clowns requirements and behaviour

cokevanilla · #1 11/11/2005, 12:21 PM

got a pair of clowns 2 days ago

yesterday i gave them some brine shrimp and they ate a little bit

today same thing on the menu but they won't pay any attention

1. is this ok?

2. should I try l8er in the day to feed them or i'll give another shot tomorrow?

3. one of them is swimming funny (chek the first photo...he was like this for almost 3-4 hrs)

4. what should I feed them besides brine shrimp? (which was recommended by the LFS)

5. one of them was rubbing his body (I think) on the Zoas... is this ok? or it's a sign of ich?

PS. i don't have a quarantine tank

; acclimated the fish for 3hr+ dripping method;

todays readings: ammonia, nitrate, nitrite are 0 and ph 7.8-8.0; temp 79.7 and salinity 1.025 ; tank's been running for 6 months with a couple of zoas, 1 coral plate 3 crabs and 3 snails; 21g ; this is my first pair of fish

thank you

Monkeyfish · #2 11/11/2005, 01:09 PM

pH is a little low... check your alkalinity and calcium. Brine fish is not a good food as it has very little nutrition. My clown (percula) likes mysis shrimp, Omega marine flake, cyclopeeze and tiny pieces of silversides. Feed them once or twice a day.

Their behavior sounds fairly normal for clowns. They are rather odd for fish, but that's part of their charm. The fish look healthy, though its hard to tell for certain from the pictures.

Ich would look like tiny white spots about the size of a grain of salt attached to their skin/scales. It may disappear for a few days, but will then reappear in greater numbers. Effective treatments are copper (cupramine) or hyposalinity treatments both of which should be done in a hospital tank as they will kill the other inhabitants of your display.

cokevanilla · #3 11/11/2005, 01:31 PM

my ph was always low; guess it's related with IO salt; I never dose for anything; i got spots of coraline over the galss, pumps and rocks so I thought the calcium should be ok; gotta buy some kits

how long do u feed your fish? if I got only 2 fish I guess half of cube is gonna be alright? i'll try some mysys shrimp right away

hope they will start eating

CrazyLionfish · #4 11/11/2005, 02:36 PM

1. Yes it is okay that they aren't eating right now, they are most likely still adjusting to their enviroment.

2. I'd try again later in the day

3. The clown swimming "funny" should be fine.

4. I wouldn't feed any brine shrimp, or rarely once you get them eating regularly. It's like the potato chips of the fish world, taste great, but aren't healthy at all! I'd feed mysis shrimp, or any good brand of pellets or flakes.

5. The clown rubbing himself on the zoas may be the clown trying to host the zoas as if they were an anemone.

When I feed my 40 gallon tank mysis (has a solar wrasse, a false percula clown from Bali, and a lawnmower blenny that just grazes on algae all day) I hold the cube inbetween my two fingers and shake it around near the powerhead so that little mysis shrimp come off. I do a little, let them eat it, then do a little more and continue until they are no longer hungry (usually a few minutes). I wouldn't just throw a half cube in there to begin with just incase they don't eat it. Just shake it around so a few mysis come off and see if they eat them.

cokevanilla · #5 11/11/2005, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CrazyLionfish
1. Yes it is okay that they aren't eating right now, they are most likely still adjusting to their enviroment.

2. I'd try again later in the day

3. The clown swimming "funny" should be fine.

4. I wouldn't feed any brine shrimp, or rarely once you get them eating regularly. It's like the potato chips of the fish world, taste great, but aren't healthy at all! I'd feed mysis shrimp, or any good brand of pellets or flakes.

5. The clown rubbing himself on the zoas may be the clown trying to host the zoas as if they were an anemone.

When I feed my 40 gallon tank mysis (has a solar wrasse, a false percula clown from Bali, and a lawnmower blenny that just grazes on algae all day) I hold the cube inbetween my two fingers and shake it around near the powerhead so that little mysis shrimp come off. I do a little, let them eat it, then do a little more and continue until they are no longer hungry (usually a few minutes). I wouldn't just throw a half cube in there to begin with just incase they don't eat it. Just shake it around so a few mysis come off and see if they eat them.

i dissolve it in water for like 10-15 minutes and then I feed them piece by piece; i wasn't gonna throw the cube inside

i guess they are adjusting to the environement

CrazyLionfish · #6 11/11/2005, 04:26 PM

Oh okay just checking

What brand of mysis are you using by the way?

richfavinger · #7 11/12/2005, 12:37 PM

I feed my fish (all of them) and the clowns, Ocean Nutrition's Formula 1, and Formula 2 Small Pellet, as well as flake (1 and 2), and I get a Saltwater Multi Pack of frozen foods (by SF Bay), one cube every other day or so. (Melt it in some tank water first) But every one gets fed, every day (Small feedings).
http://www.oceannutrition.com/

The clown rubbing himself or herself on the zoas may be the clown trying to host the zoas as if they were an anemone. My Maroon did this to my Brown Fuzzy Mushroom.

Rich

cokevanilla · #8 11/12/2005, 03:16 PM

this is the 3rd day and they are refusing any type of food (brine, mysis and silversides). i'll go tomorrow and buy some flakes

how long can they survive without eating?

one of the clowns is driving me nuts again, staying only at the top and in an almost vertical position ..like the pic above

d4a2n0k · #9 11/12/2005, 03:26 PM

If they are plump, they can go weeks without feeding. I dont think you will have to wait that long though as clowns usually settle in quickly.

The fish thats swimming vertically might have a swim bladder infection, just keep an eye on him.

Try flakes as thats what most LFS's feed the fish anyway.

cokevanilla · #10 11/12/2005, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by d4a2n0k
If they are plump, they can go weeks without feeding. I dont think you will have to wait that long though as clowns usually settle in quickly.

The fish thats swimming vertically might have a swim bladder infection, just keep an eye on him.

Try flakes as thats what most LFS's feed the fish anyway.

thank you

i'll see how it will turn out

richfavinger · #11 11/12/2005, 09:02 PM

My clowns took about a week to settle in. But they ate in about 3 days.
My Fox Face hid for almost a month, on the other hand. And was very shy for almost 3 months.

Rich

cokevanilla · #12 11/13/2005, 09:29 AM

one of the clowns is one one side lying at the bottom of the tank; is breathing heavily; that is the fish that was swimming "funny"; i do not know what is wrong with it........ ; it was sick when I got it? i feel like crying

any suggestions?

few minutes later

is dead....hmmmm

richfavinger · #13 11/13/2005, 11:04 AM

My first pair of clowns did that, one died. Had ich. Dead before I had a chance to treat it. Treated the other for a week to be safe. Got another one, and now they are best buds.

Any 2 clowns will do, (same type) you will always get a pair.
Try again...

Rich

cokevanilla · #14 11/13/2005, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by richfavinger
My first pair of clowns did that, one died. Had ich. Dead before I had a chance to treat it. Treated the other for a week to be safe. Got another one, and now they are best buds.

Any 2 clowns will do, (same type) you will always get a pair.
Try again...

Rich

well....that was ich? killed him so fast? no white spots, no skin peeling off ; what i mean is that the signs were not there

of course I will try another pair...but first let's see if the last one is going to make it

d4a2n0k · #15 11/13/2005, 12:47 PM

Probably a swim bladder infection. Ich wouldnt have killed him so fast.

CrazyLionfish · #16 11/13/2005, 01:07 PM

I had a wild caught pair of false percs from Bali. They did great to begin with, one was about 3 inches and the other about 1.5. The large one swam weird for a while, then started shedding his slime coat, but he was still eating, so I thought there was hope. A few days later he died, this is going to sound bad, but it was kind of a relief, I was going to take him out soon anways because I didn't want him to infect the other fish. I think he had brookeneylla (sp?) taught me to buy tank raised clowns from then on. Since then my little clownfish has appeared to "pair" with my solar wrasse, well not literally, but they are always swimming next to each other!

richfavinger · #17 11/13/2005, 02:24 PM

The one that died on me had a mouth fungus of some sort, but also hand sand grain tiny white spots too. He was dead with in 48hrs from getting him from the shop.

Rich

CrazyLionfish · #18 11/13/2005, 03:59 PM

When I listed the symptoms of mine, most people said it was an internal parasite, but it soon gained the symptoms of brook.

cokevanilla · #19 11/13/2005, 10:09 PM

do u have any link with fish diseases ?

CrazyLionfish · #20 11/13/2005, 10:12 PM

Well some basic descriptions.

Ich - white dots

Brook - usually the slime coat comes off in a white "sheet"

Internal Parasites - usually when you see no visual sign of disease and they are on the bottom breathing hard

External Parasites - usually some weird looking thing attached to them

Swim Bladder Problem - Swimming vertically

cokevanilla · #21 11/15/2005, 09:16 AM

my second clown died

he was swimming normally, but in it's last day he was at the bottom, breathing hard and on his head he had something like a red spot (right near the left gill) and anoher spot on the forehead; second, he had something like little holes (where the 1 white stripe is, near the gills too) ;

any help here?

RichConley · #22 11/15/2005, 10:39 AM

are there any other fish in this tank? how are they doing? The first fish dying is understandable, he was visibly not healthy. The second one doesnt make much sense.

cokevanilla · #23 11/15/2005, 11:46 AM

there is no other fish in the tank; this was a pair I got last week and both of them r dead; i do not know if they were tank raised or captured in the wilderness

ill try to explain better the symptoms:

the second fish with the red spots : is like when u r getting hit on the body and in a few days u will have a bruise .. a red mark, or blue, purple..whatever that is underneath ur skin; he had something similar ; concerning the "little holes" is like when you have a a portion of your skin wich is irritated (small bumps ...); he had those too on the 1 stripe, near eyes; some of the bumps were like volcano craters ... wih holes in it; dunno if they were going inside the body or only at the surface; the poor fish struggled so much i was almost crying; he was breathing hard and from time to time he tried to swim.....but t was irregular and he was turning himself around in all the directions; it was a nightmare for me and a painfull dead for him

PS both fish were looking healthy in the display tank and in my tank for the first day; second, they ate just a little bit in the first day too;

CrazyLionfish · #24 11/15/2005, 06:00 PM

I'm guessing they were wild caught, very very few tank raised clowns get diseases, they're almost invincible. Wild caught clowns on the other hand are quite prone to many diseases. This sounds kind of bad, but if I was you, I'd try putting a cheap fish in there, maybe a damsel (but he'd be hard to get out) and see if he gets the disease. Because whatever it is that killed your fish seems to be a "mystery" so trying a damsel out will show you if it is something contagious or if it was just in your two clowns, actulley.. damsels are very hardy so they may not attain a disease. Anyways.. you get my point. Other than that if you were going to try clowns again make sure they are eating at your LFS, put them on hold for a few days to a week and make sure they're still healthy, also make sure they're not wild caught.