Lost a clown

[cplawrence]

I just lost a clownfish. I had added two ocellaris clowns to my 29 (I committed the cardinal sin of not using QT and now I am paying for it). Anyway, one was not eating and was just not looking all that great, so I started to prepare a hospital bucket (don't have an extra tank around right now, so it was the best I could do on short notice). While the water was heating up, he succumbed. He got caught up in the current from the pumps and wound up in the rock work. I have now located him--he is in a small area under one of the rocks that my peppermint shrimp has made a home out of where he has become a snack. However, I cannot get to him without pulling out a lot of the rock in the tank. So, my question is whether it is better to leave him where he is and let the shrimp and crabs take care of him, or should I take out the rock and net him out?
Thanks in advance,
Chris

 

[Feron]

Hmm..
I imagine it's probably best to remove him, unless you have sufficient feeders that will quickly take care of him.
If you don't have sufficient feeders, it will probably lead to a cycle of some sort, which could cause the rest of the things in the tank to perish.
I'm sure someone will have some more first hand advise for you.

Sorry for your loss

 

[tecwzrd]

In a 29 gal I’d get him out due being afraid of an nh3/no2 spike. If you had a 55+ gal tank that was established you could probably get away with leaving him in there. Was it a “tank raised” clown? Wild caught usually don’t adapt as well. Sorry for your loss

 

[cplawrence]

I have about a dozen small hermits and ten snails along with the shrimp who has already started eating him.
Chris

 

[tecwzrd]

If leaving it in the tank make sure you test for spikes over the next couple of days and have some water ready to go in case you need to do a quick pwc.