TEENY new clown...what to feed it?? HELP ASAP!

crazyzeus1

Member
We just got a Ocellaris (?) clown today from internet store...he's TINY...about 1 inch from tail to mouth. I have mysis shrimp, but I'm afraid they're too big for him. I also have flake, but he's still acclimating so I haven't offered any food yet.
What does a clown this small eat?????? Please help!!!!!
 

crazyzeus1

Member
Nobody knows???? I don't fully trust my LFS guys.
Also--acclimated him with drip method. He's in the tank (which my 2 year old promptly named him Nemo) & he's just nestled into our Spaghetti Leather. He is sucking through his mouth hard. Is this normal? He just seems so small & fragile...I'm afraid one of our cleaner shrimp or a hermit crab will get him!
Anybody?
 

bang guy

Moderator
At 1" he can defend himself. This isn't an emergency, he might not eat for a couple days anyway.
Cyclopeze would be a good food as would chopped up Mysid Shrimp along with the flake food.
 

crazyzeus1

Member
OK...thank you so much Bang!
Is the sucking thing normal? This is our first fish to introduce to the tank (we bought two Clowns in this shipment, but one was dead on arrival...the bag of water STUNK the second I opened it...so I knew he was already dead). I just don't know what to expect from a newly introduced fish as far as behavior goes
 

bang guy

Moderator
The "sucking" is probably OK to a point. If it's severe then it could be disease or damage. It's hard to tell from here. Sorry.
Is it the only fish in the tank?
Was it captive bred?
 

crazyzeus1

Member
He is the only fish in the tank...and he was aquarium bred. Not wild. He's still lying on the bottom (2 hrs & 5 min. in the tank) & sucking air. I keep checking because I'm afraid one of my crabs or hermits will try to get him.
I worry that the shipment was compromised in some way since the other Clown was already dead upon arrival.
I'm trying to decide if I should take him out & put him out of his mysery (I read on this msg. board to put them in the freezer to kill them if it looks like they're not going to make it...end the suffering). He is sucking so hard now that he is rocking back & forth on his side. But then he'll get up & swim a second & go back down.
When he DID swim, he was either swimming upside down, or he was swimming with his head up & his tail down...not horizontal like he should have. Does that mean anything?
 

crazyzeus1

Member
OK...I lost him in the reef, but the he just shot out of nowhere. But then he just tumbles in the current (it's not too strong...my corals sway gently). Then he swam upside down until he floated down & is laying on the bottom of the tank...what's happening? This does not look normal...
 

crazyzeus1

Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Sounds like the effect of Ammonia poisoning to me. Sorry, but it's probably permanent.
Would that be from shipping?
 

crazyzeus1

Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Yep.
Thank you so much for your input. We have ordered inverts before from internet & the bags have always been firm-full of air.
These came & (we also had 5 inverts in bags shipped too) all the bags were squishy & not well inflated. Could this have had anything to do with it?
My husband is done with ordering off of the internet. There must be a way that fish survive shipping...otherwise sites like this wouldn't exist...
 

bang guy

Moderator
Places like this probably use gas permeable bags and/or fill the bags with oxygen and a drop of Amquel to detoxify ammonia. Less than clean water will cause an extra buildup of Ammonia as well.
 

crazyzeus1

Member
Well, the water in both fish bags was REALLY murky already. The little fish didn't make it...when I was going back in to get him out to put him in the freezer, my Emarld Green crab was dragging him off. I did get him out of the tank & back to square one I guess.
 
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