Clown Fish Odd Behavior (lol)

[Volsman85]

I know. A way I hope I can get this vid to load. My 2ed clown I got last Sat was on the bottom like you've seen fish make a place to lay eggs. Did this for a long time. Today, it's in a different location doing the same thing. Thoughts ?
36 BF livestock and LR only

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[4tanks]

Clown fish lay on their side sometimes they are weird I had same conversation with someone else last week
At my local suppliers they have a maroon clown that’s always lying on the bottom on its side

 

[4tanks]

But do keep an eye on it just in case lol don’t want you thinking it’s lying down chilling to find out it’s dead in 3 days

 

[Volsman85]

Gonna try the vid again

But do keep an eye on it just in case lol don’t want you thinking it’s lying down chilling to find out it’s dead in 3 days

He didnt make it. Dead this morning.

 

[4tanks]

Oh sorry to here that do you know what it was

 

[Volsman85]

I do not. I've lost 4 out of the last 6 I've bought. I'm starting to think I'm introducing them to the tank wrong. But why do some make it a d some don't? I lay the bag in the tank for 15 mins. Then I slit the bag and mix the water.dor a other 15 mins, then release.

 

[TheStrangler]

You're going to get someone asking what your tank parameters are if I don't ask. Clowns are pretty hardy, so while some will probably chime in and say something about modifying your acclimation times, I don't think that'd do in 4 clownfish. If your parameters are fine, have you been purchasing the clowns from the same place? It might be worth testing their water as well, at least for the basics like salinity/temp. A 30 minute acclimation for a 0.02 salinity change and a couple of degrees might be fine, but perhaps a larger gap is making it more difficult than expected? They could be in poor health straight from the store as well again if theres nothing obviously wrong on your end.

 

[4tanks]

As the strangler said maybe worth checking the lfs water and probably acclimate a bit longer when you say you slit the bag are you letting the water from the bag in the tank or are you adding water from the tank into the bag gradually

 

[Volsman85]

You're going to get someone asking what your tank parameters are if I don't ask. Clowns are pretty hardy, so while some will probably chime in and say something about modifying your acclimation times, I don't think that'd do in 4 clownfish. If your parameters are fine, have you been purchasing the clowns from the same place? It might be worth testing their water as well, at least for the basics like salinity/temp. A 30 minute acclimation for a 0.02 salinity change and a couple of degrees might be fine, but perhaps a larger gap is making it more difficult than expected? They could be in poor health straight from the store as well again if theres nothing obviously wrong on your end.

Not sure if my parameters. They always say my water is really good. I'm a out to take that plunge and get my own test kit. Is my acclimation method ok? Just needs to be longer? Please advise the best method a d thanks for your helpful comments.

 

[Volsman85]

As the strangler said maybe worth checking the lfs water and probably acclimate a bit longer when you say you slit the bag are you letting the water from the bag in the tank or are you adding water from the tank into the bag gradually

Kinda just let the 2 mix in the bag

 

[LeftyReefer]

I'd float the bag, then dump it into a 5 gal bucket. Then use an air line to drip tank water into the bucket. This will slowly acclimate the fish to your tank water. Then dump it into the tank or net the fish out of the bucket and into your tank. Doing it with a net keeps the LFS water out of your tank if you prefer.

 

[Dom]

There is a reason why they are called "Clown" fish...

 

[TheStrangler]

Not sure if my parameters. They always say my water is really good. I'm a out to take that plunge and get my own test kit. Is my acclimation method ok? Just needs to be longer? Please advise the best method a d thanks for your helpful comments.

So while I can't say without you knowing exact numbers, I'm assuming you mean you get your water tested at a fish store, and they just tell you its good? Clownfish aren't super sensitive, so if you had a lethal amount of ammonia, I'd imagine your fish store would let you know. I can't imagine you'd have a parameter off enough to kill a clown if you have anything else currently living in the tank. Without knowing anything else, my best guess would be that your tank parameters are significantly different than the store's.

Your acclimation method if I understand it correctly would probably be fine in most cases, unless there is a major difference between your water and theirs. Again, assuming nothing is wrong with your water, and that theres just a big difference in temperature/salinity, LeftyReefer's suggestion might be the best. I'd personally float the bag of water in your tank for maybe 30 minutes to get the temperatures matching with your tank lights off or low. If there is a big difference in salinity, drip acclimating can work well. Empty the bag of water + fish into a bucket, and run a piece of hose from your tank, dripping water into the bucket at a steady pace. When the water volume in your bucket doubles, remove half and let the drip continue until it doubles again. At that point, take the fish out and put it into your tank, without getting the original bag's water into your tank. There are a few things to be mindful of with drip acclimation, namely oxygen. You don't want to leave the fish in a liter of water for 2 hours as it can do more harm than good. I believe you shouldn't drip acclimate for longer than an hour, but you may want to look around to confirm that.

 

[dr.ben]

Clownfish are the weirdest! Definitely well named, I only would worry if my other fish were doing something strange. I've seen so many things from the clownfish that you could go crazy worried about them having issues.