Healthy Clownfish suddenly acting strange

[Tinfoil_Anemone]

Hey guys and gals, so I'm completely bewildered as to what to do about the situation of my male clownfish. He has been fine for weeks being very active and eating aggressively.... last week I turned in my lights for the first time. Both him and the female responded well to it and have been doing great. Then! Suddenly today I look into the aquarium and I see this (reference picture)... he's listless stuck to the overflow, I would say breathing heavily. Like he is about to die I quickly tuned the lights off as there are no corals or anything to help with whatever was stressing him out and he instantly pops off of the overflow and starts swimming around fine.. I turn them on and back he goes In to seizure mode listless and breathing fast. It like the lights are suddenly causing this??? ALL perameters are spot on. No maintenance in the last 3 days, nothing has changed. I don't know what to do or how to deal with him its the strangest behaviour... sometimes but rarely he's been doing it with the lights off.. please help with some knowledge.

Ammonia: undetectable
Nitrites: undetectable
Nitrates < 1
Phosphates: 0.01
Calcium: 400 ish
Magnesium: don't check at this point
Alkalinity: 10.2
PH: 8.4

 

[Sharkbait19]

Any new additions?
Vid doesn’t play on my end (iPhone), but if I had to guess it’s one of two things:
1. Clowns being clowns
2. Harassed by female - have you noticed any aggression?

 

[Tinfoil_Anemone]

A fair amount I would assume... I am still very new to all of this but she does pick on him quite a bit

 

[Sharkbait19]

A fair amount I would assume... I am still very new to all of this but she does pick on him quite a bit

She might be killing him. I’d try to separate the two and see if that fixes anything.
Though the vid (loaded it on pc) and pic make it hard to tell if it’s something else. I’d guess he’s to weak to fight the filter though.

 

[Tinfoil_Anemone]

Ohhh man.... it's so strange i seem to have no luck with clownfish... he was fine this morning then bam! Started acting like that... should I separate him for a few days sew it that helps?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Ohhh man.... it's so strange i seem to have no luck with clownfish... he was fine this morning then bam! Started acting like that... should I separate him for a few days sew it that helps?

I would. It gives a chance to screen for any disease without interference.

 

[Tinfoil_Anemone]

So I threw him in QT.... he seems to be OK there.... not acting strange.... why would he be acting so lethargic all of a sudden from being bullied.. he eats wells and does well generally

 

[Sharkbait19]

So I threw him in QT.... he seems to be OK there.... not acting strange.... why would he be acting so lethargic all of a sudden from being bullied.. he eats wells and does well generally

If bullying is the problem, he is trying to be as submissive as possible to try to avoid attacks.

 

[Tinfoil_Anemone]

Mmm that makes sense... that was pretty submissive... are clownfish the only fish that are that strange? Weird behaviour

 

[Sharkbait19]

Mmm that makes sense... that was pretty submissive... are clownfish the only fish that are that strange? Weird behaviour

Aggression happens among a lot of fish, submissive behavior can be seen in a lot, but some will display it differently.
Clowns are a lot like cichlids imo. Much of the behavioral traits are very similar, especially pair aggression (though usually the males are the mean ones with cichlids). Being pinned up in the corner happens with them just like clowns.
But as for being weird…yeah clowns easily win that game (though oscars and blood parrot cichlids are close).

 

[vetteguy53081]

Clown almost seems to be getting pulled into the overflow
If you have a CLEAN pail or bucket, remove other clown and see if this one returns to normal as this could be intimidation by an aggressor which I see you may have already done.

 

[Tinfoil_Anemone]

Aggression happens among a lot of fish, submissive behavior can be seen in a lot, but some will display it differently.
Clowns are a lot like cichlids imo. Much of the behavioral traits are very similar, especially pair aggression (though usually the males are the mean ones with cichlids). Being pinned up in the corner happens with them just like clowns.
But as for being weird…yeah clowns easily win that game (though oscars and blood parrot cichlids are close).

Ohhh ok that makes sense I can see that .. perhaps I can talks to some friends I have a few that own cichlid tanks. Maybe some more insight to their behaviors can be had.. well thank you for the help I will keep looking this up because you were right he is separated and doing spectacular now.. even just ate some tdo soaked in selcon... so how would you recommend I handle this aggression? Or just it happens and there is nothing I can do..

 

[Tinfoil_Anemone]

Clown almost seems to be getting pulled into the overflow
If you have a CLEAN pail or bucket, remove other clown and see if this one returns to normal as this could be intimidation by an aggressor which I see you may have already done.

Yep I did and he's fine!!! How crazy is that... what I need to gifure out now is how do I keep him from getting bullied to death in my dt

 

[Sharkbait19]

There is a chance that the female can reaccept the male. Usually what you would have to do is rearrange the decor and remove the female for a bit to give the male a chance to settle.
Oftentimes, the only solution is to rehome one (ideally the aggressor), as the female doesn’t get better - that’s what happened to me and she killed my male.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yep I did and he's fine!!! How crazy is that... what I need to gifure out now is how do I keep him from getting bullied to death in my dt

Problem is a term know as Hierarchy with clowns.
Female clownfish are much more dominant than their male counterparts. They greedily try to eat most of the food that gets into the tank (which is one reason the males don't grow as large). They will often aggressively protect their "home", whether that be an anemone, a nesting site, a clay pot or the entire fish tank. If it attacks your hand when you're trying to clean the glass or it won't let any other fish near its spot, you most likely have a female clownfish.
This is how the social hierarchy works for clownfish: There is one dominant female clownfish, partnered with a male, who is the next most dominant fish. The female is larger (often much larger) than the male. Next are non-mating males and juveniles. They are usually smaller still than the dominant male. If the male mate were to die, the next dominant male would become the mate (if the female accepts him). If the female were to die, then the dominant male would change to female and the next male in line would become the mate.

 

[Tinfoil_Anemone]

Ok so separate them which I did, and let the mal get accustomed to the dt for a while by himself.. and in the event that doesn't work when I reintroduce the female. I may be screwed as she may never accept him.. that's what I pulled out of all that... females are rather aggressive and unforgiving with situations like this happening frequently