Another "Clownfish behavior" thread. Should I be concerned?

[raklassen]

Hey All, I have a pair of clownfish in my tank. They have been there 2.5 months now and all has been well. Today I noticed that my male clown is exhibiting some strange behavior. Typically, both fish are very active swimmers and are all over the place in my display. Today I noticed that the male seems almost obsessed with a small section of my aquascape. He just stays in that area. Sometimes even appearing to "lay" on a section for a few seconds. He will get out and swim every once in awhile, but always returns to that one spot. That's not like him at all so I'm a bit concerned with the change in behavior after 2.5 months. The female is going on like normal. Everything else seems fine. I watch both fish very closely and I don't see any signs of tissue damage, gill damage, unusual spots, or what I would consider unusual breathing. I feed twice a day and his appetite has been normal.

Should I be concerned? Or is it just typical weird clownfish behavior? I have some AP General Cure, and I was thinking of dosing it in my tank just to be on the safe side. Good idea or no?

 

[raklassen]

Here is a quick and crappy vid. It’s like he’s obsessed with this one spot. It’s at the top of my aquascape, not the bottom near the sand bed.

 

[Tamale]

Hey All, I have a pair of clownfish in my tank. They have been there 2.5 months now and all has been well. Today I noticed that my male clown is exhibiting some strange behavior. Typically, both fish are very active swimmers and are all over the place in my display. Today I noticed that the male seems almost obsessed with a small section of my aquascape. He just stays in that area. Sometimes even appearing to "lay" on a section for a few seconds. He will get out and swim every once in awhile, but always returns to that one spot. That's not like him at all so I'm a bit concerned with the change in behavior after 2.5 months. The female is going on like normal. Everything else seems fine. I watch both fish very closely and I don't see any signs of tissue damage, gill damage, unusual spots, or what I would consider unusual breathing. I feed twice a day and his appetite has been normal.

Should I be concerned? Or is it just typical weird clownfish behavior? I have some AP General Cure, and I was thinking of dosing it in my tank just to be on the safe side. Good idea or no?

Not an expert at all but sounds like that spot is hosting him haha

 

[BiggestE22]

Maybe is protecting some eggs.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Here is a quick and crappy vid. It’s like he’s obsessed with this one spot. It’s at the top of my aquascape, not the bottom near the sand bed.

In the absence of any other symptoms (rapid breathing, not eating well, spots, etc.) I would say the clown has just staked out a spot to "pretend" there is an anemone at. I have a Darwin clown in my office that did that, and then moved and took over a patch of green star polyp....

Jay

 

[Little c big D]

This sounds like clowns being clowns. If the spot was hidden and far from the female I would look for signs of aggression from her maybe? But it sounds like he's living that clownfish life

 

[raklassen]

This sounds like clowns being clowns. If the spot was hidden and far from the female I would look for signs of aggression from her maybe? But it sounds like he's living that clownfish life

I’ve been watching intently since I noticed the odd behavior and the female is actually quite close to him. She’s not as “obsessed” over the one spot, but I have noticed that she is also staying in the same area.

 

[raklassen]

I just gave the second feeding for the day and both clowns went about it with there usual ferocious appetite. So definitely still eating well. Really no other signs as of now, but I’ll keep a close eye on things. Thank you all for the responses. I’m still relatively new to this hobby and I get a little paranoid. I’m quite attached to my 2 clowns