clown trigger

Question
We have a 75 gallon saltwater tank with lace rock and some live rock.  as for fish we have a clownfish and a pacific blue tang.  We also had a clown trigger that we found cut in half today.  do you have any idea what could of done this

thank you

Answer
Hi Angie,

Sorry for the loss of your fish. I will make a hypothesis as to what happened to your clown trigger fish.

With the clown trigger fish being the most aggressive out of your tank mates, it's possible it died and its carcass which would have eventually settled to rest at some point in the aquarium, quickly became a meal for the micro-organisms in your aquarium. Micro-organism including bristle worms, species of copepods, amphipods, just to name a few can quickly devour a carcass overnight, giving the carcass a torn in half-like appearance.

As far the cause of death for the clown trigger, there are many variables that could be involved, including: the collection method used to originally acquire the fish in the wild, the local fish stores aquariums, and disease.

I hope this helps out some.

Take Care.

Regards,
David

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