Clownfish Won't Stop Swimming

[lefty]

Hello again everyone,
I lost one of my ocellaris clownfish last night. If you are interested in reading more about his condition, you can find it in this thread: https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/246631/lost-sense-of-smell. Since his passing, the other clownfish has been acting oddly. She is constantly swimming around the tank as if she is looking for something. She is an active fish, but she has never been this active before. Usually as soon as the lights go off, she is down on the sand ready for bed. Instead of doing that tonight, she just keeps swimming around. Do you guys think she could be looking for the other clownfish? I fed her tonight and she ate normally. She looks perfectly healthy. I don't want to jump to conclusions about it being caused by a physical illness. I am just unsure if she is looking for him or not, or if that is typical fish behavior when they lose a companion. She had a habit of constantly picking on him, so perhaps she misses that. She is the only fish in the tank right now but there is also a cleaner shrimp. Thank you for any insights :happyfish
-lefty

 

[fbm]

If they were mated maybe she/he is looking for her friend.
I have 2 clowns that aren't mated yet, and they are always together.

 

[zookeypr12]

I am also curious,
I have one clown, it is a false clown. I dont have a host anenome for him as it died

(he never took to it though) ......I do have a bubble tip and a curly anenome now and if I am correct I dont think I can add another species of anenome to my 75gl. My LFS said that the clown didnt have to have a host, that he would be ok without one.
I have always thought it was strange that my clown never seems to stop swimming! I have this decorative piece of coral that he backs himself into at night and he just kinda swims in that one spot until morning?
Is this a bad thing for him? he seems to be healthy otherwise.

 

[saltn00b]

clownfish will usually find a location to be their territory, and sleep their at night. it could be an anenome or pipe return or a corner of rocks. IME clowns dont stop swimming, unlike anthias or some other fish that might perch in between rocks at night. Clowns have very soft pectoral fins and they do not perch on them.

 

[lefty]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
clownfish will usually find a location to be their territory, and sleep their at night. it could be an anenome or pipe return or a corner of rocks. IME clowns dont stop swimming, unlike anthias or some other fish that might perch in between rocks at night. Clowns have very soft pectoral fins and they do not perch on them.
At night, she usually finds one spot and swims in place there. I am saying that she is swimming back and forth in the tank, from one end to the other. This morning I woke up to see her still doing it. Usually she stays in her one sleeping place until the lights come on but they aren't even on yet.
-lefty

 

[lefty]

Anyone else?

 

[saltn00b]

it sounds like she is looking for her mate. it will likey return to normal behavior in a week i am guessing.

 

[yacobito]

I had the same thing happen to one of my clowns by way of a power outage. After she lost her friend she did same thing yours is doing. I moved rocks around and within a week or so she picked out a new place and returned back to normal. That was over a year ago and she is still doing just fine by herself.

 

[bigarn]

even if they were just a bonded pair, one would miss the other. she should settle down in time though.

 

[lefty]

Originally Posted by bigarn
even if they were just a bonded pair, one would miss the other. she should settle down in time though.
Thanks everyone. I feel a bit better knowing she'll be alright. Perhaps I will try moving the rocks around to see if it helps. :happyfish
-lefty