first fish not eating

kona

kona

Member
I've had a brackish 10 gallon tank for a year. About 2 weeks ago, I changed it to a salt water.
I have 8 pounds live rock, crushed coral, one pepp shrimp, 8 blue legged hermis, 3 red, 2 snails, 1 emerald crab, and 1 percula clown (false). Fluorescent bulb, mini penguin filter (small).
3 questions/concerns.
1. The emerald crab is pretty big. Body is a bit smaller than a quarter. Without an anemone, will the clown fish be too stressed out? He seems very discontent in the tank.
2. Fish is barelyeating anything. All conditions are very good in the tank. Tried dried blood worms, plankton, flakes, frozen brine, frozen mysis, frozen squid. Initially, he will sample most of the foods, only to spit it out and swim away.
3. I feel that it is not comfortable in the tank. When he is resting, he is in the far corner of the tank, pointed straight down at the ground. Is this normal? I also sometimes find him resting on the ground - sometimes lopsided by maybe 10 degrees.
** unrelated question... where can I find a good compact fluroescent that will fit a 10 gallon tank (20 inches across), and is about 45-55 watts?
thanks for the help...
 
I

ivanfj

Guest
What fish are you talking about that is not eating??? Your fish doesn't sound good at the moment honestly.
If your tank is 2 weeks old, you could be adding things too fast, especially in a small tank. What's your parm sepcifically???
There's 20" 96w pc out there and it fits a 10g perfectly and give you some very good lighting. HTH
Edit: Oh sorry, I just read your post again. It's a perc clown right. Is it tank raised or wild caught??? They make a huge different in aquariums. I find it hard to keep wild caught clowns alive in aquariums.
 
oceanminded

oceanminded

Member
About your lighting question. Coralife makes a 20" pc light that has 96 w. Comes with 2 5050 and 2 atintics. Very good system. I have one on my 16 gal bow. You can get it for around 100 bucks. HTH :happy:
 
bsktmom

bsktmom

Member
Sometimes fish will eat if you soak their food in garlic plus it is good for their immune system.
 
neowind

neowind

Member
Well there are a couple things that could be a problem here. Clowns are VERY weird about eating when you first get one. They have a very hard time adapting to their new homes. Some clowns will start to eat 3-5 Days after you get them. Some will take over a week to start eating. I have just added another clown to my tank and it is day 4 and no eating yet.
The other problem could possibly be that your tank is started its cycle. If its a new tank the tank needs to be cycled before the fish and inverts are added to the tank because it will have a very large spike in the water parameters. If the tank is not cycled you will probably lose the fish unless it is tank raised then you will have a 50/50 chance of it living. Hope this helps.
 
kona

kona

Member
Thanks for the replies.
The tank was brackish for about a year...so I assumed that it was already cycled properly. I also had the live rocks and coral in there for about 5 days prior to the fish.
Anyway, I just bought a 125 gallon/hour power head - it sure is stirring up the tank a lot. Is that normal? It appears almost a little cloudy from all the turbulence.
Final question. Ok, so where can I find this 96 watt PC light? Can someone PM me with a website or place I can order a 20 inch PC light that is at least 65 watts, and is a good price?
Thanks all for the great help.
 
kona

kona

Member
Are you serious? It's too many GPH?
Damn people at the LFS were telling me that I should get 2 of them!! They told me that at least one was necessary for most anemones and other filter feeders.
Anyway, I got a JBJ supersubmersible that has two nozzles pointing at 90 degree angles to each other. I have it positioned in the corner, half way down from the top of the tank. I'll check now to see if it is creating a whirlpool.
 
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