clown sucked to maxijet pump

[butchwvw]

i had a matched pair of pecula clowns and this morning i found the male stuck to my maxi jet pump :frustrat: my first fish in my new tank. can this be prevented ? should i get another smaller clown or another pair? i know s**t happens but i don't like the feeling and i want to do whatever it takes to prevent it. please help.

 

[mennazeher04]

man, sorry about the loss or did he not die? Im not to sure about adding another clownfish because they might not get along.......but i would wait for better advice from someone that has more experience in the hobby.

 

[butchwvw]

yes it died . it tried to come back and the female seemed to try and help but he had been there to long.

 

[daugherty]

i am thinking something was wrong with the clown to begin with if it got sucked to the power head. this usually does not happen unless they are weak for some reason

 

[wontonflip]

I believe the new one has to be a lot smaller, so that your female won't feel as threatened and try to attack the new one to assert dominance. If you get a smaller one, then it will probably just pick on it until it knows she's the boss.

 

[dcantucson]

+1 Wontonflip
Sorry he died. That sucks. You could try to devise some cage type netting around it, but James is right it usually does not happen with a healthy fish. Maybe he got caught off guard during the night. A freak accident? Clowns sometimes have strange swimming patterns.

 

[butchwvw]

you may be right daugherty, it was not eating as well as the female. can i keep my power heads off a few days next time and just leave my sump running until I'm sure its ok?

 

[daugherty]

you should not have to shut them off i have a lot of water movement in my tank and even a little clown goby that i had never got stuck in one. i really just think it was because something was wrong with the clown.

 

[Bifferwine]

I agree with what others have said -- healthy fish don't get stuck to powerheads.

You can try to introduce a new clown. Try and get one that's either much bigger or much smaller than the one you currently have. The larger the size difference, the smaller the chance is that they'll fight over dominance.

 

[lilyicu]

I lost one of my Cardinals into a powerhead, but it wasn't doing too well before the lights went off that night. Sorry to hear about your clown :(

 

[wontonflip]

I have 2 powerheads in my tank, and never had that problem, either. Not sure about the eating thing, because my male doesn't eat much, either...but it's because the female won't let him; my guess is that she doesn't want him to get bigger go after the alpha spot. Maybe yours wasn't eating for the same reason, but just had other issues. Clowns are just weird.

 

[butchwvw]

thanks everyone . my profile pic is of my buddies i took this morning before the little guy left us.

 

[yote]

Hate to hear of the loss.

 

[butchwvw]

just got back from the fish store and they will give me another set , just bring my female back and swap. not sure i want to take her back, kinda got a new friend already. they also said i might try another smaller one and hope for the best. not sure what to do yet , i may just let her be alone for now.

 

[brklyn1980]

+1 on that

i am thinking something was wrong with the clown to begin with if it got sucked to the power head. this usually does not happen unless they are weak for some reason