Clown fish burying themselves in the sand

[medic17]

I am new to the saltwater aquarium and was curious if anyone can give me some info on clown fish burying themselves in the sand. Is it normal or a sign of distress? Thanks in advance for the information.

 

[Robink]

That's not normal. Do you have a picture or video of the fish?

 

[medic17]

 

[medic17]

All levels are normal my ph was a little low added a buffer

 

[Robink]

Can you get a closer pic of the clown with the odd behavior? Maybe we'll be able to see if he has any obvious symptoms.

 

[medic17]

I am having my wife get a close up of them I am on shift. They are acting normal and have good color as well as eating very well. I’ll send the close up as soon as I receive it

 

[medic17]

 

[Jose Mayo]

He may be preparing the nest for spawning.


Best regards

 

[Robink]

A pic will be good. If they are otherwise acting normal and eating well, not scratching on rocks or just laying on the sand I wouldn't worry too much. You may just have a weirdo.
I have a bonded pair and the male is not a morning fish. He stays in the corner till well after the lights come on and he doesn't eat breakfast.(I feed 3X a day.). The female however rarely misses a meal.

 

[medic17]

Not allowing me to send a video

 

[Robink]

They just look a little on the thin side to me, maybe cause mine are fat. Did you quarantine them when you first got them? You can dose prazipro, it's reef safe in case they have parasites. I don't see anything obvious on them.
Cute clowns.

 

[medic17]

No I didn’t quarantine them I didn’t have any other fish in there and the tank had been cycling for 1 month prior to putting them in. I did the drip to acclimate them for 25 minutes. And thank u I like them as well. Looking forward to upgrading to a bigger tank in the future. Thanks everyone for the advice

 

[medic17]

Jose Mayo that is a nice tank it clowns look great.

 

[drblakjak55]

Look very healthy. Nice tank. Might try a torch or hammer coral for them to play in. Or an anemone

 

[Saltlife]

my clown does the same thing at night. He moves the sand out of the corner and sleeps there. That's been his spot since day one.

 

[medic17]

The female that was burying herself in the sand died yesterday in the night. All other fish are doing great. Taking her and a water sample to my local fish store to help see cause of death

 

[NS Mike D]

sorry for your loss

 

[medic17]

Thanks I hate loosing fish upgrading return pump, adding additional power head and going to go away from the foam block that holds the carbon bag and the bio rings to a media basket that I can make the middle a refugium

 

[medic17]

Hope that the upgrades provide a more stable environment. The only issue is my ph being a little low we will see what the ph is today after I’ve been adding a buffer to the tank for 1 week now