Why won't my clown swim lower?

Jord1016 · 04/15/2008, 10:34 AM

My new addition of a clowfish is awsome he is always zippin' around and finally I have something to look at and enjoy in the tank.

However, he never goes below the line of live rock (also the same level of the two hk #1's L&R sides). He stays glued to the area above it but I never see him go down in between the rocks or anywhere low in the tank for that matter.

Is this common for this bread? And if not, what can I do to help him venture further?

(he's chillin' out in the upper left)

Michael · 04/15/2008, 10:41 AM

hi jord, my clown has been in my tank for nearly 4 months now and it always stays in 1 place it is usually in the top right hand corner, i think this because it knows i feed around this area, i have lately changed the feeding area of the tank and it is now a little more adventurous it dosent swim at low levels though, this is hopefully my way of putting your mind at rest, all clowns probably have their own personalities but mine sounds similar to your in its habbits

sufunk · 04/15/2008, 10:56 AM

Ditto with my false perc. Used to have two of them(one jumped

) but i dont think i have EVER seen either of them go in the bottom 10-12 inches of my tank, EVER! Even when i had carpet anemones, they never went anywhere near it.

The remaining perc stays swimming in about the top 8" of the tank and never goes below that even to chase food. If he misses it on the way down, he would rather go hungry than venture towards the bottom of the tank

Michael · 04/15/2008, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sufunk
Ditto with my false perc. Used to have two of them(one jumped ) but i dont think i have EVER seen either of them go in the bottom 10-12 inches of my tank, EVER! Even when i had carpet anemones, they never went anywhere near it.

The remaining perc stays swimming in about the top 8" of the tank and never goes below that even to chase food. If he misses it on the way down, he would rather go hungry than venture towards the bottom of the tank

that is a very good point, mine never chases food either if it misses it and the food drops in the tank, it just chases the food high in the tank

MrRoo · 04/15/2008, 11:35 AM

Mine hang out near the top as well but it will chase food! It will steal food hanging out of my tangs mouth lol. At night they stay in the top left corner not even 1/4 of an inch under the water right above the powerhead but they use to sleep on the sand though. Mine will venture down into the bottom of the tank, they swim all over.

Jord1016 · 04/15/2008, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sufunk
Ditto with my false perc. Used to have two of them(one jumped ) but i dont think i have EVER seen either of them go in the bottom 10-12 inches of my tank, EVER! Even when i had carpet anemones, they never went anywhere near it.

The remaining perc stays swimming in about the top 8" of the tank and never goes below that even to chase food. If he misses it on the way down, he would rather go hungry than venture towards the bottom of the tank

Oh ya that reminds me... from the picture (I know it might be hard to tell) is that a false perc.? My friend was telling me if he is in fact a "real" clownfish he'll be super aggressive and "good luck" getting another fish in their without a war.... any truth to that and would apply to my fish?

deschlayer · 04/15/2008, 01:03 PM

are these clowns cb? my wild clarkii behaves quite different, if I am in the room making eye contact with the tank he is at the surface. at night he sleeps on a patch of hair algee(sad but I think he thinks it is an anenamee, he slepps on his side as if he was dead just lying in the grass) during the day he is all over the place. back to his hosting habbits

I have seen him bring "it" food, he might just be retarded. He also trys to mate with my hippo tang(swimming up and down and side to side right in front of it)

sufunk · 04/15/2008, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jord1016
Oh ya that reminds me... from the picture (I know it might be hard to tell) is that a false perc.? My friend was telling me if he is in fact a "real" clownfish he'll be super aggressive and "good luck" getting another fish in their without a war.... any truth to that and would apply to my fish?

Hard for me to tell without a more close up pic but from what you posted, my guess would be a false perc.

sufunk · 04/15/2008, 01:28 PM

Btw, just a suggestion.

You may want to move at least one of those powerheads up a little bit or at least point it upward and get a little movement at the surface. It looks pretty still at the top in the pic.

You may have that covered already and the pic is just deceiving though, if so just ignore me

papagimp · 04/15/2008, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jord1016
My friend was telling me if he is in fact a "real" clownfish he'll be super aggressive and "good luck" getting another fish in their without a war.... any truth to that and would apply to my fish?

A false percula (also known as an ocellaris clownfish) is a real clownfish. clownfish in general are very territorial. With degrees of aggressiveness depending on the species. I've never had a problem with this in regards to true or false percs. Every ocellaris I've owned stayed near the bottom of my tanks, rarely above my rock line, and last pair (black and white variety) had no problems chasing food whever it floated to.

I can't view the photo while on the work PC so can't comment on species.

Jord1016 · 04/15/2008, 02:17 PM

I'll see if I can get a closer shot of him later tonight once I'm back home to help identify the lil' guy.

Also when the time is right could anyone suggest a good choice for my next fish. I need easy care and a pleasant temperament and of course has to be friendly with my clown. I was thinking a 6-line wrasse... whatcha think?

sufunk · 04/15/2008, 02:27 PM

I dont like wrasse's so i'm biased but i would suggest my favorite small fish: Midas Blenny!

Great color and both one's i've owned have had more personality than all my other fish combined. I've also never had a problem with them and any other tankmate's including false perc's.

seanb1 · 04/15/2008, 06:44 PM

get another percula.

my percs are all over the place, they never sit still till the lights go out. then its to their spot under a overhanging rock on the bottom.

demonsp · 04/15/2008, 06:51 PM

First that tank doesnt look cycled or ready for a fish.Then i see very little surface movement. Your waters O2 supply is from goos flow and surface exchange for O2 supply.Then a HOB filter will help by breaking the surface tension. I would have got 2 K3's or even 1 k3 and 1 k4. Ill bet addtional water flow would help.

seanb1 · 04/15/2008, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by demonsp
First that tank doesnt look cycled or ready for a fish.Then i see very little surface movement. Your waters O2 supply is from goos flow and surface exchange for O2 supply.Then a HOB filter will help by breaking the surface tension. I would have got 2 K3's or even 1 k3 and 1 k4. Ill bet addtional water flow would help.

yeah i see that tanks only been up a couple weeks from previous posts.

seanb1 · 04/15/2008, 07:22 PM

yeah demonsp's advice sounds good considering your tank has only been up a couple weeks.

i didnt add any fish for almost 4 months, advice from club members.

make sure your ammonia isnt up.

Michael · 04/16/2008, 12:38 AM

dont want to jump on the band wagon here, but your tank does look flat for movement at the top, try adjusting your phs, anyhow regardless of this as i said mine likes the top as well, by the way my surface movement is vigorious

Jord1016 · 04/16/2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by seanndenise1
yeah demonsp's advice sounds good considering your tank has only been up a couple weeks.

i didnt add any fish for almost 4 months, advice from club members.

make sure your ammonia isnt up.

All the levels are perfect... I test daily

I know its soon but bad advice from my LFS left me in this situation so I'm going to do my best to keep the lil' guy alive and well fed.

As for water movement I can't believe two hk#1's won't give adequate water flow? I do agree the top looked still in that photo however the two filter outlets do give the surface a good surface agitation creating little bubbles bubbles and wave-like movement.

Michael · 04/16/2008, 02:16 PM

yeah i think 2 phs in your tank looks ok as well, it just maybe acase of altering the direction, but yeah your tanks fine no problem as far as im concerned, it just looks flat at the top that s all

sufunk · 04/16/2008, 02:17 PM

Hey, we all make mistakes, live and learn. It's a miracle anything lived in my 1st tank looking back at the retarded things i did before finding this place. Now that you know though, i would wait a little and let the tank adjust before adding anything else. A 37g is pretty small and it doesn't take much too make things go sour in a tank that size.

My small tank is a 36g bow front with a K1 and a K2 and that gives it MORE than enough flow. Everything waving like mad and unless i was going to put some sps in there, anymore flow would be too much,imo.

Like i said before, if it was me, i would just move what you have up a little or point one towards the top and you should be fine.

Jord1016 · 04/16/2008, 03:42 PM

K... so take one of my hk #1's up higher in the tank to create more movement at the top. But would there be enough movement down lower then? I really got the two head to help circulate water through my large amount of Live Rock (55lbs)... just curious what my happy medium would be as fas as placement?

demonsp · 04/17/2008, 04:37 PM

I would get 1 more koralia then face then toward the front center glas facing more toward the bottom.A skimmer or HOB filter to help break surface tension would really help.

04/15/2008, 10:41 AM	#2
Michael NTTH Rookie Help Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gloucester, England,UK Posts: 7,808 Blog Entries: 6	hi jord, my clown has been in my tank for nearly 4 months now and it always stays in 1 place it is usually in the top right hand corner, i think this because it knows i feed around this area, i have lately changed the feeding area of the tank and it is now a little more adventurous it dosent swim at low levels though, this is hopefully my way of putting your mind at rest, all clowns probably have their own personalities but mine sounds similar to your in its habbits __________________ Don't be afraid to ask questions, we in the new to the hobby are here to help you [For My Tank Spec,Photo Album,Articles and website, click on my name] MY Very Kindest and Warmest Regards , MIKE Current Tank Info: I have a 92 gal Corner Tank, and way too many pieces of equipment to list really, (proud member of the reef central corner club)

04/15/2008, 10:56 AM	#3
sufunk Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Davie, Florida Posts: 2,004	Ditto with my false perc. Used to have two of them(one jumped ) but i dont think i have EVER seen either of them go in the bottom 10-12 inches of my tank, EVER! Even when i had carpet anemones, they never went anywhere near it. The remaining perc stays swimming in about the top 8" of the tank and never goes below that even to chase food. If he misses it on the way down, he would rather go hungry than venture towards the bottom of the tank __________________ Florida President of J.S.S.J (Jessica Simpson is a Shemale Jinx!!!) Current Tank Info: 36g reef and 180g reef, 3x250w Phoenix 14k MH's and 8x39w T-5's, 2 Tunze 6100's with 7095 controller, 2 Koralia 3's, ASM-G3 skimmer, mag-12 return, eco systems sump/fuge

04/15/2008, 01:28 PM	#9
sufunk Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Davie, Florida Posts: 2,004	Btw, just a suggestion. You may want to move at least one of those powerheads up a little bit or at least point it upward and get a little movement at the surface. It looks pretty still at the top in the pic. You may have that covered already and the pic is just deceiving though, if so just ignore me __________________ Florida President of J.S.S.J (Jessica Simpson is a Shemale Jinx!!!) Current Tank Info: 36g reef and 180g reef, 3x250w Phoenix 14k MH's and 8x39w T-5's, 2 Tunze 6100's with 7095 controller, 2 Koralia 3's, ASM-G3 skimmer, mag-12 return, eco systems sump/fuge

04/15/2008, 02:17 PM	#11
Jord1016 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 94	I'll see if I can get a closer shot of him later tonight once I'm back home to help identify the lil' guy. Also when the time is right could anyone suggest a good choice for my next fish. I need easy care and a pleasant temperament and of course has to be friendly with my clown. I was thinking a 6-line wrasse... whatcha think? Last edited by Jord1016; 04/15/2008 at 02:28 PM.

04/15/2008, 02:27 PM	#12
sufunk Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Davie, Florida Posts: 2,004	I dont like wrasse's so i'm biased but i would suggest my favorite small fish: Midas Blenny! Great color and both one's i've owned have had more personality than all my other fish combined. I've also never had a problem with them and any other tankmate's including false perc's. __________________ Florida President of J.S.S.J (Jessica Simpson is a Shemale Jinx!!!) Current Tank Info: 36g reef and 180g reef, 3x250w Phoenix 14k MH's and 8x39w T-5's, 2 Tunze 6100's with 7095 controller, 2 Koralia 3's, ASM-G3 skimmer, mag-12 return, eco systems sump/fuge

04/15/2008, 10:34 AM	#1
Jord1016 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 94	Why won't my clown swim lower? My new addition of a clowfish is awsome he is always zippin' around and finally I have something to look at and enjoy in the tank. However, he never goes below the line of live rock (also the same level of the two hk #1's L&R sides). He stays glued to the area above it but I never see him go down in between the rocks or anywhere low in the tank for that matter. Is this common for this bread? And if not, what can I do to help him venture further? (he's chillin' out in the upper left) Last edited by Jord1016; 04/15/2008 at 10:47 AM.

04/15/2008, 11:35 AM	#5
MrRoo Moved On Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Alta Loma, CA Posts: 629	Mine hang out near the top as well but it will chase food! It will steal food hanging out of my tangs mouth lol. At night they stay in the top left corner not even 1/4 of an inch under the water right above the powerhead but they use to sleep on the sand though. Mine will venture down into the bottom of the tank, they swim all over.

04/15/2008, 01:03 PM	#7
deschlayer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: estero Posts: 73	are these clowns cb? my wild clarkii behaves quite different, if I am in the room making eye contact with the tank he is at the surface. at night he sleeps on a patch of hair algee(sad but I think he thinks it is an anenamee, he slepps on his side as if he was dead just lying in the grass) during the day he is all over the place. back to his hosting habbits I have seen him bring "it" food, he might just be retarded. He also trys to mate with my hippo tang(swimming up and down and side to side right in front of it)

04/15/2008, 06:44 PM	#13
seanb1 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: bettendorf, iowa Posts: 668	get another percula. my percs are all over the place, they never sit still till the lights go out. then its to their spot under a overhanging rock on the bottom. __________________ he who knows how, will always work for he who knows why..... David lee Roth. Current Tank Info: 125 reef/29 gal sump/29 gal fuge 3- 175w 20k xm mh/4 65w actinic, octopus nw-200 skimmer3 k-4s mag-12. 2 returns. 2 phosban reactors, GFO/carbon.

04/15/2008, 06:51 PM	#14
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	First that tank doesnt look cycled or ready for a fish.Then i see very little surface movement. Your waters O2 supply is from goos flow and surface exchange for O2 supply.Then a HOB filter will help by breaking the surface tension. I would have got 2 K3's or even 1 k3 and 1 k4. Ill bet addtional water flow would help.

04/15/2008, 07:22 PM	#16
seanb1 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: bettendorf, iowa Posts: 668	yeah demonsp's advice sounds good considering your tank has only been up a couple weeks. i didnt add any fish for almost 4 months, advice from club members. make sure your ammonia isnt up. __________________ he who knows how, will always work for he who knows why..... David lee Roth. Current Tank Info: 125 reef/29 gal sump/29 gal fuge 3- 175w 20k xm mh/4 65w actinic, octopus nw-200 skimmer3 k-4s mag-12. 2 returns. 2 phosban reactors, GFO/carbon.

04/16/2008, 12:38 AM	#17
Michael NTTH Rookie Help Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gloucester, England,UK Posts: 7,808 Blog Entries: 6	dont want to jump on the band wagon here, but your tank does look flat for movement at the top, try adjusting your phs, anyhow regardless of this as i said mine likes the top as well, by the way my surface movement is vigorious __________________ Don't be afraid to ask questions, we in the new to the hobby are here to help you [For My Tank Spec,Photo Album,Articles and website, click on my name] MY Very Kindest and Warmest Regards , MIKE Current Tank Info: I have a 92 gal Corner Tank, and way too many pieces of equipment to list really, (proud member of the reef central corner club)

04/16/2008, 02:16 PM	#19
Michael NTTH Rookie Help Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gloucester, England,UK Posts: 7,808 Blog Entries: 6	yeah i think 2 phs in your tank looks ok as well, it just maybe acase of altering the direction, but yeah your tanks fine no problem as far as im concerned, it just looks flat at the top that s all __________________ Don't be afraid to ask questions, we in the new to the hobby are here to help you [For My Tank Spec,Photo Album,Articles and website, click on my name] MY Very Kindest and Warmest Regards , MIKE Current Tank Info: I have a 92 gal Corner Tank, and way too many pieces of equipment to list really, (proud member of the reef central corner club)

04/16/2008, 02:17 PM	#20
sufunk Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Davie, Florida Posts: 2,004	Hey, we all make mistakes, live and learn. It's a miracle anything lived in my 1st tank looking back at the retarded things i did before finding this place. Now that you know though, i would wait a little and let the tank adjust before adding anything else. A 37g is pretty small and it doesn't take much too make things go sour in a tank that size. My small tank is a 36g bow front with a K1 and a K2 and that gives it MORE than enough flow. Everything waving like mad and unless i was going to put some sps in there, anymore flow would be too much,imo. Like i said before, if it was me, i would just move what you have up a little or point one towards the top and you should be fine. __________________ Florida President of J.S.S.J (Jessica Simpson is a Shemale Jinx!!!) Current Tank Info: 36g reef and 180g reef, 3x250w Phoenix 14k MH's and 8x39w T-5's, 2 Tunze 6100's with 7095 controller, 2 Koralia 3's, ASM-G3 skimmer, mag-12 return, eco systems sump/fuge

04/16/2008, 03:42 PM	#21
Jord1016 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 94	K... so take one of my hk #1's up higher in the tank to create more movement at the top. But would there be enough movement down lower then? I really got the two head to help circulate water through my large amount of Live Rock (55lbs)... just curious what my happy medium would be as fas as placement?

04/17/2008, 04:37 PM	#22
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	I would get 1 more koralia then face then toward the front center glas facing more toward the bottom.A skimmer or HOB filter to help break surface tension would really help.