normal for ocellaris?

hi all, i got a pair of ocellaris about four weeks ago and just had a question and maybe a few pointers.

when i first got them they both stayed towards the top and occasionally popped at the surface... my friend said i didn't have enough oxygen in the tank for them so I immediately got an air stone, introduced some of my friend's green algae to the tank, and made sure the temperature stayed at a constant 80 Fahrenheit.

after about two days the female was seemed happier and is swimming about the entire tank. the male however still stays around the top. he no longer bubbles like a beta, so i think he is feeling better but i just wanted to know if this is normal or not.

my tank is 30 gallons, good water, specific gravity of 1.024, about 25-30lbs of live rock, live sand, and several soft coral frags that my friend gave me (sorry, i don't know the specific names)

also, i apologize for the poor grammar/ lack of capitalization, i'm typing this on my phone and it tends not to cooperate with me.

anyway, thanks for the help!

collin

Welcome!

Could you be more specific on the water parameters? How long has the tank been up and running? What kind of filtration do you have? What do you have as far as powerheads or pumps?

If you want to you can start a thread under the geeks files for your tank. There is also an introduction thread if you want to tell us about yourself.

As for the clowns, Ill defer the the experts for your question. I threw out there some of the things I know they will need to know to help you with the problem. Again Welcome to the Geek!

Hi Collin!! Welcome to the site.

Have you tested for any other parameters, like nitrates or phosphates or ammonia?

How old is your tank?

Got any pics

Collin

IMO its normal for them to hang out in one spot when they are first added to a tank. Once they get used to the new surroundings they should move around a bit more however clownfish in general dont do a whole lot of swimming.

You didnt mention what other fish you have in the tank or what kind of water flow you have. I doubt the tank is low in O2 unless you have almost no water movement.

Also if you post up pics of the corals you have we can help you ID them.

Not sure how much help I can offer with this, but I have two different clownfish (one maroon and one oscellaris) that both bob near the surface. They will occasionally swim around other areas of the tank, but in general the like sticking around up top.

I know clownfish are "hosters," so they tend to get attached to one particular thing (and this thing can be any thing, really, from coral to powerheads). Perhaps your clownfish are "hosting" the area you see them bobbing around. Just a thought - I am definitely no expert!!

I am no help - but, I did inherit a clownfish once that "bobbed" like you say... I put him in an established tank and he continued to do the same thing...after a week or so he died...

maybe its a swim bladder infection???

I think every fish I've ever added after my purple tang have been forced to hang out in a corner until the tang has decided to let them swim about.

It's not uncommon to have fish bobbing around the surface, especially when newly added. I wouldn't be too concerned unless it's staying up there because something (another fish) is causing them to stay there.

hi again all,

my tank has been set up for about two months, the clowns have been there for about a month..

so i checked my water and my nitrates were a little high, so i did a 15% water change..

@ladyofireland -in terms of hosting a power head, the little male does seem to do this at night as he swims basically on it during that time.

chris&barb- for coral, my friend gave me a piece of rock that had some dullish green palys on it that have really come to life since i got the tank (really wish i had a photo), and a piece of live rock that has some pink "cloves" as he called them (sorry i'm not an expert), and the picture below is of some other type of coral (i took the picture about a month ago, right before i got the clownfish, it has grown like weeds and has consumed that entire four lb piece of rock and has spread to the glass)

my camera on my phone broke before i got the other coral so this is the best i got right now.. sorry!!

Oh yes, star polyps grow like CRAZY!! Looks like you started with a small patch of pink star polyps ^_^

My maroon hosts the only powerhead in my tank, too It's kinda funny

Yes star polyps will do that - sometimes it's best to keep them on a lone rock by themselves so they don't overtake real estate other corals are trying to grow on.

Nice easy starter coral though.

hi again all! thanks for all the advice/coral recognition!!!
everything in my tank is doing well, except now my little one is starting to hang around the palys....is he going to get continually stung and just have to learn not to go around them? is there a way to help him or is he just going to have to find out the hard way? i thought about maybe moving the palys to a spot in the tank that he doesn't venture to as often and perhaps put some frogspawn there... any pointers, advice, past experiences, yay or nay? Thanks again!!!

They wont sting them. Id be more worried about the palys staying closed then the clown getting hurt. Clowns will host in all kinds of corals in the aquarium. As long as the clowns arent picking at it both should be fine.

Originally Posted by Gustavus_scrumhalf

hi again all! thanks for all the advice/coral recognition!!!
everything in my tank is doing well, except now my little one is starting to hang around the palys....is he going to get continually stung and just have to learn not to go around them? is there a way to help him or is he just going to have to find out the hard way? i thought about maybe moving the palys to a spot in the tank that he doesn't venture to as often and perhaps put some frogspawn there... any pointers, advice, past experiences, yay or nay? Thanks again!!!

Originally Posted by chris&barb

They wont sting them. Id be more worried about the palys staying closed then the clown getting hurt. Clowns will host in all kinds of corals in the aquarium. As long as the clowns arent picking at it both should be fine.

I agree with Chris that the palys will not sting your little guy. What is the fish acting like around them that makes you think he's getting stung? If it is a jerky kinda of movement, then that is your clown's sign of hosting

I have a frogspawn/hammer morph in my tank, specifically for my clown, but he still chooses to host a powerhead - go figure! I would add frogspawn to your tank if YOU want it. I wouldn't add coral specifically for a clownfish. A lot of times, they just won't take to it!

Glad to see everything is going well!

Originally Posted by Gustavus_scrumhalf

so i checked my water and my nitrates were a little high, so i did a 15% water change.

what were the nitrates? what are they now? how's the clowns appetite?


btw.....