feeding clownfish

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caz

I'm a Sinker!
Apr 7, 2003
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i have had a clown fish for about a week now, and just wondering what their eating habits are like? at first he was very aggressive, now, he barely eats. i feed nutramax flake food, and hikari freeze dried brine shrimp. he is in a 75 gallon with two damsels. the damsels seem to eat fine, one is very piggish :) but the clown just doesnt seem interested. he seems to eat the smaller particles floating by. also, he isnt very big, maybe 3/4 or an inch or so. any suggestion? or am i worrying for nothing today?
 

OrionGirl

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Aug 14, 2001
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Clowns are in the same family as damsels, so I would watch for any aggression between them. The clowns I've had were alwyas very aggressive eaters--willing to poke out of the water to take food, even.
 

mogurnda

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Apr 29, 2003
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You might try frozen foods. I agree with OrionGirl that clowns tend to be piggish, but my clowns didn't like large particles when they were very small. My guys have always gone nuts for Formula One. I just take a small chunk and break it up between my fingers in the tank, and they love the small bits. In the wild, they are planktivores, so they like to chase small bits in the current.
 

caz

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Apr 7, 2003
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thanx guys. when i feed, he doesnt even seem to even notice the food, no matter if its freeze dried brine shrimp, or the flake food. i havent noticed any real aggression between the fish. the clown usually stays by his rock, the damsels by theirs. if one invades the others terriotry, then there is a little chaseing going on, but nothing too big i dont think. the clown rarely moves from his area though. even during feedint time. is it just too soon for him to be aggressive? could i possibly be doing something wrong? i did a major water change yesterday which lowered nitrates and raised the ph a little. could that be the cause?

thanx guys
 

mogurnda

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HOw many nooks and crannies does it have for hiding places? My clowns love caves. The good news is that the guy is not up at a top corner or hiding under something, which would be a sure indication that somebody is being a bully.
 

caz

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Apr 7, 2003
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they have alot, i dont have any live rock in there now, but there is over 50 pounds of base rock, only one peice is really solid, the rest are very porous. he swims about 3 inches up that rock, and at the base there is a really neat cave, but doesnt seem to like it i guess. im gonna get the formula one and give that a try. any thing else i should know?
 
Hi caz,

I myself have 2 of those false clowns and have no problem when it come to feeding. I've actually found that they go NUTS over the pellets I feed ... they are a "marine s" ( I think the s stands for small) and they are from hikarii (sp). The fish LOVE them and gobble them up whenever I feed them. I also found they like the brine shrimp, frozen and live, and they will nibble on mysis shrimp on occasion.
They are funny fish though. Mine usually sleep at the surface next to the heater at night and I have looked in on them a number of times thinking they were dead by the way they were laying at the top.

Hope that helps.
 
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