View Full Version : Twitching Clownfish
I am currently treating my tank for ich using hyposalinity. Within the last day my clown has been hanging around the top of the tank, in the area in whick I feed him. He seems especialy boyant now. He has also began to twitch. He has the same unstopable apetite he has always had.
I know my clowns twitch around and around in a little circle.. But I had no idea if yours is the same thing..
Clowns just be weird :)
strangerdejavu
12-06-2007, 7:20 PM
Mine twitch all the time, especially at each other! I think it's just their way of showing off :)
Hmm... okay. He hasn't been doing the cute little bouncing thing lately.
salty420
12-07-2007, 1:37 AM
is he twitching around the surface? does he seem distressed? my clowns twitch/convulse as all clowns do as a sign of dominance or submission or whatever... but if you are treating your tank for disease yours may be for different reasons..?
He is twitching around the surface. He went to the floor for the night. When i looked at him he began to wiggle as though he were trying to burrow into the sand.
Sounds like typical clown behavior.
I turned on the lights and he seems determined to burrow. This has never happend before. I have heard that hding can be a sign of stress or sickness, especialy in a fish that is especialy active.
salty420
12-07-2007, 2:51 PM
hmm, that's not typical of my clowns... they don't twitch around the surface at all nor on the sand, they stick to the LR... and they do it around each other. it sounds more like stress to me with your clown but im no expert...
Could you post the water parameters in the treatment tank?
kjbrat
12-07-2007, 4:40 PM
If it were my clowns, I would call that stressed...mine rarely go near the sand, but do the occasional wiggle towards eachother. I was told once that maybe the twitching is bc they have larval amphipods on them or something, and are trying to shake them off?
But those are just my clowns...and like everyone has said, they tend to be weird! :)
I don't think that this is a water quality issue. Coraline growth is setting in. Anything that could hurt a clown, would also kill the coraline, or the angelfish for that matter, who is in excellent condition.
although I've seen clowns try to use a patch of sand to host in and certainly seen them twitching in various areas of the tank including the top I don't agree that the water parameters are fine just because coraline is is present.
What are your actual water parameters?
zhonk
12-08-2007, 11:57 AM
amonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 0ppm
ph 8.3
FeatherDuster
12-08-2007, 1:45 PM
I have seen my clown twitch around the surface when she is looking for food. Its a habit that she has developed ever since I feed flake food that would float on top.
Have you tried to find out what is setting off her twitching? Does she do it around a certain time of the day?
I haven't seen him for 24 hours. Should I look for him? I know the region of the tank he it hinding in, but I don't want to stress him out any futher.
Oh, clownfish remain male until they can find a mate, then they turn female.
salty420
12-08-2007, 7:25 PM
i'd be pretty nervous if she's mia... i say she because i believe that clowns are female unless mated...
FeatherDuster
12-09-2007, 2:31 AM
i'd be pretty nervous if she's mia... i say she because i believe that clowns are female unless mated...
I have been told the same thing. A lone clown will automatically assume the dominant role. It wouldn't be a good idea to try to pair off two clowns that have been by themselves for over a year or more.
And I hope your clown fish pulls through.
Should I look for him, or would that be more destructive than helpful?
salty420
12-10-2007, 2:54 PM
i'd check the ammonia level to see if you are getting a spike
Reefscape
12-10-2007, 4:57 PM
I haven't seen him for 24 hours. Should I look for him? I know the region of the tank he it hinding in, but I don't want to stress him out any futher.
Oh, clownfish remain male until they can find a mate, then they turn female.
I have been told the same thing. A lone clown will automatically assume the dominant role. It wouldn't be a good idea to try to pair off two clowns that have been by themselves for over a year or more.
And I hope your clown fish pulls through.
Just an observation here on the clowns...
They will always stay male untill they have paired up where the larger will turn female and become dominant. It does not matter how long they have been a lone clown, they will still stay male untill paired with a larger clown..
Niko
FeatherDuster
12-10-2007, 5:15 PM
Just an observation here on the clowns...
They will always stay male untill they have paired up where the larger will turn female and become dominant. It does not matter how long they have been a lone clown, they will still stay male untill paired with a larger clown..
Niko
Hmm... this is what I read on RC in a sticky section. Is it wrong information?
"Q: So what is required for a clownfish to change sex?
A: For a clownfish to change sex two requirements must be met. First the fish must be physically mature (12-24 months old) and must have an environmental cue to transform. The cue to become a female is the lack of a female in the environment. The cue to become male is that a dominate female is present in the environment, but the environment is lacking a male. The cue to remain sexless is that the environment has an existing dominate female and male pair.
Examples of clownfishes sex change.
Two clownfish kept together:
If two sexually immature clownfish are kept together they will go through the sex change dance too. The most dominate clownfish will become the female and the other the male.
A Single clownfish kept by it’s self:
If a single clownfish is kept by it’s self it will become a female clownfish.
"
That was my understanding as well, that a lone clown that reaches adulthood will turn female.
Reefscape
12-10-2007, 5:22 PM
i shall stand corrected then, certainly not what i read...but, am certainly not always right
kjbrat
12-10-2007, 6:59 PM
so zhonk did you find your clown???
hope all is well
I know where I could find him. I'm afraid to stress him. He hasn't come out yet. Though, a fish hiding in his area went n=int o the poen for the first time in a while.