clown fish bumping into tank like a psycho

Be4Sims

Be4Sims

New member
why is one of my clown fish bumping into the tank side (in the exact same place every time) over and over . He won't calm down unless I tun the tank light off and put a dark blanket over it so it is completely dark.
I also "fenced " over the area he was obsessively banging his wee little head into to stop him smacking it. with some plastic netting..
What causes this bizarre behaviour?
the other clownfish, female ( his mate), is fine...
 
When I was married I would often pound my head into the wall also.

There are strange items of some clowns. Espc since sometimes they are inbred so much. How did the netting do?
 
worm5406 said:
When I was married I would often pound my head into the wall also.

There are strange items of some clowns. Espc since sometimes they are inbred so much. How did the netting do?
Click to expand...

Netting seems to have helped... at least I think so, although I have kept the light off for most of the day to try to calm him down..
I may take the netting out today to see if the behavior recurs..
 
He's probably seeing his reflection in the glass, thinking its another male clown. I just recently posted a thread here about my yellow coris wrasse, doing the exact same thing. I wasn't sure if it was dominance or stress related. Eatbreakfast, suggested its probably dominance related. My wrasse stopped this after a few days. This was always very common behavior when I kept African Cichlids.
 
Robert M said:
He's probably seeing his reflection in the glass, thinking its another male clown. I just recently posted a thread here about my yellow coris wrasse, doing the exact same thing. I wasn't sure if it was dominance or stress related. Eatbreakfast, suggested its probably dominance related. My wrasse stopped this after a few days. This was always very common behavior when I kept African Cichlids.
Click to expand...

that makes sense, but he can see his reflection in 3 sides of the whole tank.. back has a picture on it.. why just one spot like the two same inches he keeps smacking into, I wonder ?
 
Clownfish smacking onto glass "cure"

Clownfish smacking onto glass "cure"

Be4Sims said:
Netting seems to have helped... at least I think so, although I have kept the light off for most of the day to try to calm him down..
I may take the netting out today to see if the behavior recurs..
Click to expand...

They both started swimming madly at one side of tank only. like two psychos!.
I read through all of Robert M's posts about his yellow coris wrasse behaviour...
"" "Originally Posted by Robert M
"He's probably seeing his reflection in the glass, thinking its another male clown. I just recently posted a thread here about my yellow coris wrasse, doing the exact same thing. I wasn't sure if it was dominance or stress related. Eatbreakfast, suggested its probably dominance related. My wrasse stopped this after a few days. This was always very common behavior when I kept African Cichlids. """

and so I bought some stiff white plastic net and put it inside both of the two sides of the aquarium so they can't see their reflection at all, and now they are (finally) swimming all around the rocks , and up to top and down to bottom and looking super happy and not smacking into the sides ..
Hope it lasts...crazy little buggers...
 
Glad to hear you found a solution. I couldn't tell you why it was happening in one particular spot but my wrasse did the same.
 
Clownfish that are swimming all around the tank are not happy but restless because they are homeless.

They are naturally living in an anemone and usually only leaving it for food or defending their home (anemone) and nest.

If you don't have an anemone you should give them a suitable surrogate to get them to behave naturally.
I usually use ceramic flowerpots which clownfish seem to like as anemone replacement:

attachment.php


The picture shows my current percula pair in the treatment tank. They were at first also swimming restless around the tank but took the pots as anemone replacement after a day.
 
ThRoewer said:
Clownfish that are swimming all around the tank are not happy but restless because they are homeless.

They are naturally living in an anemone and usually only leaving it for food or defending their home (anemone) and nest.

If you don't have an anemone you should give them a suitable surrogate to get them to behave naturally.
I usually use ceramic flowerpots which clownfish seem to like as anemone replacement:

attachment.php


The picture shows my current percula pair in the treatment tank. They were at first also swimming restless around the tank but took the pots as anemone replacement after a day.
Click to expand...

Will get ceramic pots . thanks...
 
i have a piece of galaxia that is hosting my clowns. it's funny because until the lights come one, the coral is only about an inch square. the clowns swim around above it, seemingly confused. after the lights come on and the coral opens up, they are in and out of it all day long.
 
Mine bounce between my LTA, my BTA, my frogspawn, and my pulsing Xenia.

Except for my female, she has been hiding in the rocks lately and I don't know why, the male continues to be out in the open.
 
Hmm, I can't get that picture to show. Is it in your DT or in a quarantine tank? I have a clown in QT now, it seems to have taken to a piece of PVC, but I may try the ceramic pot later. What about when it goes into the display, if there's no host, do I have to add the ceramic pot as well? Doesn't really match the décor, but if it's necessary, I will do it.
 
Never mind, I see you said it's in the treatment tank. And I see the picture. Is the orientation of the pot important? Looks like you have yours somewhat vertically.
 
jml1149 said:
Never mind, I see you said it's in the treatment tank. And I see the picture. Is the orientation of the pot important? Looks like you have yours somewhat vertically.
Click to expand...

Also I want to know how to place ceramic pot for most favorable hosting....
Just added pot to tank. Its a FO Without LR tank.
 
I'm going to grab a couple from Home Depot on the way home tonight and give it a try invarious orientations. I'll post some pictures / results as I get them. This is my first rodeo though, so we will see. As always, appreciate the help.
 
My trip to Home Depot last night was not productive. It was icy out in the garden center so they wouldn't let me out there to buy a pot. Even the manager said "No sir, you can't buy pot tonight".

"Just to clarify I mean a clay pot, not the party kind. They're right there. I can see them next to the guy shoveling snow. I will walk through the snow. I do not care."

"Sorry sir, the garden center is closed. You cannot buy pot."

"Not the party kind."

"..."

Sigh.

:headwalls: <- always wanted to use that.

Will try Lowe's tonight.
 
Some people just do not have a sense of humor. It would have been easier for him to ASK the person shoveling snow to give him/you one and then go back to shoveling.
 
So I got to Lowes and got a couple 4" clay pots. I fed the fish first, not much doing. I cleaned the pot, rinsed in RO water, dropped in, and the clown took to it almost immediately. Seriously. Within minutes of the pot being in there, it was rubbing against it and swimming in and out of it. I just laid it on its side and boom. And then, I don't want to get too excited, it looked like she started nipping at food floating around from me stirring things up. Just maybe... We will see tomorrow...

But seriously, and maybe this is common knowledge, but perhaps clowns really need something to host in, be it rock work or a anemone or a clay pot, but something, even in qt. and I've done plenty of searching here, on the Google, etc but never put 2 and 2 together.

I tried pvc and it just didn't work. So far, this $0.76 clay pot seems to be a much more effective solution. But we will see.
 
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