Why are my clownfish are swimming at the surface and on their sides?

sptfyre51

sptfyre51

Member
I recently added a platinum and a black and white clownfish. The first 2 days they appeared to be fine as far as swimming behavior, going around the tank, etc. Then the following 2 days they were at the top of the tank near filter on their sides. They have had very little movement. The platinum clown will occasionally swim around for a minute or two before going back up and laying on its side at the top near the filter. The platinum will also eat when I feed, whereas the black and white clown has not changed behavior (other than about 5 minutes of normal swimming around). They do not appear to be breathing heavily.

I have looked around for solutions and I know this behavior is common at night when sleeping, but they have been there pretty much all day as well. Other places I have read have said they are just hosting the filter or glass, but I would still think they would swim around a lot more than they are. Is there something potentially wrong with them? If so, what can I do to help them?
 

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sptfyre51

sptfyre51

Member
30 g
It has been up and running around 4 months
I have is a carbon filter, powerhead, with a flow rate of 317 gph, heater, and an RO/DI filtration system. I had a skimmer, but it broke and I can't afford to replace it at the moment.
I did acclimate the fish beforehand and used drip acclimation
Other livestock is a small royal gramma (maybe .75 in on a good day), and eibli angelfish (about 2 in.), nerite, astrea, and ninja star snails, and around a dozen hermit crabs.
I am not currently at home so I would like to check the water parameters again when I get home, so they can be as accurate as possible, but last time I checked (I did check yesterday, so 2 days ago) ammonia: 0.0 Nitrate: 0.0 Nitrite: 0.0 Ph: 8.0
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I'm not able to diagnose anything but it really does look like the Clownfish have adopted the powerhead.

I wonder what they would do if you removed the powerhead.
 
candaceswf

candaceswf

Administrator
Mine hosted to the heater... They've only been in their new environment for a few days, I would think they'll resume normal behavior at some point
 
sptfyre51

sptfyre51

Member
bang guy said:
I'm not able to diagnose anything but it really does look like the Clownfish have adopted the powerhead.

I wonder what they would do if you removed the powerhead.
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I may have to try that once I get home. Especially if my water parameters are still fine
 
sptfyre51

sptfyre51

Member
candaceswf said:
Mine hosted to the heater... They've only been in their new environment for a few days, I would think they'll resume normal behavior at some point
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So assuming they are just hosting the powerhead they should go back to normal activity? Or will hosting the powerhead become the new normal activity?
 
mauler

mauler

Active Member
When I put mine in the stayed next one of my powerheads for a week before they began exploring the tank then they found a nice cave to host
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Agreed, I have 3 diff tanks w 3 diff types of clowns all host diff. My pair of occ is the heater, my maroon under a piece of lr, my black in a divet in lr lol
 
sptfyre51

sptfyre51

Member
beth said:
Maybe try placing a more appealing host option in the tank.
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What could I place? How much light does an anenome need? My lights are not real strong, so if they need any significant light source an anenome or any coral would not be possible. Is there anything else I could use?
 
sptfyre51

sptfyre51

Member
silverado61 said:
What size tank?
How long has it been up and running?
Do you have live rock and live sand?
What equipment do you have?
Did you acclimate the fish? If so, how?
What other live stock do you have?
What are your water test results? Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Alk, Salinity, Temp, just to name a few (exact numbers, please.)

All this will help determine what we can offer as far as help or advice.
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I retested my water last night and everything was still the same as it was before, so my water parameters are good. My biggest worry at this point is my black and white clown did not eat yesterday or this morning. The platinum was actually swimming around last night and has been eating great!
 
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