Need help with odd clownfish behavior

[StraightReefin]

A little bit about this clownfish. He is the third snowflake I had added to my tank last week. He went straight to the bta and was fine. Wouldn't come out of the bta unless it was for food or protecting the anemone fro. The other clowns. Took a nap today and saw he was out of the bta and swimming vertically. He also has a blueish tint to him. And now he won't go back to the bta.

 

[JtheFishMan]

A little bit about this clownfish. He is the third snowflake I had added to my tank last week. He went straight to the bta and was fine. Wouldn't come out of the bta unless it was for food or protecting the anemone fro. The other clowns. Took a nap today and saw he was out of the bta and swimming vertically. He also has a blueish tint to him. And now he won't go back to the bta.

I just began researching saltwater when I started my first saltwater tank about three weeks ago, so PLEASE take this comment with a grain of salt.

I have heard that adding a third clownfish, especially of the two previous clownfish have already paired and established territory, can be a bit shaky. They might bully the fish to death. This may only be avoided if there is enough live rock to hide in, the tank is a decent amount of space, or you add another clown to possibly pair with the lone third one. But again, the fourth clown may not even pair with the third one, so it is not a solid solution.

Also, it seems like your clownfish top fin and back fin may have been nipped on a couple of times. So, I reckon, especially with the knowledge that you have two other clowns, that it may be getting beat up.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

clownfish dont work in threes, generally, the third one is eventually killed off

 

[StraightReefin]

clownfish dont work in threes, generally, the third one is eventually killed off

There's a total of six clowns in my tank.

 

[StraightReefin]

I just began researching saltwater when I started my first saltwater tank about three weeks ago, so PLEASE take this comment with a grain of salt.

I have heard that adding a third clownfish, especially of the two previous clownfish have already paired and established territory, can be a bit shaky. They might bully the fish to death. This may only be avoided if there is enough live rock to hide in, the tank is a decent amount of space, or you add another clown to possibly pair with the lone third one. But again, the fourth clown may not even pair with the third one, so it is not a solid solution.

Also, it seems like your clownfish top fin and back fin may have been nipped on a couple of times. So, I reckon, especially with the knowledge that you have two other clowns, that it may be getting beat up.

There are a total of six clowns.

 

[Azedenkae]

A little bit about this clownfish. He is the third snowflake I had added to my tank last week. He went straight to the bta and was fine. Wouldn't come out of the bta unless it was for food or protecting the anemone fro. The other clowns. Took a nap today and saw he was out of the bta and swimming vertically. He also has a blueish tint to him. And now he won't go back to the bta.

The image is a bit blurry, but the clownfish seems to look fine. I presume the clownfish is swimming vertically against the wall a lot? That is very normal with clownfish.

What you need to look for with clownfish are:

1. If they have trouble swimming. Not like their typical bobbing up and down, actual difficulties swimming.
2. Spots or blotches that looks weird on the fish.
3. Heavy breathing.
4. Damaged fins/etc.
5. Being chased relentless by other fish.

That is not an exhaustive list, but generally, if they are doing anything else they are just being clowns. My ocellaris sleeps sideways against the surface of the water at the back of the tank at night. My other one sleeps vertically against the wall. Initially it also swims against the wall during the day.

Clownfish behaviour can also change, especially in our aquarium. They seem to be pretty happy to ditch habits at any point in time, just clowns being clowns.

 

[StraightReefin]

The image is a bit blurry, but the clownfish seems to look fine. I presume the clownfish is swimming vertically against the wall a lot? That is very normal with clownfish.

What you need to look for with clownfish are:

1. If they have trouble swimming. Not like their typical bobbing up and down, actual difficulties swimming.
2. Spots or blotches that looks weird on the fish.
3. Heavy breathing.
4. Damaged fins/etc.
5. Being chased relentless by other fish.

That is not an exhaustive list, but generally, if they are doing anything else they are just being clowns. My ocellaris sleeps sideways against the surface of the water at the back of the tank at night. My other one sleeps vertically against the wall. Initially it also swims against the wall during the day.

Clownfish behaviour can also change, especially in our aquarium. They seem to be pretty happy to ditch habits at any point in time, just clowns being clowns.

Thanks for the reply. Yea I can tell he's swimming more oddly then the other clowns. This was the only clown to have a relationship with my bta and when I got him, he spent 90 percent of his time inside the bta. Now he only goes there to sleep.

 

[Jekyl]

Thanks for the reply. Yea I can tell he's swimming more oddly then the other clowns. This was the only clown to have a relationship with my bta and when I got him, he spent 90 percent of his time inside the bta. Now he only goes there to sleep.

Gotta tell ya, most of the time more than 2 clowns don't work. Some people have made a harem work. Pay attention to aggression in the tank and be prepared to remove 4 of them before they die.

 

[dedragon]

how big is this tank? 99% of the time clownfish will begin to kill each other until there are only 2, harem tanks work sometimes but in much larger numbers of clownfish, from the same clutch, added at the same time.

 

[Azedenkae]

Thanks for the reply. Yea I can tell he's swimming more oddly then the other clowns. This was the only clown to have a relationship with my bta and when I got him, he spent 90 percent of his time inside the bta. Now he only goes there to sleep.

Can you get a video of the clown then? Usually that helps better with identifying if there is anything odd with clowns.

 

[StraightReefin]

how big is this tank? 99% of the time clownfish will begin to kill each other until there are only 2, harem tanks work sometimes but in much larger numbers of clownfish, from the same clutch, added at the same time.

Thanks. I understand. I was trying to create a harem with just six. 3 snowflakes, 2 caramels and a Mocha Vinci extreme. So far the only aggression I've seen was three of them chasing the smaller Caramel. And the one snowflake I was talking about chasing the others away from the bta.

 

[dedragon]

Honestly the clownfish looks a bit roughed up and aggression will get worse once one becomes female. they need to be in much higher numbers as well i think. Either way a lot of the time aggression still kills the clownfish and a lot will die. Not saying it cant possibly work, it's just probably for the best to return the clowns and stick with a more traditional reef setup, way less risk involved.