides. Lo and behold there he was dried up on the floor. He must of jumped out the tiniest of cracks b/w the lid and right wall. The only reason I can possibly imagine my poor little guy would be stressed enough to find a exit would be something must of gotten to him in the night. 

My only conclusion now is one of our nassarius snails has been aggressive since I cleaned up the tank and presumably his food supply. I read online too some nassarius snails can be aggressive towards fish. 

I've attached photos of my tank below for reference. 

 

Please any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm just really sad at the moment and my momentum for the hobby has taken a small tumble. 

[Nomoreammo]

Sorry to hear about your loss. It's always tough losing animals. The short answer that I have for you is sometimes fish jump and nothing is safe unless you've literally covered all the gaps.

 

It's probably not the answer you wanted to hear but there have been times where I try to look for an answer amongst all of the coincidences and sometimes there are literally no answers. This isn't a perfect hobby so I always remind myself that anything could happen.

 

I would try to move past it as quickly as possible and perhaps look into a DIY custom fitting acrylic lid.

[Firefish15]

Sorry for your losses, that's hard. 

 

Fish deaths aside, your tank looks really nice.

 

Can you show a picture of the nassarius snail? Just curious.

[Tamberav]

I have caught some fish swimming around the parameter of the tank at night looking for an exit. This is why we always hear about "my fish jumped through the tiny gap...". 

 

1. escaping predators

2. looking for food

3. poor water quality, such an ammonia spike, pH spikes, or poor oxygenation

4. looking for a new territory.

 

Usually in our tanks it is #4

 

If the snails normally don't climb out and they did as well, this is suggestive of water quality since you had multiple animals evacuate. Perhaps a small ammonia spike from cleaning that already resolved itself by the time you tested? Did you stir any sand up or anything in the process? 

A pic of the snails is a good idea too.

 

 

[Mr.BlubBlub]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

I have caught some fish swimming around the parameter of the tank at night looking for an exit. This is why we always hear about "my fish jumped through the tiny gap...". 

 

1. escaping predators

2. looking for food

3. poor water quality, such an ammonia spike, pH spikes, or poor oxygenation

4. looking for a new territory.

 

Usually in our tanks it is #4

 

If the snails normally don't climb out and they did as well, this is suggestive of water quality since you had multiple animals evacuate. Perhaps a small ammonia spike from cleaning that already resolved itself by the time you tested? Did you stir any sand up or anything in the process? 

A pic of the snails is a good idea too.

 

 

Thank you so much for responding! I did siphon the sandbed and stir it up, but I've done this every single sunday since I've gotten them so I'd assume it wouldnt cause any issue. Would be removing the red slime algea cause any type of an ammonia spike? I saw they were both alive when I went to bed around 11:00pm Wednesday and we found the first 1 passed away 6:30AM Thursday morning. We did the tests before 12 and the results of those are listed above. Then my next fish jumped the following morning.   Another thread mentions the reef cleaner package has intertidal snails that like to escape? When I get the time today I'll take a picture of the snails.  Thank you again for the advice, its greatly appreciated. 

[Tamberav]

Nerites do like to escape, but I wasn't sure if you found nerites or nass snails. I see now you only have 1 nass snail though. Since you clean it every Sunday, it probably wasn't a problem.

 

This may just be a case of a clownfish going exploring and the other jumping looking for its mate. I have seen many threads where the other clown or goby pair, etc follows. The snail trail may just be coincidental. 

 

Fish seem to assume they will land in water, but I guess if ya normally live in the ocean, that is probably usually the case. 

[Mr.BlubBlub]

5 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

Nerites do like to escape, but I wasn't sure if you found nerites or nass snails. I see now you only have 1 nass snail though. Since you clean it every Sunday, it probably wasn't a problem.

 

This may just be a case of a clownfish going exploring and the other jumping looking for its mate. I have seen many threads where the other clown or goby pair, etc follows. The snail trail may just be coincidental. 

 

Fish seem to assume they will land in water, but I guess if ya normally live in the ocean, that is probably usually the case. 

Thank you, he seemed fine all thursday(swimming in the current,exploring a bit then heading to bed in the corner). I had no idea they liked exploring at night. I guess it makes sense because there would be less threats at night?  I do have more than 1 Nass snail, that came in the reef cleaner pack. I mention it because I'm unsure of the LFS gave me a Nass Vibex. In the end I guess she was spooked by the snail and the next night my other fish tried to find where she went. Thank you again for your help, I really appreciate it!

[Clown79]

I'm sorry for the losses.

 

I have not seen any aggression with my nassarius.

 

It is odd though that this all happened consecutively.

 

Is there enough oxygen in the tank?

Is it 100%  cyano?

[Mr.BlubBlub]

On 3/22/2019 at 6:25 PM, Clown79 said:

I'm sorry for the losses.

 

I have not seen any aggression with my nassarius.

 

It is odd though that this all happened consecutively.

 

Is there enough oxygen in the tank?

Is it 100%  cyano?

Oxygen was fine, ive had the lid on and off multiple times since ive gotten them and theyve never shown any of the lack of oxygen traits. Yeah, after the wonderful comment from Tamberav I believe the second one was trying to find his friend 😞 .  Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it. 

[lucaquarium]

I want to thank you so much for posting this. I used to have nightmares about my tank breaking and all the fish on the floor. then one day I couldn't find a clown fish in my tank and I couldn't believe it. I thought I was loosing my mind. there was like a 2cm hole in the top by the protein skimmer I thought there is no way he could have gotten out. then I stepped back and stepped on it. I just couldn't fathom at all how it happened and it felt like one of my nightmares coming true. I had to rationalize somehow he made it out of that small opening as hard as it was to believe. it still really spooked me. so thank you for sharing that.... it really makes me feel better. 

On 3/22/2019 at 3:04 PM, Mr.BlubBlub said:

Good afternoon everyone,  this isn't the introduction to my tank I'd hoped for but Im at a complete loss for words right and absolutely devastated. I'm gonna add all the details I think might be relevant so sit tight.  Yesterday morning I woke up to find 1 of my clown fish dried up on the floor. I have a lid on the tank, but it leaves about an inch gap in the back for the filter. My 2 clownfish loved a corner in the back next to the filter for when they went to sleep. I noticed 3 slime trails on the outside of the tank also. Which led me to find 3 snails on the ground. I pick them and they are still alive and toss em back in the tank. Further inspection I found that one of the slime trails was exactly where my fish sleep.  So I thought my clownfish must of been spooked in the middle of the night by the escape snail and flopped out of the tank. My clownfish were only ever jumpy when I first introduced the cleanup crew snails into the tank. Up until now though they haven't shown any stress towards the snails.

 

I normally do my water changes every sunday, but since I was out this past weekend the water change was delayed until wednesday. I had a small outbreak of cyanobacteria/red slime algea which I've been successfully combating the past 2 weeks by way of turkey baster. So on wednesday I changed the water and scrubbed the walls of the algea build up, the same thing Ive always done.  Thursday morning I find 3 snails have escaped from the back portion of the tank and my clownfish(My wife and I called her Miss Frizzle) on the floor. 

I tested the water parameters again and everything is normal. 

 

0 ammonia 

0 nitrites 

15 nitrates 

8 PH --- This PH has been consistent for the life i've had the tank.

1.025 Salinity 

78 degrees Fahrenheit 

The tank is 3 months old

We got the clown fish 2 months ago

1 x Nassarius snail from my Local Fish Store

10g Reef cleaner site pack. 

 

Nothing out of the ordinary parameter wise so I figured she had to of been spooked by a snail while sleeping.  I put painters tape in the back area to ensure it cant happen again while I figure out a better cover this upcoming weekend.  I've used this method before when we first got them for a 2-3 weeks so I know its fine and gas exchange is fine.  I look at my other clownfish (Dostoevsky ) and he seems fine. He's swimming against the waterflow and exploring the tank as he normally does. 

 

Well, I woke up today and my wife says she can't find him in the tank. I thought that was crazy, I taped it to ensure no more suicides. Lo and behold there he was dried up on the floor. He must of jumped out the tiniest of cracks b/w the lid and right wall. The only reason I can possibly imagine my poor little guy would be stressed enough to find a exit would be something must of gotten to him in the night. 

My only conclusion now is one of our nassarius snails has been aggressive since I cleaned up the tank and presumably his food supply. I read online too some nassarius snails can be aggressive towards fish. 

I've attached photos of my tank below for reference. 

 

Please any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm just really sad at the moment and my momentum for the hobby has taken a small tumble. 

I want you to thank you so much for postín this. I have nightmares about my aquariu. breaking