Dead Fire Fish

[brianjoy81]

So I put 1 Fire Fish in my tank about 5 days ago and I found him dead this morning. Any reasons a fish would just die after 5 days? He was eating just fine. I did notice that he was being harrassed by my Clown fish, Yellow Tale Damsel, and the Hawkfish. Im guessing it was stress? The only fish that didnt chase him around was my Spotted Goby.

On a good note I was able to get a small frag of some torch coral and it is doing great! Wanted to test a small cheaper piece before I invested in a larger one.

[Redfish]

I bought three of them, one died three days later, I bought a yelow Watchman Goby, he lasted two days. They were being harassed by my Flame Angel and I am guessing stress got the best of them, but who knows, it happens. I know the fire fish that I have like to hide under a rock when they get spooked, make sure they have a rock they can get under and they will feel more secure.

[Doug]

In these types of situations, years ago as a proprietor of a LFS, I would always tell people that we are largely limited, in regards to diagnosing fish maladies, to what we are able to observe externally. Stress doesn't always manifest itself in symptoms on the outside of the animal. Perhaps there was some pre-existing condition that would have claimed the fish, even if it had been left in the wild. There is also the possibility that the individual specimen just wasn't as strong as others of the same type, from the same source, in the same shipment. The best we were able to offer as retailers was to only allow some consideration in the event of a fish loss (in the first few days after purchase) if the fish had been held and observed at the shop for a minimum amount of time after receipt. Even then, it was more a courtesy than a guarantee; for a retailer to be able to exist, the aquarist must be willing to share the burden of fish losses.

[Gerwin]

In these types of situations, years ago as a proprietor of a LFS, I would always tell people that we are largely limited, in regards to diagnosing fish maladies, to what we are able to observe externally. Stress doesn't always manifest itself in symptoms on the outside of the animal. Perhaps there was some pre-existing condition that would have claimed the fish, even if it had been left in the wild. There is also the possibility that the individual specimen just wasn't as strong as others of the same type, from the same source, in the same shipment. The best we were able to offer as retailers was to only allow some consideration in the event of a fish loss (in the first few days after purchase) if the fish had been held and observed at the shop for a minimum amount of time after receipt. Even then, it was more a courtesy than a guarantee; for a retailer to be able to exist, the aquarist must be willing to share the burden of fish losses.

Wow Doug I need a short version of how to say that, . my 30 seconds or 30 ft. does not give the same warm fuzzy

on a serious note....

I did notice that he was being harassed by my Clown fish, Yellow Tale Damsel, and the Hawkfish. Im guessing it was stress?

was it stress? I am sure it played a role, did the stress "kill" meh...but the surface damage of being hit by fish coupled with the lack of eating due to fear all play a role on the end result. I find Firefish as whole to be pretty sturdy little fish and enjoy watching them in the shop but they are not the stoutest of fish to be sure, it seems most people loss them not to illness as much as jumping from the tank. As a note if you do not see fish back off a new introduction after about 24-48 hours you need to start considering options before its to late for sure.

[phisher]

Firefish seem to do better and settle down more in a small group of say 5-7. The also need plenty of hiding spots, .5" pvc cut into short pieces and hidden in your rock work works really well.

[Doug]

Wow Doug I need a short version of how to say that, . my 30 seconds or 30 ft. does not give the same warm fuzzy

That last part kind of went off on a tangent. Probably a flashback to when I used to be able to explain the entire nitrogen cycle on auto-pilot, and run through my after-work to-do list in my head at the same time.