Clownfish laying on sand

[punkieg0]

I don’t know what is happening with my two clownfish. They have been in this tank since April of this year.
75 gallon tank
Set up in January 2019
80+ lbs of rock/live rock combo and sand
Salinity : 1.023
IceCap 3k wavemaker
Fluval FX4 canister filter

Livestock
2 Pajama Cardinals
1 Diamond Goby
Lots of crabs and snails
Missing: bicolored blenny
2 clownfish

Parameters taken tonight using API kit
Ph- 7.4
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite- .25
Nitrate- 20-40ppm

I did a 20 gallon water change last night so I am about 24 hours post water change.

I had 4 clownfish in this tank until 1 died beginning of June. We kept 3 just fine for a few weeks but added in a 4th last week. There was a lot of fighting happening in the tank and the new arrival as well as 1 other clown were returned for everyone’s health. (After advice on here- thank you all!)

Since then, my two clowns are not eating, laying on the sand bed in a cave of sorts. They rarely come out at all and are breathing hard. Other fish in the tank are just fine so this is only impacting my clowns.
Could they be stressed out and can’t recover? I don’t see any damage to them, no signs of sickness or disease.
I really want these two to make it but I don’t know what else to do but watch them struggle.
I do 2 filter cleanings a week which make small 5ish gallon water changes each time as well.

Any suggestions or thoughts?

.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Your tank has been up since last april? Your sand and rocks are so clean [emoji23]

Are they always together like that? Almost looks like their mating behavior. Mind you i have only seen them host fluffy things like a coral or algae but, no reason couldnt be a crevice.

 

[punkieg0]

Tank has been up 6 months. I’m sure I still have some ugly stages ahead. But my Goby keeps it looking good. If they were eating and still out of that crevice I might agree, but it’s like they can’t go far without tiring out and gasping in the sand.

 

[Mical]

Salinity is a little low but shouldn't affect them, I'ld be a little concerned with nitrate at 20-40. What's the temp?

 

[BadFish619]

Nitrite is .25? I usually don't fuss about clowns as they are really the most odd acting fish out there. Hopefully that water change will bring ur levels down. I'd give it a few days before you do anything drastic

 

[punkieg0]

Salinity is a little low but shouldn't affect them, I'ld be a little concerned with nitrate at 20-40. What's the temp?

Temp is 79/80

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Just jumping in. Sorry about the issue. Definitely try to get some good pix. Any spots or anything irregular. Sorry if I missed it, anything new.

I don’t think we need to worry immediately about nitrate or nitrite. Nitrate needs to be close to 400 to become toxic. Nitrite can irritate at .5 but not an issue until around 10 for any period of time.

 

[punkieg0]

Just jumping in. Sorry about the issue. Definitely try to get some good pix. Any spots or anything irregular. Sorry if I missed it, anything new.

I don’t think we need to worry immediately about nitrate or nitrite. Nitrate needs to be close to 400 to become toxic. Nitrite can irritate at .5 but not an issue until around 10 for any period of time.

If I can get them out of there I would be able to get better pictures. But nothing that I have been able to see has changed. No spots, nothing on the scales or gills. Even after these two getting a little beat up with the new fish they never had torn fins or anything.

 

[Mjrenz]

I would consider nitrite 0 since you are using the api kit, they are notoriously inaccurate and you're reading nitrates which shouldn't be a problem for fish unless they are crazy high. It's hard to see much from the pic besides your tank looks really clean, It could be from aggression due to having multiple clowns or there could be something else going on. Have you dosed anything? You may want to consider doing a freshwater dip to rule out flukes

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Fingers crossed like Garth said , maybe mating. Keep us updated.

 

[Gareth elliott]

If I can get them out of there I would be able to get better pictures. But nothing that I have been able to see has changed. No spots, nothing on the scales or gills. Even after these two getting a little beat up with the new fish they never had torn fins or anything.

I missed the part about the third clown and the fighting. This could be a fear reaction. The fear mechanism in fish is primarily influenced by a single pheromone. You could try a water change and some carbon to remove and see if the behavior changes.

 

[punkieg0]

Fingers crossed like Garth said , maybe mating. Keep us updated.

Will do. Thanks. I think the hardest thing to do sometimes is wait. I appreciate all the input!

 

[Jedi knight]

Well my fingers are crossed that you’re 2 clownfish makes it my opinion is they may be stressed out probably because of the bullying going on I think that they are afraid to come out because of it if you have a pair of metal Tweezers grab some food with it go slowly down to wear they are and see if they will eat it

 

[punkieg0]

Well my fingers are crossed that you’re 2 clownfish makes it my opinion is they may be stressed out probably because of the bullying going on I think that they are afraid to come out because of it if you have a pair of metal Tweezers grab some food with go slowly down to wear they are and see if they will eat

Thank you. I’ll try!

 

[Peace River]

Well my fingers are crossed that you’re 2 clownfish makes it my opinion is they may be stressed out probably because of the bullying going on I think that they are afraid to come out because of it if you have a pair of metal Tweezers grab some food with it go slowly down to wear they are and see if they will eat it

+1

IMO, this behavior seems to be stress related to the aggression. In addition to tweezers you can also try a turkey baster to get some frozen food such as mysis into their area and hopefully they will venture out soon and realize the coast is clear. If a couple of days go by and they still aren't out then you may want to start moving rocks until they come out or even move them to a QT tank to provide safety and be able to get them re-nourished. Good luck - we are cheering for you and your fish!

 

[JustAnotherNanoTank]

My orange clown seems to lay in a certain spot on a rock sometimes and not move. Then after a while she’s good again. It’s strange. Hope the best for you!

 

[Isaac Alves]

I’d dose a little Selcon with the pumps and return off right before feeding. The vitamins are good, and should help engage appetite if they are still not eating.