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I'm stumped - my smaller clownfish vanished into thin air.

My tank's a 37g with 55lbs of live rock, set up in two islands. I've got a midas blenny, a firtideflow, 2 (possibly) sebae clowns, and I just introduced a pair of flame hawks.

The flame hawks went in on Friday. I rearranged the tank on Saturday since they were getting harassed by the blenny and clowns even when the lights were out. The firtideflow wasn't getting enough food either. By Tuesday, the smaller clown was gone. I was away on Monday, and my mom fed them and added some RO. She said she saw the little guy eat. But come Sunday, he was nowhere to be found. I've looked high and low, and he's not in his usual spot behind the powerhead, in the gap between the MJ and the wall. He hasn't shown up for food either. I'm preparing for the worst at this point. No ammonia spikes, I test daily. Any ideas what might've happened to him? I'm guessing he got stuck in the rockwork somewhere. I'm pretty sure it didn't collapse on him, and I highly doubt the hawks would take him down before the cleaner shrimp.

n3...I'm not trying to flame you (no pun intended), but I've read that hawkfish can be semi-aggressive, especially towards smaller fish like blennies and gobies. They seem to require specific tankmates to get along. I've noticed that hawks and dottybacks often get mentioned when it comes to aggression issues.

I did some research on them since I don't have personal experience, and it seems like there might be compatibility issues in your tank. I'm not sure what made you decide to add the hawk. As for the missing clown, I'm guessing it could be stress, hiding, or possibly even an attack by the flame. It's unclear what really happened. Sorry to hear about your loss. By the way, are your hawks a paired mate?

havenmix wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2025 10:56 am n3...I'm not trying to flame you (no pun intended), but I've read that hawkfish can be semi-aggressive, especially towards smaller fish like blennies and gobies. They seem to require specific tankmates to get along. I've noticed that hawks and dottybacks often get mentioned when it comes to aggression issues.

I did some research on them since I don't have personal experience, and it seems like there might be compatibility issues in your tank. I'm not sure what made you decide to add the hawk. As for the missing clown, I'm guessing it could be stress, hiding, or possibly even an attack by the flame. It's unclear what really happened. Sorry to hear about your loss. By the way, are your hawks a paired mate?

My hawkfish are indeed a paired mate.

Regarding aggression, I always thought they were pretty chill, except when it comes to shrimp and tiny gobies. I made sure my firtideflow was fully grown before introducing the hawkfish, and they were the last ones to join the party. To be honest, I haven't seen any aggression from them towards the other fish. I'm definitely not adding any more fish to the tank, so that's not an issue.

By the way, my blenny is fully grown, so he's not exactly what I'd call small.

I'm still puzzled as to why the clown would've been stressed by the hawkfish, considering he was the one doing the chasing.

I've had experience with hawkfish, having kept the arc-eye and falco varieties. While they're often considered more aggressive than the flame hawk, I never witnessed any aggression towards my fish that were larger than them, including small gobies, clowns, and blennies. It seems counterintuitive that the hawks would target the sebae clowns, especially since they're a robust species. The firtideflow would be a more likely target, given its size and vulnerability. Considering the hawks were recently introduced, I think it's unlikely they'd be aggressive just yet, especially since they appear to be getting bullied by the other fish. It's possible the clown is just hiding or stuck somewhere in the rockwork. Keep an eye out, it's not uncommon for fish to reappear after a while.

I've got a similar situation in my 50g tank with the firtideflow - I've got 4 of them, and while 2 are always out and about, the other 2 are always hiding in the rocks and only come out to eat. I'm not sure fluxx they're hiding, to be honest, but I'm trying to catch them to return to my LFS. It's possible your clown might be doing something similar, maybe just hiding out somewhere and will turn up eventually.

I've had a string of weird disappearances with my perculas - every single one, except for one, just vanished into thin air. I'm starting to think they're just wired to kick the bucket solo.

Sorry to hear about your loss. I've had a similar experience with my pair of clownfish. I added them to my tank on Saturday and they seemed a bit stressed the next day, swimming up and down in one corner when the lights were off. However, they both ate well during feeding time.

I also have a yellowtail damsel and a purple firtideflow in the tank, and I've been monitoring their behavior closely. This morning, I saw both clownfish when I left for work, but when I returned this evening, one of them was gone. I've searched the entire tank, but there's no sign of it, and I'm starting to think the worst.

I do have a netted cover on my tank with a small gap on either side, but I highly doubt it could have jumped out. There's no body anywhere, either in or outside the tank. My parameters are all fine, with no ammonia spike or any other issues.

My remaining clownfish is swimming around the tank alone, looking a bit lost, and I'm worried about it. I thought I'd share my experience with you, and I'm afraid it might be a similar case with your clownfish.

Do you have an overflow in your tank? I used to have issues with my clowns jumping into the overflow all the time. The first time it happened, it took me about two weeks to find the little guy. But after that, I knew exactly where to look whenever one went missing. Hopefully, you'll be able to find your clown soon.

Still no sign of my little guy, I'm starting to lose hope.

No overflow here. Still no sign of the little guy, unfortunately. The rest of the crew - fish and shrimp - are all doing well, though.