I'm probably paranoid but you tell me

J

jbrother

Reefing newb
So after a month of so of research and setting up my ideal tank/cycling I finally bought my first clownfish. :bounce:

When we first introduced him to the tank last night he was nervous but then seemed to explore around and would usually treck back to the top left corner near the surface of the tank. I read that sometimes fish will do this if there is not enough oxygen in the water so I checked all my chemical levels (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) and they all checked out perfect. My temp. is steady at 79F. I didn't check the salt though which I should have and will when I get home.

He simply just stays at the top near the surface and occasionally moves down for a quick minute. Would this because he is still nervous or oxygen related?

Thanks!
 
While it could be an oxygenation issue, the fish is simply likely being a clownfish. My par has decided to host the overflow of my tank, and spend a lot of their time floating on the surface of the water, there have been a few times I though they were actually dead

Clowns are some of the oddest fish you'll see.

What kind of water movement do you have in the tank? Are you running a sump? Is the tank covered?
 
Tank is covered and for flow I have a regular filter that provides ample flow. I'm sure that I'm being a bit paranoid though since this is my first fish and for some reason I have this crazy fear that everything will go wrong to the poor guy.
 
jbrother said:
Tank is covered and for flow I have a regular filter that provides ample flow. I'm sure that I'm being a bit paranoid though since this is my first fish and for some reason I have this crazy fear that everything will go wrong to the poor guy.
Click to expand...
How tightly is the tank covered? There needs to be a flap or something open for gas exchange. I learned this the hard way!
 
Hmm, never would have thought about that but it makes sense. I have an opening in the top where the filter/cooling fan can fit in. Do you think I may need a larger opening?
 
My flap that I keep open is about a 4th of the size of the lid, like 8x3? Guessing here. I had it closed and killed a fish, similar behavior of yours. I got another fish and that one went too. Thank goodness I posted on here and thru some trouble shooting other posters' helped me determine it was the gas exchange. Now I keep the flap open and have had 2 clowns for months now.
Not sure if that is what it is for you but it's worth propping open the lid or sliding something to the side for a larger exposure.
 
Clownfish are silly tho. They hang out in weird spots, float around, dart around...he may be totally fine. When mine was struggling he would gasp at the top.
Is yours panting? Have you tried putting some mysis in there and see how he reacts?
 
And, for good oxygenation you need to have some flow pointed at the surface of the water, creating ripples. People usually get a powerhead for this. Not sure what you mean by "regular filter" for flow.
 
Apologies, what I mean is my regular bio-filter which maintained a pretty steady current in the water. What I also have to keep the tank cooled is a small tank fan that blows the surface of the water which also ripples around.

I'll open the lid right away...better safe that sorry and thanks for the great advice!
 
+1 North....I've had my clown fish for a couple of years, and if it's not feeding time, he's either swimming up and down the overflow baffle, or, at night, just hovering at the surface (I've even observed his lips poking out above the surface of the water LOL)

But yea, definitely make sure there's someplace in the tank for oxygen to escape. If you have a sump that's open, it should be ok to keep a lid on the dt. Because at least the oxygen's getting in through the sump.
 
You are probably going to need a small powerhead in there, a HOB filter isnt going to provide enough water movement. You want your tank volume turned over around 40x per hour.

And +1 to the lid removal
 
For future reference, what would it actually look like if he was gasping for air...it seems so obvious but I just want to make sure. Mine seems like hes opening and closing his mouth pretty relaxed.

Also, I did some searches on "sumps" because I had no idea what you were talking about, haha. They seem pretty pricy, would it be worth getting for just a 20gal. tank with most likely three fish at maximum?
 
I don't have a sump on my 14 gallon. But you will want a powerhead. Like a little koralia, should be like 25 bucks on amazon or ebay and the clownfish will love to swim against the current, they are fun to watch "surf"...
Is he swimming around? Does he eat?
 
Last night when we first put him in he was but after a while he just started to stay in the top corner and hes been there ever since. He is eating though, I dropped a few flakes in and he seemed to go for it.

Ill check out the powerheads as well.
 
Aren't they cute to watch. :) You'll have fun with him and congrats on the new addition.
Have fun posting, I love posting questions on here, you learn so much!
 
Flaked food isnt very good for your fish, i would feed a variety of different frozen foods. You can get some good stuff at places like petco/petsmart.

And it wont look like he is gasping for air, he will just hang out in the oxygen rich zones. It might look like he is breathing a bit harder but you wont have anything to compare it to.

Also you can just make a sump out of a rubber tub, no need to spend a ton of money on those premade ones. Most people make their sump anyways.
 
jbrother said:
Also, I did some searches on "sumps" because I had no idea what you were talking about, haha. They seem pretty pricy, would it be worth getting for just a 20gal. tank with most likely three fish at maximum?
Click to expand...

They can be pricey, but most people use rubbermaid tubs or used aquariums from ebay. You don't NEED one. It's a preference. I like having a sump because I can store most of my equipment in there -- heaters, skimmer, refugium if you want one. But you most certainly do not need one. Since it's out of sight, it doesn't have to be pretty.
 

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