Juvenile mocha clownfish

[Mark Goode]

He’s still very small.

How small? Was he feeding at the shop? I can't really tell from your picture, is he very skinny?

I had a small (between 1/2" and 3/4") clownfish which lasted barely 72 hours. I didn't see him feed in the shop (I didn't ask), and after he died I saw he was emaciated. Jay Hemdall's thought were that this fish was probably too small to feed on most commercially available food, and should not have been sold.

Just a thought.

 

[Miemaes]

Please keep us updated on how things go. Good luck

Will do, 0 ammonia and nitrites and raised nitrates this morning. Did another water change. He is swimming around for now but goes swimming towards the surface every now and then which tells me the water conditions are still not ideal for him. Thanks for the pat on the back Will keep you guys updated.

 

[Miemaes]

How small? Was he feeding at the shop? I can't really tell from your picture, is he very skinny?

I had a small (between 1/2" and 3/4") clownfish which lasted barely 72 hours. I didn't see him feed in the shop (I didn't ask), and after he died I saw he was emaciated. Jay Hemdall's thought were that this fish was probably too small to feed on most commercially available food, and should not have been sold.

Just a thought.

Thanks for that input. I haven’t asked if he ate properly. I did see two dead fish in other tanks next to it on the same system. Might be just coincidence. I think he is very “thin” making his head and gills look wide. That’s why I’ve veen anxious to get some food in him. I do feel he is still too small for most available pellets. Thx for sharing your experience.

 

[Troylee]

Will do, 0 ammonia and nitrites and raised nitrates this morning. Did another water change. He is swimming around for now but goes swimming towards the surface every now and then which tells me the water conditions are still not ideal for him. Thanks for the pat on the back Will keep you guys updated.

That’s a clown for you! They like to stay at the top and don’t swim around much.. I’d stop changing water and just continue to try and feed him and he will catch on.. clowns are very hardy and can adapt but every time you change the water the conditions change… nitrates are good if there under 60ish just leave them alone and let the tank do it’s thang.

 

[Troylee]

Also try the garlic flakes they work for me when I got a finicky fish.. once I get them eating that I start throwing other foods in the mix like frozen mysis while they’re inhaling flakes they pick up on the mysis…

 

[Mark Goode]

I did see two dead fish in other tanks next to it on the same system.

May I suggest you don't go there again?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi,

I’ve bought a juvenile mocha clownfish yesterday and noticed he has a long transparent stringy poop this morning. He is not interested in any of the foods that I try to feed him either. The aquarium isn’t fully cycled yet (under a week). But I’m keeping track on all my levels daily and have prime at hand incase there are spikes. It has live rock and nitrifying bacteria in the tank. Salinity is in check, PH 8-8.2, and temp at 78. He also tends to sit in one corner of the aquarium. I turned off my wave maker as there is some surface agitation from my filter. I’m not sure if the flow of the wave maker is too strong for him or not?! How long can this little fella go without food? I tried feeding with dropper and just sprinkling on the surface… I honestly don’t know what else to do.

Unfortunately tank is not yet cycled and not yet cycled- Never add livestock to a tank noy yet cycled subkect to ammonia and nitrate spikes. I suspect you have false readings and would encourge you to verify water by taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at
For cycling, you typically want to add ammonia chloride to the tank.
Then you want to monitor ammonia , When your ammonia is steady at zero for 5 days and Nitrate is steady at 20 or below- You are cycled. Ignore nitrIte Unless sky high
The tank will go through two phases in which ammonia will rise then fall and nitrate will rise and fall which is normal. When fish are added, the bacteria population will increase with the new bio load, converting waste to nitrate

 

[Miemaes]

That’s a clown for you! They like to stay at the top and don’t swim around much.. I’d stop changing water and just continue to try and feed him and he will catch on.. clowns are very hardy and can adapt but every time you change the water the conditions change… nitrates are good if there under 60ish just leave them alone and let the tank do it’s thang.

Oh ok. I’ll stop doing water changes then. Didn’t know that. It’s my OCD that kicks in every time the reading isn't perfect. Thanks for your input

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I do have live rock and added nitrifying bacteria to it. I did add some food at the beginning to start the cycle. Currently my ammonia levels are 0. I did have a nitrite spike this morning but didn’t measure my ammonia then. Now everything looks low again. Will do another test before going to bed.

After looking at your pictures posted that is not live rock. Maybe the 1 small rock on left but not nearly enough to consider it live rocks. That rock is too white to be live. So because of this your cycle will take longer

 

[Miemaes]

After looking at your pictures posted that is not live rock. Maybe the 1 small rock on left but not nearly enough to consider it live rocks. That rock is too white to be live.

I have that size live rock to the left, in the right corner of the tank and in the back a larger one behind the white rock. They assured it was enough in ratio with the white rock?! Do they all need to be live rock?

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I have that size live rock to the left, in the right corner of the tank and in the back a larger one behind the white rock. They assured it was enough in ratio with the white rock?! Do they all need to be live rock?

Well when it comes to live rock always the more the better. Yes it is very expensive at 10-20$ a lb but well worth it. General rule of thumb is 1lb per gallon for best filtration. So I’ve read

 

[((FORDTECH))]

They do not need to be all live rock I’m just saying it helps when they mostly are. And I only seen the 1 on left didn’t know you had more

 

[Miemaes]

Unfortunately tank is not yet cycled and not yet cycled- Never add livestock to a tank noy yet cycled subkect to ammonia and nitrate spikes. I suspect you have false readings and would encourge you to verify water by taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api kits and have them test your ammonia and nitrates and compare readings- then you'll know where your levels truly are at
For cycling, you typically want to add ammonia chloride to the tank.
Then you want to monitor ammonia , When your ammonia is steady at zero for 5 days and Nitrate is steady at 20 or below- You are cycled. Ignore nitrIte Unless sky high
The tank will go through two phases in which ammonia will rise then fall and nitrate will rise and fall which is normal. When fish are added, the bacteria population will increase with the new bio load, converting waste to nitrate

Thank you for the information. I’m def. not making this mistake again. I got excited over my new set up. Heard two opinions and went with the one I wanted to hear. I really thought that the water would be fine but pretty ignorant in retrospect. Will probably pop in the store tomorrow to get my water checked. I hope he’ll be fine. He’s swimming around more actively then yesterday so I hope he’ll be fine.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Thank you for the information. I’m def. not making this mistake again. I got excited over my new set up. Heard two opinions and went with the one I wanted to hear. I really thought that the water would be fine but pretty ignorant in retrospect. Will probably pop in the store tomorrow to get my water checked. I hope he’ll be fine. He’s swimming around more actively then yesterday so I hope he’ll be fine.

Getting excited and jumping the gun is easy to do we all have done it

 

[Miemaes]

Well when it comes to live rock always the more the better. Yes it is very expensive at 10-20$ a lb but well worth it. General rule of thumb is 1lb per gallon for best filtration. So I’ve read

I don’t really care about the price as its just a nano tank as well. I just thought the white looked “pretty”… *derp* . Good thing to keep in mind for the future. Thx

 

[Miemaes]

Getting excited and jumping the gun is easy to do we all have done it

I appreciate you saying that I was worried I was going to get stoned here posting this. Everyone has been so helpful and kind and all the info I’ve gotten has been super valuable.

 

[Miemaes]

They do not need to be all live rock I’m just saying it helps when they mostly are. And I only seen the 1 on left didn’t know you had more

 

[Miemaes]

The live rock is roughly 2/3 of the white one.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you for the information. I’m def. not making this mistake again. I got excited over my new set up. Heard two opinions and went with the one I wanted to hear. I really thought that the water would be fine but pretty ignorant in retrospect. Will probably pop in the store tomorrow to get my water checked. I hope he’ll be fine. He’s swimming around more actively then yesterday so I hope he’ll be fine.

We all have done this- Its a hobby of impulse and excitement. Do consider better kits such as salifert or Hanna brand for testing and would not hurt to verify your ereadings as suggested earlier.

 

[Miemaes]

Will do. I thought I could get away with an API kit to start with but I’m learning it’s best to invest directly in quality materials/devices. Are there any places that you know of that also offer 2nd hand reef supplies? If I can pick up some materials (even for future tanks) at a lower price, why not