Weird clownfish behaviour

[takitaj]

One thing to keep in mind if you do find your salinity way out of whack; fish can withstand a sudden drop in salinity (within reason of course) but raising it must go slowly. Their system has to adjust to higher salinity and takes time. Read up on osmotic balance.

 

[RGoltz]

As mentioned clownfish are pretty tough. So, don’t panic! It sounds like this is a very young system, which is OK for clowns, but there are some things you can easily start getting a handle on..

A young system like this may have low PH as a result of the ammonia cycle (I believe 7ppm alkalinity for each 1ppm ammonia). This is an easy fix; I suggest and alkalinity test such as salifert and Brightwell 8.2. Test and raise the alkalinity over a few days; you will see that the ph will buffer and return. This needs to happen before looking at CO2 in the room, IMO.

You should be topping off with RO/DI. So, keep a spectrometer on hand to measure this. You can get one for ~$25 on Amazon.

Last for no good reason as you should be able to do this immediately, make sure the tank as adequate gas exchange. You should have some pump disturbing the surface of the water.

So, those are the things I would address first, assuming the tank has 0 ammonia and nitrite. The low nitrate will only come with time and, within reason, is not much concern for what you have here.

Hope this helps!

 

[dt98]

Thanks s

As mentioned clownfish are pretty tough. So, don’t panic! It sounds like this is a very young system, which is OK for clowns, but there are some things you can easily start getting a handle on..

A young system like this may have low PH as a result of the ammonia cycle (I believe 7ppm alkalinity for each 1ppm ammonia). This is an easy fix; I suggest and alkalinity test such as salifert and Brightwell 8.2. Test and raise the alkalinity over a few days; you will see that the ph will buffer and return. This needs to happen before looking at CO2 in the room, IMO.

You should be topping off with RO/DI. So, keep a spectrometer on hand to measure this. You can get one for ~$25 on Amazon.

Last for no good reason as you should be able to do this immediately, make sure the tank as adequate gas exchange. You should have some pump disturbing the surface of the water.

So, those are the things I would address first, assuming the tank has 0 ammonia and nitrite. The low nitrate will only come with time and, within reason, is not much concern for what you have here.

Hope this helps!

Thanks so much!! I will do the above and see if that improves their behaviour!

 

[dt98]

Update*****

one of these beautiful fish have sadly died! I just don’t understand where I have went wrong?

 

[ying yang]

Was the clowns eating as they could been through so many tanks and so many little bags in such a short time and this stressed them so didnt eat just like humans tend to lose appetite if ill,and when ill/ stressed and immune system may decline then any parasites/ diesese in lfs tanks ( they get alot fish from wholesalers all connected tanks,same system etc and even tank breakdowns where someone left hobby and fish get given to lfs or a fish outgrown someone's tank and lfs put them fish straight back into system.i know my first 2 clownfish.one had what i think flukes so took back amd exchanged and lfs just put back in connected tank system and they told me next yime i wemt it died.and best practice is get lfs to show you fish eating .
But what was your salinity? Did you get a refractometer or something similar ? Sorry not looked dates above.
Sometimes fish can have dieseses and just die,usually we can see the signs,raoid breathing,loss off colour,damaged fins,clamped fins,flashing on rocks,sand,cloudy eyes,gasping for air at surface etc etc etc
Seems like you didnt have a power head in at first then after this thread added one.this could be a little more stress added to an already stressed fish and pushed it over the edge.
Any marks or damage or any signs on fish of dieseses?

 

[dt98]

Was the clowns eating as they could been through so many tanks and so many little bags in such a short time and this stressed them so didnt eat just like humans tend to lose appetite if ill,and when ill/ stressed and immune system may decline then any parasites/ diesese in lfs tanks ( they get alot fish from wholesalers all connected tanks,same system etc and even tank breakdowns where someone left hobby and fish get given to lfs or a fish outgrown someone's tank and lfs put them fish straight back into system.i know my first 2 clownfish.one had what i think flukes so took back amd exchanged and lfs just put back in connected tank system and they told me next yime i wemt it died.and best practice is get lfs to show you fish eating .
But what was your salinity? Did you get a refractometer or something similar ? Sorry not looked dates above.
Sometimes fish can have dieseses and just die,usually we can see the signs,raoid breathing,loss off colour,damaged fins,clamped fins,flashing on rocks,sand,cloudy eyes,gasping for air at surface etc etc etc
Seems like you didnt have a power head in at first then after this thread added one.this could be a little more stress added to an already stressed fish and pushed it over the edge.
Any marks or damage or any signs on fish of dieseses?

Thanks for your reply. the tanks salinity was 1.024 from what the LFS told me, I didn’t actually check this myself which is my first mistake tbh. Neither clown has ate since putting them in the tank over a day ago. The clown that died seemed to have lost colouring but everything else on his body was fine. The other clown is still swimming about as though nothing has happened but the one that died was a concern from the moment I put him in there. He went straight to the sand and started swimming on his side. I have emailed my LFS as they are closed now to see what they will say

 

[ying yang]

Ok having a device to check salinity is a must imo.so would recomemd get one soon as possible as we want our tanks to be as stable as we can .loss of a fishes colour comes from stress or if ill and if not eating then same and ends up making fish more stressed and more ill and more susceptible to dieseses etc.
Get whatever needed to keep tank stable and to check.
Like heater then you need thermoter.
Salt in water then need refractometer or at least hydrometer but research on how to use correctly and how to calibrate these as some swing arm hydrometer some say can get air bubbles trapped giving false reading and if bang/ drop a refractometer then can give false reading as doesnt start from 0 etc.can use rodi to reset to 0 ( calibrate) but some say shouldn't do this but i do this but im new to saltwater. Can buy a calibration solution .
I checky salinity daily and wipe off the screen with fresh rodi water after use and check with rodi water that it 0 before usage to get an accurate as possible reading.
But you get what im saying if got equipment or device and want it stable then a measuring/ reading device is good idea.
As for gas exchange, saltwater holds less oxygen than freshwater so a good decent surface agitation to promote good gas exchange imo is very important.ovbiously more livestock = more oxygen used but also can have a bacteria bloom and die off and use up lots of the dissolved oxygen.there literally lots lots lots variables on alot things in a reef tank im finding out over the last 5 years researching and last 3 months since set tank up.
Anyway im waffling on now lol so do lots research/ ask lots questions if dont understand and try give our little friends in tank best life we can and make this hobby of ours as enjoyable as we can with least problems as possible.
Next time buy a fish get lfs to show you its eating,also maybe good idea to observe tje other clownfish before buying anymore,this what i would be doing anyway.so good luck buddy

 

[Reef.]

Have you been topping up your tank as the water evaporates with rodi water or salt water?

 

[dt98]

Have you been topping up your tank as the water evaporates with rodi water or salt water?

With tap water that has been dechlorified as this what I read from a different forum

 

[Reef.]

With tap water that has been dechlorified as this what I read from a different forum

Rodi water is highly recommend...how do,you know how much to add?

 

[dt98]

Rodi water is highly recommend...how do,you know how much to add?

What do you mean by that? Do you mean how much water to add to the tank or how much dechlorinator to add to the water?

with the water, I have a line marked on my tank.

with the dechlorinator it says on the back of the bottle

 

[RGoltz]

There might be a little too much focus on the salinity here. Let’s just say you agree to replace with RO/DI and measure/monitor.

How long were the fish in the tank? It’s entirely possible that they had some affliction when you brought them in. But without good photos and such I think we might have trouble telling. However, generally speaking, captive raised fish should be kept in a deprecate supply chain and arrive without diseases.

I think the main thing now is to figure out what the best path forward is for the OP. I believe the measures I outlined above (which does include the salinity element that has been discussed here) are good steps.

 

[Grumblez]

What do you mean by that? Do you mean how much water to add to the tank or how much dechlorinator to add to the water?

with the water, I have a line marked on my tank.

with the dechlorinator it says on the back of the bottle

You need to buy purified water from your local fish store, or if it's a fowlr tank you can get away with the distilled water they sell in jugs at the grocery store.


I don't think this is what happened but your tap water can have things like copper or worse in it toxic to fish.

Sounds like stress killed your clownfish, but to be safe monitor your remaining one for a month or so for disease before adding a new one. Which is also conveniently how long you should quarantine your next fish anyways

 

[dt98]

There might be a little too much focus on the salinity here. Let’s just say you agree to replace with RO/DI and measure/monitor.

How long were the fish in the tank? It’s entirely possible that they had some affliction when you brought them in. But without good photos and such I think we might have trouble telling. However, generally speaking, captive raised fish should be kept in a deprecate supply chain and arrive without diseases.

I think the main thing now is to figure out what the best path forward is for the OP. I believe the measures I outlined above (which does include the salinity element that has been discussed here) are good steps.

The fish were in the tank for merely a day I did notice the bigger one chasing the smaller one around when they first got in, however I thought this was just normal clown behaviour to establish dominance. It was the smaller one that died

 

[dt98]

You need to buy purified water from your local fish store, or if it's a fowlr tank you can get away with the distilled water they sell in jugs at the grocery store.


I don't think this is what happened but your tap water can have things like copper or worse in it toxic to fish.

Sounds like stress killed your clownfish, but to be safe monitor your remaining one for a month or so for disease before adding a new one. Which is also conveniently how long you should quarantine your next fish anyways

Okay thank you for this information! This will save a lot of stress for the next time!

 

[Karen00]

Also are you topping up with plain ridiculous water and not salt water?

You really need to get something to check the salinity, I recommend the tropic main hydrometer, or for something a little more simpler to use the Hanna salinity checker.

Are you saying to top up with saltwater? Aren't top-ups done with fresh rodi water and water changes done with saltwater? Maybe I misunderstood you. I hope I haven't been doing it wrong.

 

[ying yang]

Your

Are you saying to top up with saltwater? Aren't top-ups done with fresh rodi water and water changes done with saltwater? Maybe I misunderstood you. I hope I haven't been doing it wrong.

Tops up to replace evaporation = rodi water,as water evaporates but salt doesnt.
If do water change or take any actual water out then replace with saltwater,so you doing it ok by sounds of things.
And " ridiculous water " i think a typo for rodi.got to love spell check at times right ? Ha ha

 

[Karen00]

Your
Tops up to replace evaporation = rodi water,as water evaporates but salt doesnt.
If do water change or take any actual water out then replace with saltwater,so you doing it ok by sounds of things.
And " ridiculous water " i think a typo for rodi.got to love spell check at times right ? Ha ha

LOL. Now that makes sense. I think you're right about the typo. That happened to me when typing my original comment. Dumb auto correct kept changing "top-ups" to "groups" on my comment. Thanks for confirming. I was worried for a second because I new to this.

 

[ying yang]

Very much welcome and im also new.like 3 months with tank wet .^_^

 

[ying yang]

LOL. Now that makes sense. I think you're right about the typo. That happened to me when typing my original comment. Dumb auto correct kept changing "top-ups" to "groups" on my comment. Thanks for confirming. I was worried for a second because I new to this.

Yeah got to love spell check.i used to play this war game and used to have hero's that led your troops and i would say sonething in world chat for possible thousands to see " i have good hero's" or " i want better hero's " and spell check correct it to " i have good herpes" or " i want better herpes"
So that was fun and for the record i not got herpes and dont want better herpes ha ha