Do fish "sleep" and when do the spikes happen?

[wontonflip]

Ok...I came downstairs, 1 am, and noticed my 2 clownfish were drifting around the back of my tank near the surface...one was behind the prefilter, and the other just under my maxijet...

I shut off the water flow (pumps and powerheads), and they still just sorta stayed in their spots...so I put a few pieces of mysis in the tank...one went for it, but the other did not...at least, not until I put a couple pieces towards the back near him...was this their way of "sleeping"?

Also, I've had the fish since sunday. I've checked all my parameters, and nothing has changed .. ammonia and nitrites 0, and nitrates around 20ppm (which I can't trust because at the time I got the fish, I tested my water and it was 20ppm, but when the lfs tested a sample I brought in, it tested at 0ppm...twice)...so when should the spike happen? Or will it not necessarily happen, since I only have the 2 clowns in the tank? I've been careful how much I fed them.

(I've got live rock - half what I should have, a skimmer that I just got working, a purigen pack that I need to reactivate, and a refugium in the sump, just to give you an idea what I've got cleaning the tank)

 

[yote]

Fish more or less just go into a resting mode.Since they cant close their eyes,they dont actually sleep.

You shouldnt see any spikes from adding those clowns.Your tanks already cycled.
The only time you'll see ammonia and nitrite spike is when theres not enough bacteria to handle the load.

 

[wontonflip]

Oh cool. I thought it spikes everytime you add fish. When's the soonest you think I can add another fish? I was thinking of adding some type of sand sifter, like a 2 spot goby or something.

 

[reeffreak]

Fish sleep in their own way.They don't snore and drool like us(well like me)but they do go into a shutdown mode.You may not get a spike at all and it might be a good idea to wait several weeks before the next fish.No problem if you want to add some nassarius snails to stir the sand bed.

 

[wontonflip]

I'll probably wait a few weeks then. I'll have x'mas gift money by then to waste LOL

I've got around 5 nessarious already. I love those li'l buggers. Not as dependent as the other snails, who can't even flip themselves over if they fall upside down.

My clowns seem perfectly fine now. I had just never seen them in their dormant state before and freaked me out.

 

[Bifferwine]

They were sleeping. Probably kinda pissed that you bothered them at 1 am!

 

[cgoodman381]

Like other have said some fish sleep some stay active. My yellow tang is always active at night. My maroon sleeps either in my (his ;) ) toadstool or clam.

 

[Piggy]

They were sleeping like everyone above said. We've all been there. I did the same thing.

 

[Keaton]

I've caught my clown sleeping almost on his side in the sand lol. Don't be surprised if you see something like that out of your clowns. They're wierd like that i guess. What do you have on the bottom of your tank? Crushed coral will trap nastiness. I had the worst time with crushed coral. Now I have live sand and my water perameters are rock solid. Just something to think about.

 

[wontonflip]

I've got live sand.

Yeah, I'm having fun with the clowns. I'm learning a lot. Right now, they're establishing their domininance......a lot, especially when I go near the tank cuz they always think it's feeding time. LOL