Can a Clownfish die from Exhaustion?

[desx2501]

Hi,
Today I add a powerhead/pump in my 55g tank, with a single clown fish in it. Now, there seems to be a lot of current, and the fish has to swim almost all the time.

There are some places near the bottom where the current is almost inexistent due to the live rocks there, but she always stays in a top corner, like before I had the pump.

Will this be bad for her?

Thanks,
Xavier

 

[aleonn]

When I first got my two Korallias for my 37g, my clownfish loved the flow and kept on swimming against the current. I think they love swimming like that, or it can be my clownfish.

 

[Photo_John]

The flow over a natural reef is much greater than we can create in our aquariums. your clown will be fine assuming you dont go crazy and put 10 hydor k5s all on one side of your 55

 

[elegance coral]

Like any other animal on the planet, they can absolutely die of exhaustion. Clownfish are poor swimmers. It takes allot of energy for them to fight strong currents. The more work they have to do, the more calories they need to consume to fuel that work. This can lead to a nutritional deficit and health problems. If the clownfish appears to be struggling, I would reduce the flow.

Some clowns like to play in the flow occasionally. I had one that would swim up to the discharge from the return and get blown all the way across the tank. Then it would swim along the bottom and back up to the return, to take the ride all over again. She would do this over and over, but she had her anemone where she spent most of her time and could rest. I also had a little male ocellaris living in a magnifica with rather strong random flow. Sometimes he had to work pretty hard against the flow. When it got to much for him, he would grab a tentacle in his mouth and flap in the breeze like a flag. He did have the ability to hide under the polyp and rest though. IMHO, they can tolerate high flow rates, IF they have a place to take refuge if needed. In your case, if the clown has staked out the top corner as her territory, she may not feel she has the option to go somewhere else to rest. In the wild, a clown that leaves their territory/anemone is putting their life at serious risk.

 

[aleonn]

Well, if you think there's too much total current in the tank, you can always angle the powerheads toward the front glass or towards the surface.