Clown swimming weird?

scar246 · Jul 12, 2023

My clownfish is currently swimming on its side at the top of the tank, my other fish are doing fine so I’m not sure what’s wrong? I’ve got an air stone that runs 24/7 and a canister filter. Now I did have a total brain fog a couple days ago and forgot to turn the filter back on after switching it off while cleaning the tank and doing a water change. It was off for about 24hrs before the water turned cloudy and I realised what I’d done. The water is clearing up now but the clown is still behaving like this. What do I do?! I’ve done a water change and checked parameters, the pH needed raising slightly but other than that everything is fine??? The bubbler stayed on the whole time which is why I think I didn’t realise the filter wasn’t running. The fish isn’t really gasping but it’s staying at the top and side of the aquarium.

blaxsun · Jul 12, 2023

#fishmedic

fishguy242 · Jul 12, 2023

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Jay Hemdal · Jul 12, 2023

scar246 said:
My clownfish is currently swimming on its side at the top of the tank, my other fish are doing fine so I’m not sure what’s wrong? I’ve got an air stone that runs 24/7 and a canister filter. Now I did have a total brain fog a couple days ago and forgot to turn the filter back on after switching it off while cleaning the tank and doing a water change. It was off for about 24hrs before the water turned cloudy and I realised what I’d done. The water is clearing up now but the clown is still behaving like this. What do I do?! I’ve done a water change and checked parameters, the pH needed raising slightly but other than that everything is fine??? The bubbler stayed on the whole time which is why I think I didn’t realise the filter wasn’t running. The fish isn’t really gasping but it’s staying at the top and side of the aquarium.

It could be related to the filter being off (hydrogen sulfide production for example) but I would expect the other fish to be affected to at least some degree.

This is a pretty small fish. What other fish are in with it? When I see a clown plastered up against the surface, I worry that other fish may be picking on it. At the very least, if you could move it to a hanging basket/acclimation basket, you could keep a closer eye on it.

Jay

scar246 · Jul 12, 2023

Jay Hemdal said:
It could be related to the filter being off (hydrogen sulfide production for example) but I would expect the other fish to be affected to at least some degree.

This is a pretty small fish. What other fish are in with it? When I see a clown plastered up against the surface, I worry that other fish may be picking on it. At the very least, if you could move it to a hanging basket/acclimation basket, you could keep a closer eye on it.

Jay

There’s a fire fish who is super chill and honestly still quite new and hides most of the time, a royal dottyback and a second clown that have only been in the tank about a day and as far as I can tell no other fish are picking on it. It’s a 165L tank so they al have tons of space.

vetteguy53081 · Jul 12, 2023

scar246 said:
There’s a fire fish who is super chill and honestly still quite new and hides most of the time, a royal dottyback and a second clown that have only been in the tank about a day and as far as I can tell no other fish are picking on it. It’s a 165L tank so they al have tons of space.

Often a partner clown is an aggressor and can be and dottybacks are no angels. If you find the other clown being larger in size, stealing all the food when offered, claiming a territory in the tank- it may bve the reason known as clown hierarchy which we call bullying.

Jay Hemdal · Jul 12, 2023

scar246 said:
There’s a fire fish who is super chill and honestly still quite new and hides most of the time, a royal dottyback and a second clown that have only been in the tank about a day and as far as I can tell no other fish are picking on it. It’s a 165L tank so they al have tons of space.

Fish can be pretty sly about bullying - while you are in the room watching them, they may "play nice". Also, this clown may have learned to just stay out of the way of the other fish, so there may not be any overt aggression right now.

One trick is to set up a nanny cam or your phone and video the tank when you leave the room.

Jay