Strange Clownfish Behavior?

[effishient]

I have had three tank raised false percula's in my aquarium for the past year. Since I bought them (originally all the same size at about 1.5" long), two have more than doubled in length and are both over 3" long. The largest, and clearly most dominant one, has been behaving strangely the past two days: It will swim back an forth at the surface of the water FRANTICALLY right against the glass, occasionally almost jumping like a dolphin. It will swim about 2 feet in one direction, then instantly change directions and swim 2 feet back the other way. It does this for about 30 seconds, takes a short rest, then repeats.
Anyone else ever seen this happen before or have any idea what my clownfish wants from me? It's almost like it's trying to get my attention, but it is very well fed, so I can't believe it's hungry. The other two clownfish are still acting pretty docile... like always.

 

[thegrog]

Hmmmmm. "Strange" behavior from a clown is normally not unusual but this one sounds strange. It almost sounds like your clown has some infection or parasite in it's gills and it is trying to get it out. Do you have a cleaner shrimp in your tank?
Also, what are your water parameters (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, pH)? High toxins can ittirate gills and cause strange behavior. Because she is larger, it may affect her more.
Is she breathing fast?
If everything checks out with the water, and she does not look in any distress, and she is still eating I would just observe her closely over the next few days. If she appears in distress, you may want to try a freshwater dip.

 

[effishient]

My water parameters are all solid...
pH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - <10ppm
spec. g. - 1.025
temp - 78
She looks completely healthy... no spots, discoloration, or even apparent irritation of the visible "skin" and she eats any and everything I feed her.
One theory I have, but I'm not sure there's enough evidence to back it is that she just thinks there is food at the surface of the water and is trying to "lunge" for it, even though there isn't anything there--heh heh heh... my clownfish is halucinating!
Oh well, I'll monitor the behavior and post if anything changes.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[effishient]

oh and one more thing... I do have a Fire Shrimp as well as a neon goby, but the clownfish doens't seem interested in their services. In fact, she is sometimes a tad aggressive toward the fire shrimp.