Clownfish, swimming weird

[xoclutch]

This is my first post here,

I have a 55 Gallon tank, up and running salinity 1.023, temp 78F. No coral yet, I purchased two clownfish a week or so ago.

They are my first fish in the tank sense its been setup, I'm new to the hobby.

Had a small spike in ammonia when i first put them in about 0.5ppm, but back to zero now. Anyways, One of the clownfish is doing great, I got him from the pet store, the other I purchased from an online vendor.

The one I purchased from an online vendor for the past week has been swimming strangely he swiming's like his rear fin, is heavy(at a slightly upward angle). He's eating, and swimming around the tank and gets along great with the other clownfish. He looks healthy with no spots or signs of sickness of any kind. I did some searching on the forum and was unable to find anything in regards to this type of sickness.

I figured I would let him try and get some rest, and for the past weeks he hasn't changed. Yesterday I added some sand to my tank, using a long funnel as slowly as possibly however this definitively freaked the poor guy out. So I decided to stop.

He laid on the flow of the tank breathing heavily and looking like he was done for. He has since began swimming like before however now he still hangs out at the bottom of the tank.

I'm worried it maybe a problem with his swim bladder. Is there anything I can do besides just keep an eye on him?

Thanks

 

[HurricaneSystem]

Sounds like a couple of things. New tank, water parameters spike. Are you using RO water or tap? Adding some type of chlorine eliminator?

Make sure you have adequate water flow too. Not sure how old your setup is, but it sounds like the nitrogen cycle is getting him.

 

[xoclutch]

All the water is from my RODI unit, 4 Stage.. TDS shows 000.

I have three power heads, im only running 2 at the moment.

 

[xoclutch]

My nitrate levels are very high. I have a deep sand bed, however I think its too new to be effective.

At the moment i've been performing water changes, to try and keep the nitrate levels low. Other than that I'm not sure what else to do besides wait. I've read sugar might help...

My other fish appear to be fine with the high nitrate levels. I will move him to my QT tank, which has no nitrates in it, and see if he gets better.

Any suggestions on lowering my nitrates temporary and faster?

 

[HurricaneSystem]

Not fast I don't, besides water changes. You could add some Chaeto in your sump for future.

 

[Triton_Z]

How high is your nitrate reading? I doubt this is the cause of your clownfish's odd swimming behavior.

It sounds like your tank is relatively new. How long has your tank been established?