Clowns looking lost in the tank

Yash

Yash

Trance Addict
Nov 2, 2006
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Knoxville, TN
I posted this as a reply to my "tank picture" thread. But since that thread was moved (rightly so), I thought I'd ask the question by itself here in the hope of getting some sort of answer.

So, its now been a week since I added the two percula clowns to my tank. The water params are checking out perfect (except for a little high nitrATE at ~10). However, the fish have not moved from the top corner of the tank. I just cannot seem to get them to swim around and explore the rest of the tank. They're swimming around just fine, breathing ok, and eating great. They venture out of that corner only when I feed them, though even then, only swimming at the very surface of the water, only on one half of the tank.

Any idea on what might be causing this to happen? About the only thing I can think of is that the current that my return pump is causing is too strong for them? Its a 660 gal/hr pump with the outlet in the tank up near the surface of the water, pointed slightly downwards. I'm wondering if this is irritating them a little since they seem to be on the back end of the outlet, away from the water flowing into the tank.

I thought initially that they might be just not used to their new home ... but a week in now, I'm getting a little concerned. Is there anything I can do to have them explore the rest of the tank, especially the caves and such? It would be nice to see them swim around the middle of the tank, or in between the rocks :)

Any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated.

Regards,
Yash
 
Well, clownfish are weirdos by nature. They typically pick a spot to where they hang out almost all of the time, only venturing away for short periods. It appears they have chosen the top corner of your tank as their host.

I've read stories about people buying expensive anemones for their clowns, but the clown perfers to host near a powerhead.

If you want them to move somewhere else, the only thing I would suggest is rearranging the tank. But honestly, I don't think that would work. As long as they are eating, I wouldn't worry too much about them.
 
Clowns do strange things... our pair sleep nose down up against the verticle face of a large rock in the center of our tank. We have several corals that have been seen to be alternatives to an anemone for hosting, but ignore them and hang out at that rock. They even clean it off if something ends up there that isn't suppose to be.

Are there any other fish in the tank? If not, once you make your next addition and they see another fish swimming around, they may feel a bit more secure and swim around more freely.

A nitrate level of 10ppm is not much to worry about and certainly not high enough to cause a problem with clowns. There's plenty of people out there that wish they could keep their nitrate at 10ppm.
 
Thanks guys ... it makes me feel better than their behavior is not stress-related or something bad. I'll just hope that some day they come down to the middle of the tank rather than remain stuck in the corner.

fsn - currently there are not other fish in the tank besides the clowns and the inverts. I do plan on adding a couple more fish but want to wait for a few weeks at least before doing that since I only added the clowns a week back. I am thinking of adding a firefish and some type of goby or blenny, or even possibly a six line wrasse. Hopefully once there are other inhabitants, the clowns will be more inclined to swim around.

Thanks for the replies!
Yash
 
Just a warning... if you decide to add a sixline wrasse, be very careful. They are great looking fish, and will eat a lot of pests (and your pods), but don't always get along with smaller gobies and firefish. And, they are best added in as the last fish into a tank. They can become very territorial and will aggressively defend their territory. Ours has killed 2 fish in our tank (1 goby and 1 juv. tang). The tang was a new addition and was doing fine -- eating, swimming, etc. Then, at day 8 in the main tank, he turned up dead and looked to have been attacked. After talking with many people about it, it sounded like a broken record -- the sixline was defending his territory, the tang got too close, and paid the price. I have a friend that didn't believe this would happen (as in I just got an overly mean one), so he bought one, added it to his tank, and now a month later he's trying to get it out for the same reason. His sixline is actually going after his pair of clowns. While I certainly hope this doesn't happen to you, I just thought I'd share that experience, which no one else seemed like they wanted to talk about until they found out it happened to somebody else.

Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about your clowns unless you start to see problems with them in that corner (hope the top is covered with them being up there -- last thing you'd want is them getting startled or excited and accidentally flop out). Waiting another week or more before adding in your next fish is a good thing to do. We went about 3 weeks between additions but have stopped until I can get our wrasse out.
 
fsn - thanks a bunch for the word of caution!! I hadn't heard or read that they could be that aggressively territorial. It certainly is a good thing to know cos I'll probably reconsider adding them to the tank. I'd really like to add a firefish cos I think they're just so beautiful !! And, if the wrasse might hassle it, I'd rather not add the wrasse, especially after hearing about your and your friend's experience!

How many fish do you think I could add in addition to the clowns? Any other suggestions besides the firefish or a goby? I'd love to have a fish that would swim around the entire tank (not just occupy a certain section of it, like the goby, or my clown fish at the moment!!)

Regards,
Yash
 
36 gallon, right?

You could probably put a dwarf angel of some type. They are open water swimmers and spend most of the day exploring. Maybe a Coral Beauty.

A couple of green chromis could work, they are advertised as being able to coax shyer fish out into the water column.

You could probably add one or two more fish. About 1 fish per 10 gallons or so. Depending on the species, of course.
 
My clowns also hang out at the top of the tank by the cornerflow most of the time and will venture out for food. My problem lately has been with the Royal Grammas. I have tried 3 and all have perished. Everything in the tank tests fine (ammoinia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate<5, Calcium 420, salinity 1.024-1.025). The Grammas started off fine and then after being in a rock for a while (2-3 days) they stop feeding and will swim slow and spin, ultimately laying inside a rock and dying. I have had several people look at the tank and say this should be happening. 2 Clowns, 1 Coral Beauty (highly recommened), and a Banner fish (plus 5 corals) are all doing great. I was told to try a 6 line Wrasse because I probably have "fire worms" that are getting at the cave dwelling Grammas. Do you have any other recommendations for getting rid of the worms? I have ~ 12 blue legged hermits, and found a shame face crab (that I promptly got rid of) I also found a small < 1inch crab last night that I will be getting rid of ASAP. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I agree that the Coral Beaty Angel is a great choice, and don't sweat the clown behavior.
 
Yeah - it is indeed a 36 gal. I thought the dwarf angels were sort of aggressive natured? Also, I read that they aren't too compatible with reefs since they pick at the corals? I will be adding corals down the road so I'm not sure if going with angels is a good idea? That's an interesting thing you mention about the chromis - I'll certainly have to read up on them a little further.

Yeah 1 or 2 at the most is what I thought as well for my tank. I'm taking it nice and slow though in the livestock addition from here on out. So I'll have plenty of time to do some research on different species and get different opinions/suggestions.

Cheers!
Yash
 
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