Clown Fish at Top

[Birkholz51]

Hello!

I have had a tank set up for almost 5 weeks. It is 55g with 50lbs of live rock, a protien skimmer in a 10g sump with overflow. I also have a 450gph canister filter.

My problem is I got a clown fish 8 days ago and he is still hanging out at the top of the tank, near the water line. I have check all the water perameters, everything is good. Why is he staying at the top? Is this normal behavior of a clown? Right now he is the only fish in the tank with some hermit crabs. I'd eventually like to add fish and corals

 

[cloak]

Is the fish eating well?

 

[Birkholz51]

Yup, he is eating well and seems to have good coloring

 

[m1k3]

My last pair never came down from the back right corner unless they were chasing food. Was pretty irratating, but found out that a lot of people have similar experiences. Funny I never read about it until after getting a pair.

 

[skp]

If it's tank bred then it might be up there because it knows that's where the food first enters the tank. If that is the case, it probably will not come down anytime soon.

It could have been bullied in a previous tank. If that is the case, and it no longer has any fish bullying it, it should come down.

 

[ryeguyy84]

does it look like it's gasping for air at the top? if not clowns are weird but keep an eye on him.

 

[SailorDan]

I have a similar set up and saw the same behavior from my pair of tank bred clowns. After a while (couple of weeks?) they started to explore more of the tank (one is more adventurous than the other), but they continue to favor the top right corner of the tank, especially at night.

Maybe you could try playing with your aquascape or changing around your flow to encourage him to move around a bit? But if he is eating, i wouldn't worry too much.

 

[cloak]

As long as the fish is eating well and your not noticing anything out of the ordinary such as flashing, rapid breathing, clamped fins etc, then I wouldn't worry about it too much. Like mentioned above, clownfish can definitely act a little odd at times. Maybe when you add another fish to the tank the clown will settle down some. GL.

 

[CStrickland]

Mine did that at first, now he's bolder but he still goes back to his spot at the surface in the corner to sleep at night. I did read somewhere that you should be careful when you feed them not to let him gulp at food off the surface. I use a sinking food that he has to swim down a little bit to catch. I think they can swallow air and get sick or something?

 

[Birkholz51]

Other than staying near the water line and near the corner of the tank, he seems happy. Thank you, everyone!!

 

[sde1500]

My clown has been in his tank since April, and spends 90% of his time hanging out in the top left corner being "hosted" by my temperature probe. Just seems to be what they do. I actually get more worried when I see him down by the sand bed. I start to wonder if something is wrong haha.

 

[Shewillbemine]

No problems if he's eating. I had a clownfish that slept on the surface, on his side. I would have to poke him awake and he'd react slowly, as if waking up for the first time. I would always wonder if he was dead every morning!