Clownfish acting odd

[Aaron Soliz]

Hello all,

I have had my 2 clowns for over a month and recently I noticed they have been acting odd. They recently started hiding more, kind of glitchy at times but not the usual stuff when they are close together and trying to find out which one will be the male. This is just glitch by themselves at times and last night they were eating, but not really today.

Any insight on this type of behavior? I never had issues with my clowns in the past.

Aaron

 

[jeff williams]

Is there other fish in the tank ? If so has it started harassing them ? First thing I do when I see different behavior is test water. Then start the process of elimination like do I see anything on the fish are they drew thing heavy ect

 

[jeff williams]

Is there other fish in the tank ? If so has it started harassing them ? First thing I do when I see different behavior is test water. Then start the process of elimination like do I see anything on the fish are they drew thing heavy ect

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Is there other fish in the tank ? If so has it started harassing them ? First thing I do when I see different behavior is test water. Then start the process of elimination like do I see anything on the fish are they drew thing heavy ect

No other fish in the tank but I actually did do water test and it seemed my nitrate was high. I am heading to the fish store for more saltwater. I need chemi pure because my old one is old that is in the tank and I'll add purigen. That could be the reason why so maybe do a big water change too

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

High nitrates can affect fish and make them act differently, also check for ammonia if they are breathing heavily. Would definitely suggest doing a water change as a first response to higher nutrient levels and then try to find the root of the cause, could be as simple as reducing the amount of food you give them during feedings.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Nautical- I was noticing heavier breathing and my test does say my ammonia is not high but not 0 either.

let me ask a question. I hate the fluval filter so I changed the big sponge in the 2nd chamber to a intank media rack and have filter floss at top, bio media in the second and chemi pure elite in the last but the first chamber is left open because I hated the skimmer so I cut a piece of the black sponge and stuck it in the first chamber so when water falls... it will catch food and what not.

Could the sponge be an issue?

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Nautical- I was noticing heavier breathing and my test does say my ammonia is not high but not 0 either.

let me ask a question. I hate the fluval filter so I changed the big sponge in the 2nd chamber to a intank media rack and have filter floss at top, bio media in the second and chemi pure elite in the last but the first chamber is left open because I hated the skimmer so I cut a piece of the black sponge and stuck it in the first chamber so when water falls... it will catch food and what not.

Could the sponge be an issue?

A big sponge like that can harbor ammonia and nitrate producing material such as fish food and waste if it isn't cleaned out often. The main thing though is that you have small tank that can build up nitrates, ammonia, and other nutrients very quickly since there is less water volume to spread everything out in. That's why it is very important to limit your feeding to once a day at most and also only feed what your fish will completely clean up in a couple of minutes.

How old is your tank? Tank maturity can play a big part in how adept your system is at dealing with nutrients.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Thank you for your past responses! I just got out the saltwater fish store I have been going to since I was like 12 lol but they were telling me I might have been checking my water wrong. I have the test tubes I liquids I check my tank with. They said instead of looking down the tube ... put it to the side of the chart to read it.

He says my tank system looks fine. Ammonia is basically 0 and everything else is good. So now I am stuck with an issue idk what to do. Should I just do 10% water changes for the next 3 to 4 days?

I feed twice a day so I need to cut back on that for sure.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

And I do weekly water changes. I will start cleaning the sponge every week. Just a quick squish with my hands to let us bad crap in it.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Thank you for your past responses! I just got out the saltwater fish store I have been going to since I was like 12 lol but they were telling me I might have been checking my water wrong. I have the test tubes I liquids I check my tank with. They said instead of looking down the tube ... put it to the side of the chart to read it.

He says my tank system looks fine. Ammonia is basically 0 and everything else is good. So now I am stuck with an issue idk what to do. Should I just do 10% water changes for the next 3 to 4 days?

I feed twice a day so I need to cut back on that for sure.

I'd do a 10-20% water change for now and see how things go tomorrow, if the clownfish are still acting funny after 2 or 3 days, do another. Do you use RODI water for your water changes?

Rinsing the sponge out every week should be good, I change my filter floss once a week and that does a good job at keeping things clean in my tank.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

I use RODI water for top offs when my tanks water evaporates some but saltwater that is at 1.024 salinity. I check it also before putting water in there.

They make it everyday at the place I go to.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

I use RODI water for top offs when my tanks water evaporates some but saltwater that is at 1.024 salinity. I check it also before putting water in there.

They make it everyday at the place I go to.

1.024 for salinity is fine. Do the water change for now and come back tomorrow with an update

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Will do. Thanks for all your help! I really do appreciate.

 

[jeff williams]

+1 will with info given I will add rinse your sponge in the water you remove from your tank because this sponge will also harbor beneficial bacteria that will help brake down ammonia nitrite (don't use tap water ) and yes small wc's are better done more often not so hard on the fish and last a little prime dosed to the tank will help detoxify nitrate. you said nitrate was high what did it measure?

 

[Aaron Soliz]

I appreciate it. ! I just did a water change about 3 hours back. One fish is out in the about a lot more since I did the water change. The other comes out for a few min then back in. He comes out when I get close to the tank due to I guess him thinking Ima feed them.

Colt coral looks good as always as it's the only coral I have in there. Hopefully with a little bit of time... everything Will be okay. I'll probably even do a one gallon water change tom and the next day. It's a 13.5 gallon. When I tested the water it said 15 but my saltwater store said basically 0 but I must have messed up because I was looking down the test tube instead of putting it to the charts to see what color. When I looked down the tube it was a darker color but when put up to the chart... it was pretty close to 0

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Just fed the little guys for the first time today some pellets. Ate them so fast!

 

[jeff williams]

Even @ 15 ppm it won't hurt the fish

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Mine read 20! But then again, I think I didn't measure the color right because if I put it up to the chart... it was close to 0. When I looked down the tube it was darker.

Today my water is a lot clearer after putting the new chemipure elite and purigen in the back chamber. Clownfish are eating fine. Swim around the tank but also go back to their little hiding spot that I have for look purposes. I guess they just got comfortable and found a new spot to hang out. Here is the spot. The big cave to the left of the picture. I'll probably do another small water change today. 1 gallon for the heck of it.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Well guys, you remember when I went to the saltwater fish store yesterday? Well I didn't say I saw some clownfish that I loved and of course, in order for me to purchase them... I had to give up my wyoming white clowns so today I took them into the store and are now in a 210 gallon aquarium together with abunch of fish friends.

I brought home Frost Bite Sub Zero clowns. One is about an inch and the other is little less than that. For my tank perfect as now they won't our grow it quickly. They are getting use to the aquarium. Lights have been off since I brought them home. Here is a pic of my other babies I will miss those little guys

 

[Joseph Wright]

Dosing vodka will help build bacteria base that turns nitrates into nitrogen gas. There is info on the here to help but couldn’t find link. It really works. Saved my butt. And thousands...