I lost my tiny clown

[sailfin]

Hi guys

I'm bummed and I need sympathy. I lost the smaller of my pair of ocellaris. He just disappeared, nowhere to be seen. It's been 24 hours. My fish guy is coming over tonight to take apart the plumbing to see if he might have somehow got into the overflow box and got stuck in the pipes. I don't want to think of what we'll find. If the little guy somehow got into the plumbing he didn't make it to the refugium.

My clowns were my very first fishies. They've been around since my first small setup. They broke me into the hobby so to speak. It really sucks.

Sorry for the downer post.

Ann

[Rob]

Ann, im sorry to hear about the loss, i know how hard it can be, especially if you have had them a while...

any chance it has been hiding in rockwork?

well, hopefully you can find out what happened so it doesn't happen again..

[dreams]

{{{{ann}}}}.....sorry for your loss

[CarmieJo]

Ann,

I'm sorry. :(

[Reefbaby]

Sorry Ann - it's good to be sad though. Rather that than the heartless pattern of buying, killing, buying, killing, etc. It's amazing how we get attached to our saltwater friends. I don't ever remember being so bummed about losing any fish in my freshwater tanks, but I feel this major sense of responsibility with my set-up now. I don't know...maybe it's maturity.

Did you happen to look on the floor behind and around the tank? I've lost a couple that thought they could be carpet sharks...

[V]

ann, thats not good,im hoping he's still swimming in the overflow somewhere. carpet sharks RB? ive heard carpet surfing, im assuming the same thing!

& dont worry, when i lost one of my mangroves that was 47cm into life, i cried for a better part of a week. it doesn't matter whether they are fresh/brackish/SW when they are your pets statisticly u spend more time with them that u exersise in a year. And its even worst when that one fish slipps under your guard & hits harder that any other loss u have experienced before.

i do hope u find him alive & scared ann

[Reefbaby]

you're so right veriann...

yes, carpet shark-carpet surfing...whatever...mine was digging it! :-)

[sailfin]

Hey guys

Thanks for the kind words. The little clown jumped. I didn't find him right away because he fell behind a magazine rack next to the aquarium cabinet. It still baffles me how he managed to do this. He fell through a 1/2 inch gap between the edge of the tank and the canopy. Something must have spooked him and caused him to jump and he was unlucky enough to find the gap. I found him when I pushed the magazine rack out of the way to make space for my fish guy's gear when he came over to dismantle the plumbing to see if the little clown had somehow found its way in there. I couldn't pick him up, I acted like a 10 yrs old and started crying in front of the fish guy. Very embarrassing.

We filled the gap between the tank and the canopy. No one else will jump to an untimely death. But here is a pic of Bubbles the clownfish in memoriam.

[CarmieJo]

I'm sorry.

[fat walrus]

sorry to hear about your loss. do not feel embarrished about your sorrow. let me tell u that this walrus sobbed like a baby seal when i lost my flame hawk that used to sit on my hand and always looked at me at all times.

[gwen_o_lyn]

sorry :(

...

[Reefbaby]

Sorry Ann - hope its mate isn't to sad!

[fishworld_2007]

man im sorry.... I lost my first guppy when i was after 1 hear of keeping it and that same guppy mother just gave birth to loads of little frys.... I was crying big time when it died. I hope you get back to normal and take care

[CarmieJo]

Hi Fishworld,

:welcome: to TR.

[Reefbaby]

Welcome Fishworld! Nice to have you alllll the way over here! :)

[ghostbear29]

sorry for your loss. that sucks. but im glad you addressed the gap issue. does it look ok? everything else on the tank doing well? I've lost a few with my open top tank. I got sooo mad! hopefully this shall be a limited event for you. good luck, best wishes.

[sailfin]

sorry for your loss. that sucks. but im glad you addressed the gap issue. does it look ok? everything else on the tank doing well? I've lost a few with my open top tank. I got sooo mad! hopefully this shall be a limited event for you. good luck, best wishes.

Thanks Ghostbear and everyone for your kind words. The gap filler looks ok and it is doing the job nicely. No more "great escape" attempts to report. My surviving clown is adapting to her new "single" status and seems alright. I am planning to get her a new companion at some point but not right away. I just added a little hippo tang to the aquarium and I am going to give him time to settle in before adding another fish.

Ann

[V]

glad to hear its rectified ann, all we can do is limit the potenial dangers

[iglowce]

im sry to hear that. i lost 3 clowns already. and my orange skunk clown is my 4th one. its not doing too well neither. i guess i just have no luck wt clowns =[

[RocketSeason]

I understand completely how you must feel. I think for most people who dont own fish it may just be "a silly little fish" but for us, they are truely something special.

I still have my first pair of SW fish. 2 O. Clowns that I purchased over 2 years ago. And the thought of losing one or both is heart rending.

I would suggest you purchase another Clown to keep your remaining clown happy. Hopefully she accepts the new addition. Let us know how it goes.