New clownfish acting funny

[juliesfish]

Hey guys - need a little swf.com expertise. I bought a new black ocellaris clown yesterday. Today I noticed that he's staying at the top of the quarantine tank and kind of swimming on his side. I've looked at him closely and don't see any signs of ick. The temp in the tank is kind of low. It's at 72 right now. All of the other parameters - ammonia - 0, nitrite - 0, nitrate - 0. There is a royal gramma in that tank as well that is doing fine. I added a little bit of prime in case he's just stressed, I figured it couldn't hurt. right now my only guess is that it might be too cold and I will go ahead and get a heater for that tank ASAP. If anyone has any other clues or thinks that I should add some copper to the tank, let me know. I do have some Copper Power on hand.

 

[meowzer]

CLowns tend to hover...and swim odd.....Is it eating?
my 2 clowns stay at the top of my 225G in on corner and are usually vertical

 

[mr. limpid]

Any new fish will act weird for awhile, I would wait at least 3 days b4 doing anything. Is he breathing normal or is breathing like just swam the english channel (sign of ick in its theront stage)?

 

[bang guy]

Agreed that new Clownfish often swim funny. That said, 72F is a bit low, that could be causing a bit of additional stress but it shouldn't kill it directly.
Prime will lower oxygen levels so that's another stress inducer. Should only be used for emergencies.
Make sure there's lots of waterflow. If it's not able to keep up in a turbulent environment then there may actually be something wrong with it. I would keep a close eye on it until it finds a corner to adopt.

 

[cubnb79]

that's what my clown does when its sleepy time..top of the water sideways most of the time and he's been doing that since ive had him few months now

 

[juliesfish]

Thanks for the input. No there isn't any sign of ick. He's not eating. I tried to feed him a little brine shrimp earlier and he ignored it. This morning he was swimming a little more normally up and down but now he's back to side floating (mostly) at the top. Doesn't seem to be breathing too hard. I'll have to check on that again. I'm going to give him time and hope for the best since he seemed fine at the lfs.
There isn't much flow in the tank. It's just a basic 10 gallon quarantine tank with a hob filter and I have an airstone in there too.

 

[juliesfish]

And I've never had a fish do this before. I have another ocellaris clownfish and it doesn't swim like this. I wouldn't worry, but he stays at the top on his side at least 95% of the time. I'm just waiting to wake up one morning to find him dead. But I don't want to treat blindly for something. I think I'm going to call the lfs that I got him from today and see what he says. I've gotten all of my fish from him and they are usually in excellent condition. first time for everything I guess. Maybe he'll let me bring him back and get a replacement.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by juliesfish http:///t/388094/new-clownfish-acting-funny#post_3420691
Thanks for the input. No there isn't any sign of ick. He's not eating. I tried to feed him a little brine shrimp earlier and he ignored it. This morning he was swimming a little more normally up and down but now he's back to side floating (mostly) at the top. Doesn't seem to be breathing too hard. I'll have to check on that again. I'm going to give him time and hope for the best since he seemed fine at the lfs.
There isn't much flow in the tank. It's just a basic 10 gallon quarantine tank with a hob filter and I have an airstone in there too.
Remove the air stone, and just leave the air tube with big bubbles, tiny bubbles cause problems for SW fish, the big bubbles are safe. The tank is too cold, 76 is the lowest it should be. Have something in the tank for the fish to be able to hide and feel secure....a PVC pipe, or fish tank decor

 

[juliesfish]

Okay, I'll do that today. I just have a few little pieces of live rock at the bottom. Maybe that's part of the problem. He's hanging in there and still alive. I just looked him over real well and he isn't bumpy or spotted or anything so I think he's just sad. I'll try to find some plastic decorations or something today. He was part of a pair at the lfs. We only got one of them because we already have a clownfish. Maybe he's sad and missing his friend.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by juliesfish http:///t/388094/new-clownfish-acting-funny#post_3420734
Okay, I'll do that today. I just have a few little pieces of live rock at the bottom. Maybe that's part of the problem. He's hanging in there and still alive. I just looked him over real well and he isn't bumpy or spotted or anything so I think he's just sad. I'll try to find some plastic decorations or something today. He was part of a pair at the lfs. We only got one of them because we already have a clownfish. Maybe he's sad and missing his friend.
You are giving human emotion to a fish. . . . If you have nothing for it to hide and feel secure, than that is indeed the problem.