i'm having a weird fish dying problem

i've had this tank running for over a year (18mo). i've got a set of clowns that have dominated since day one.

a few months back, a 6line wrasse i had for almost a year died suddenly and mysteriously. no obvious ailments.

a few days later my bi-color blenny died.

after a while, i added a flametail blenny (that little creep is still alive) and a couple weeks ago I added a rad 4line wrasse.

that wrasse was being impressive in his normal way and not 5 minutes later it was dead.

the flame tail is still fine as far as i can tell and the clowns are fricking impervious.

I have no idea what the problem is or where to begin.

params are inline - 0's. I have 4* temp swing ...

corals, inverts all doing great.

i'm starting to suspect the clowns... but only for circumstantial reasons...

:-/

 

Could be stray voltage.


luna

 

Sorry to hear about the issue and I agree that they could be your culprits.

 

Are you buying some of your livestock that is living from one supplier and the livestock that's dying from another by chance? Kind of a stretch but it's worth considering I think.

The clowns could be part of the reason, do you see them outcompeting some of the other fish for food or anything? Do the other fish hide when the clowns want to get a piece of food? Are you sure you know how to assess whether these fish are getting enough food with the proper nutrition for their species, not all fish may survive on the same diet a pair of clowns will, some angelfish, for example. I'm not particularly aware of the dietary needs of the fish you mentioned or that they're particularly difficult but it might be worth examining the quality of the food you're feeding as well.

Are you possibly underfeeding? What sort of feeding schedule do you have and what types of food are you feeding? Fish can slowly starve over time if they're getting say 80% of what they normally need, it can take months.

Aside from the 6 line that died after a year (I'm not sure what their natural lifespan is generally in captivity but it might be worth looking into), it sounds like some of the other fish may have died within a relatively short period of time (under a few months). Maybe you're getting some bad fish that have some issues, either through the collection process or maybe a disease that's not outwardly apparent or something? Maybe check with the store you're getting them from, find out their supplier and how reputable they are, that kind of thing?

Some of these might seem like far stretches but when it seems like there is nothing wrong with your tank you might as well start exploring all avenues IMO.

 

how long after you added each fish did they die?
any chance the clowns or the blenny are killing them/bullying them? damsels and blennies have some fight to them...

 

sounds like stray voltage