Dying (or dumb) clownfish

mikewurtz

mikewurtz

FOWLR Power!
I noticed some odd behavior from my clown yesterday. He was laying on his side on the sand. Every 40 seconds or so he would get a burst of energy and swim a few inches upward, only to settle back down on the sand. Also, at night when the lights are off he seems to be just fine. After a lot of web searching ( and the forums as well) I've found two possible solutions. It might be a parasite, or he is just being a clown fish, and clowns are retarded.

How can I tell which ( if either ) of the two it is?

Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates are perfect. pH, salinity and temp are all normal. I did introduce a new PJ Cardinal into the mix 2 days before the behavior started, but he ( along with every other animal in the tank ) is completely fine.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for your advice.
 
That's normal, they lay around in the sand, and on their sides. As long as he is eating, and has his color, he is fine...just normal behavior.
 
He is indeed eating pretty well, and his color is great.

He is a maroon clown. Ive actually noticed that his color has been looking better than ever over the past few weeks. He looks perfectly healthy.

Is it possible that his behavior might just be a response to the new addition ( the PJ )?
 
mikewurtz said:
I noticed some odd behavior from my clown yesterday. He was laying on his side on the sand. Every 40 seconds or so he would get a burst of energy and swim a few inches upward, only to settle back down on the sand. Also, at night when the lights are off he seems to be just fine. After a lot of web searching ( and the forums as well) I've found two possible solutions. It might be a parasite, or he is just being a clown fish, and clowns are retarded.

How can I tell which ( if either ) of the two it is?

Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates are perfect. pH, salinity and temp are all normal. I did introduce a new PJ Cardinal into the mix 2 days before the behavior started, but he ( along with every other animal in the tank ) is completely fine.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for your advice.
Click to expand...

Hi Mike -
Mine was doing the same a couple weeks ago and I panicked. Next morning he was perfectly fine and then doing the same thing the following evening.

This generally seems to be normal.
 
He might be doing that because you may not have enough flow in your tank. My clowns wouldn't be able to lay still if they WANTED to because of the flow in my tank.
 
On the topic of dumb clowns, so last night I'm feeding corals and the female decides its attack time. She bites my wrist and then freaks out and jumps ship. Her dumb ass lands on the floor and flops once. Picked her up and put her back in. Breathed a little heavy for a bit but quickly made it back to here mate on their torch coral. After I saved her dumb ass I realized she was the first fish that I bought and has been with me for about 16 months now.
 
it should be a known fact that when a clown is acting what we think is normal they are sick LOL. My clowns are never "normal". one day they swim up and down in the same spot, the next they are attached to the heater, the day after that they are bunking up with my eel.... or playing "dead" in the sand... lol. clowns ARE silly
 

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