Clownfish laying on his side

Valeriav212 · May 10, 2020

Hi I’m new to this forum and to the saltwater aquarium crowd! I got my clowns about a week ago and one of them seems to be feeling down today, is it normal for them to lay on the sand during the day? He seems a bit stressed and my other clown seems to be trying to comfort it. He is still eating fine and swims around but has spent most of his day laying on his side under some rock in the tank. Should I be worried? Ammonia was at .2 and so I did a 50% water change and put some ammonia block into the tank as well.

Big G · May 10, 2020

Any aggression in the tank? Clowns can be awfully mean.

Valeriav212 · May 10, 2020

Big G said:
Any aggression in the tank? Clowns can be awfully mean.

If you look at the video right when it starts he does try to chase her out but they were doing so well together for a whole week. I did notice my other clown on the opposite end of the tank at one point. But they still swim together when he’s out.

Valeriav212 · May 11, 2020

Valeriav212 said:
Hi I’m new to this forum and to the saltwater aquarium crowd! I got my clowns about a week ago and one of them seems to be feeling down today, is it normal for them to lay on the sand during the day? He seems a bit stressed and my other clown seems to be trying to comfort it. He is still eating fine and swims around but has spent most of his day laying on his side under some rock in the tank. Should I be worried? Ammonia was at .2 and so I did a 50% water change and put some ammonia block into the tank as well.

Valeriav212 · May 11, 2020

Valeriav212 said:
If you look at the video right when it starts he does try to chase her out but they were doing so well together for a whole week. I did notice my other clown on the opposite end of the tank at one point. But they still swim together when he’s out.

Valeriav212 · May 12, 2020

Valeriav212 said:
Hi I’m new to this forum and to the saltwater aquarium crowd! I got my clowns about a week ago and one of them seems to be feeling down today, is it normal for them to lay on the sand during the day? He seems a bit stressed and my other clown seems to be trying to comfort it. He is still eating fine and swims around but has spent most of his day laying on his side under some rock in the tank. Should I be worried? Ammonia was at .2 and so I did a 50% water change and put some ammonia block into the tank as well.

Eugene is still not doing so great today

he is still at the bottom of the tank struggling, he has started to eat less food which is hurting my heart! I got some some stuff at my lfs that will hopefully lower the ammonia levels in my tank.. i am just hoping it works before it’s too late

Valeriav212 · May 12, 2020

Eugene is doing great after the frit zyme turbo start 900 treatment of beneficial bacteria! He is eating again and I have not seen him laying in his hiding spot once all day just swimming around with his buddy

so relieved

sixline · May 12, 2020

Unfortunately, i'm not able to watch the videos for some reason. I've had lots of clowns, but normally they do not lay on the sand. And bullied fish tend to swim upwards, not downwards, and usually end up trying to 'hide' in the upper corners of the tank.

How many clowns do you have? And how old is the tank?

Also, BTW, if two clowns are fighting, the one doing the bullying is the female not the male. just like with humans.

If you have a bunch of small clownfish, they all start out male and fight it out until one becomes dominant. At that point, the dominant fish becomes a female and can never revert back to male. (Although any of the others could become female if, for example, the current female dies or if they get moved to another tank). And you can't put two females in a tank or they'll fight to the death.

sixline · May 12, 2020

I was finally able to see the videos after trying in Chrome browser instead of Safari browser.
it definitely does not look like bullying, but most likely ammonia. The heavy panting of the fish is the indicator of that. It is a good sign that the fish is eating. If a fish is not eating, that is when you know you are unlikely to be able to save it.
I would only feed lightly until you get the ammonia under control, because all added foos ends up turning into ammonia whether it goes through the fish or not.

Good luck!

Valeriav212 · May 12, 2020

sixline said:
I was finally able to see the videos after trying in Chrome browser instead of Safari browser.
it definitely does not look like bullying, but most likely ammonia. The heavy panting of the fish is the indicator of that. It is a good sign that the fish is eating. If a fish is not eating, that is when you know you are unlikely to be able to save it.
I would only feed lightly until you get the ammonia under control, because all added foos ends up turning into ammonia whether it goes through the fish or not.

Good luck!

Thank you! My fishy is doing a lot better today after using fritzyme yesterday! I know Eugene may be a girl heheh but for now I’ll just keep calling him my boy. I’ve only had my 2 clowns for a week and the tank has been cycling for about a month before hand. But sometimes things happen when everything seems to be going fine! I will keep you updated on how they’re doing! They seem to be happy that Eugene is feeling better and do they’re little shaking/ vibrating when they’re close to each other

sixline · May 12, 2020

Valeriav212 said:
Thank you! My fishy is doing a lot better today after using fritzyme yesterday! I know Eugene may be a girl heheh but for now I’ll just keep calling him my boy.

You should really ask Eugene the pronoun they prefer.

I’ve only had my 2 clowns for a week and the tank has been cycling for about a month before hand. But sometimes things happen when everything seems to be going fine! I will keep you updated on how they’re doing! They seem to be happy that Eugene is feeling better and do they’re little shaking/ vibrating when they’re close to each other

Was there anything in it while cycling? Some people put a bit of fish food in there to decompose and help with the cycling process. Sounds like the fritzyme is helping, but Eugene may still be a bit stressed. Yes, the shaking/ vibrating thing is fun to watch and a good sign. Clownfish are so much funner in pairs. As they grow, you'll notice the size difference develop and you'll end up with one being about twice or more the size of the other. Enjoy!

Valeriav212 · May 12, 2020

sixline said:
You should really ask Eugene the pronoun they prefer.

Was there anything in it while cycling? Some people put a bit of fish food in there to decompose and help with the cycling process. Sounds like the fritzyme is helping, but Eugene may still be a bit stressed. Yes, the shaking/ vibrating thing is fun to watch and a good sign. Clownfish are so much funner in pairs. As they grow, you'll notice the size difference develop and you'll end up with one being about twice or more the size of the other. Enjoy!

I did not put anything in there besides sea hem stability everyday for 7 days Which I thought would be fine but maybe I should’ve done something else. I got a protein skimmer and I was wondering do you think I should wait to install it to let the tank cycle the frit zyme a bit?