clownfish help

susie&jeran

susie&jeran

Member
I just bought new clown fish. After acclimating them as instructed and putting them in the tank, they both stayed in one area swimming forward and backwards and breating kind of fast. I tested the water and everything came out fine. Temp. was fine. Everything was just as it should be. After several hours they seemed to calm down and the smallest clown fish started exploreing the tank a little.
This morning I found one of them dead. His fins didn't look torn and I don't think any of my fish would have attacked him. I have a small foxface, blue hippo tang, and 2 star fish, along with the remaining clown fish in a 55 gal.
Now my small clown fish is swimming in one area just going back and forward quickly and is breathing kind of hard. If the water is as it should be and they arn't being attacked, am I safe to assume that they are just really stressed? If so, what can I do to reduce the stress until they've adjusted.
Or could it be a lack of oxygen? We were told to use a powerhead as a source of oxygen, but it was putting out thousands of tiny oxygen bubbles that were gathering on the fish, so I adjusted it to a much lower setting where it was still moving the water, but no oxygen bubbles could be seen. Did I make a mistake by doing that?
Any suggestions/tips?
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
Take the air hose off of the powerhead it is not needed and will reduce bubbles to zero.
You say you tested everything but I have to ask are you showing zero for ammonia and zero for nitrite? Did you get to see the fish at a local store or did you order them?To minimize stress turn off the lights this might help.
 
susie&jeran

susie&jeran

Member
I'm hearing so many different opinions on this powerhead thing. If I leave it just how it is and deal with the bubbles (which are low enough now that they arn't clinging to fish) is it harmful? I'd rather have bubbles then risk lack of oxygen and with so many ppl telling me different things.. *stress!*
Nitrites, Nitrates, Ammonia, PH... everything is as it should be. I have perfect water condition. I haven't checked it since I took our the dead clownfish - I'm going to a petstore tonight & they are doing a free water testing for me just in case I'm not doing something right.
As for where I bought him, I actually got him here through saltwaterfish.com. I'm going to an actual pet store tonight though to buy a replacement clownfish - is there any tips on what I should look out for when picking a fish?
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
Bubbles do not equal oxygen per se. It's a pretty easy fix. Make sure the powerhead is causing surface agitation to help with gas exchange. If you have a maxijet powerhead the air tube is for powering an undergravel filter which is outdated once removed it will produce no bubbles.
Did the fish die, is that why you are getting another? See if they will hold the fish for you for a couple of days and check on it daily. Check to make sure it is feeding. Look for visible scars or cuts and make sure that it is breathing right. That's about i t.
 
trippkid

trippkid

Active Member
A little confused??? What about Hippo Tang and Foxface. When were these put in? And the stars. If all of this is in the tank and it's a mo. old or so, you are going to fast. How did you cycle the tank? Is there Live rock in the tank. What type of filtration are you using? If you would provide more info about your setup some others may be able to help you. IMO don't rush things, be patient or your experience in this hobby(lifestyle) will be a bad one more likely than not.
 
who dey

who dey

Active Member
Originally Posted by trippkid
A little confused??? What about Hippo Tang and Foxface. When were these put in? And the stars. If all of this is in the tank and it's a mo. old or so, you are going to fast. How did you cycle the tank? Is there Live rock in the tank. What type of filtration are you using? If you would provide more info about your setup some others may be able to help you. IMO don't rush things, be patient or your experience in this hobby(lifestyle) will be a bad one more likely than not.
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