clown fish swimming in place????

[frozenguy]

i have a pair of clowns......
the smaller one is swimming in place...like there is a huge current infront of him and he cant go anywhere....
he is at the bottom, about an inch above the sand bed just wiggling his tail......
his mate keeeps going back to check on him then goes up to another side.....i put my hand in there and swam away what seemed to be easily....has anyone ever noticed behavior like this?
is it any type of behavior expected from a fish that is not well? by any means?

 

[kev]

Maybe your current in the tank is too strong? Or maybe, if the other one is swimming fine the smaller one is coming down with something? How long have you had the pair, and how is your water quality looking(ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates?) If they are pretty new, then maybe they are showing a little aggression, keeping the smaller one in the same spot?

 

[barracuda]

For how long do you have this pair?
Have you seen your clowns eating?

 

[sebae0]

if he is bobbing up and down and looks like hes swimming in place, i would say its normal. clown fish tend to swim in place like that alot. my 2 false percs used to do it all the time actually looks pretty cool when 2 do it at the same time.

 

[jendwyer3]

All the clowns I have had done this also.... my water was always perfect and they ate well....just seems they like the current and that is just how they are? Just make sure water perameters are o.k. and make sure they are eating... they all just have their own personality... I love em!

 

[ophiura]

This is a normal behavior for clowns, IMO. Just watch some that have an anemone. They don't swim all around the tank. IMO, clownfish are not open active swimmers much of the time, including in the wild.

 

[frozenguy]

thanks guys
yeah, i guess he swims around then goes back down and does that...i guess he's just playing.....
which is probably a good sign =-)

 

[saltyfish]

Dude
Your way too paranoid. Just relax and enjoy your fish.
BTW I think the cyclyeing trouble you've been haveing is too small a tank for your skill level. I would conciter a 25g to be a nano tank. Its all about water volume and in a smaller tank a little change has a BIG outcome. When starting this hobby I would sugest a 55g al least. Nano tanks require a more skilled hobbyist. I wouldn't atemp it untill you have sucessfully matained a larger tank for one year. When I first started I thought I could add some salt stuff and have SW fish in my 10 tank. Then I came here and got straitened out thankfully.

 

[republicanreef]

Mine do that crap all the time as well. I have noticed that my Tomato clown swims around alot more. Having said that out of emergency I put the Tomato and the Percs together and they get along just fine. Contrary to what I have been told.

 

[javatech]

does he look like my mine to the left

 

[jenmca]

I think clowns are generally poor swimmers and seem to be struggling but are actually just "less graceful" than other fish.

 

[leopardshark]

clownfish do the swimming in a pace like form in front of a current. They do this just to basically waste time. Now if they dance next to each other or if the biggest one "female" is dancing well that means that they are a mated pair and they are getting used to each other. This dance will look like them sitting in one place and moving up and down.

 

[frozenguy]

yeah
they do that
they swim up and down together