Is My Clown Normal??

[roadkeel]

I have an Ocellaris clown, he is very small, maybe 1"-1.5". He does a couple of strange things and I was wondering if this is normal for clowns.

I have a 29g biocube and last night he was constantly current surfing. (or that is what I was calling it) He would swim low across the front of the tank and then swim up into the current from the powerhead, ride it to the other side and then go deeper back to the other side and then repeat. He looked like he was having a ball and it was very amusing to watch.

Another thing is in the mornings when I first turn on the light he is between my thermometer and the back wall, head down floating very close to the surface. Do you think this is where and how he sleeps? It is right against the wall where the water returns to the back for cycling so the current pretty much keeps him in place.

His only tank mates are a Domino Damsel and a Yellow Tail Damsel. The Domino is always chasing the Yellow Tail, but my clown is not scared of the Domino in the least. Yesterday I actually saw a little skirmish between the Domino and the clown. I saw the Domino grab the clown to one of his fins and shake him. Then the little rascal attacked the Domino but couldn't hurt him because the Domino is 3 times his size. But he was so relentless in his attack the Domino finally went and hid. Then in 30 minutes they were big buddies again and hung out all night together.

When I got him I also got a bigger Black Ice clown. But she was dropped at the LFS while trying to get her in the bag and she died a couple of hours after I put her in the tank. The LFS is going to replace her, even though I asked them not to. (they have been very, very helpful while I was starting my tank)

I will probably add another clown this weekend if I can find one, but I would really like to find something for them to host. I hear horror stories about Bubble Tip Anemones and small tanks, so I am thinking about staying away from them. I refuse to keep anything that only survives and does not thrive. Does anyone have any ideas for other things for a clown to host. I am afraid my tank is too young (eight weeks) for any Frogspawn or corals like that.

Any ideas or tips would be greatly appreciated..

 

[Mike J.]

Fish will sleep in a corner of the tank near the surface if they are very new to a tank or if they are afraid of something in a tank.

 

[Mmsetta]

I have two clowns that both seem to be hosting my powerhead. They stay up in the corner like yours at night. I have read that this is normal. They are both healthy and happy and swim around during the day. But, I also had two previously that would stay up in the corner all day which eventually died. I attribute their death to my blue damsel which I have since given back to the pet store. Even though they looked like they got along, I believe the damsel was bullying and stressing them out enough for them to stop eating and die. I would be careful with those damsels in the same tank. How old is the tank?

 

[FishGuyTy]

Damsels are terrible fish to keep, especially in small tanks. They are the chihuahuas of the fish world, that is they think they are the size of a great white shark. The hiding/sleeping by the heater is normal. 9 out of 10 fish sleep in the same spot 9 out of 10 nights. My guess is there are not ample hiding/sleeping places in your tank for them all to sleep comfortably. I would get rid of the other 2 damsels and just keep the clown. Get a goby or dragonet or something non aggressive. As for the odd swimming patterns, I too would say its normal, at least for a clown. Because of their nature for hosting and living in anemones and never really leaving a set area in the open ocean, they seem to be more creative with swimming, especially in a tank. We do have clowns jump into overflow boxes from time to time, so if he ever goes missing, the k there first, haha.

Finally, as for getting him a host, I would say you have a while to wait. Anemone is obviously natural to them, but many choose LPS corals like hammers, frogspawn, and torch corals. This can be cool, but the clowns can often be too rough on the coral and rip tentacles off against the stony body when the clowns come in to fluff their anemone. Also, I have seen a few times now, a clown with brown to black marks on it from repetitive stings from a hosting LPS. At my work we have a tomatoe clown who is in love with his toadstool leather! That is maybe the best bet for you to try. Not near as cool, but probably one of the better fits for your sized tank.