How long can clowns go without eating

[banzai75x]

I just got 2 onyx clowns. They arrived last Friday. They appear to swim normally (what is abnormal?). But all they do is hang out in the corner of the tank. I'm trying to feed them New Life Specturm pellets but they spit it out.

I bought some frozen food today and will try that later but I'm just curious how long they can go without eating before I start freaking out.

 

[hollister]

Yea i would try differant food. I feed a little flake in the morning and frozen at night.

But you have no tank info so its hard to help. Things like,

Tanks age?
Whats used for water flow?
Amount of rock?
Is there a lid on the tank?

 

[banzai75x]

Yea i would try differant food. I feed a little flake in the morning and frozen at night.

But you have no tank info so its hard to help. Things like,

Tanks age?
Whats used for water flow?
Amount of rock?
Is there a lid on the tank?

Hi. The tank is 3 months old. Its a 100gallon and I have about 70-75 lbs of rock in there. I'm using 2 x 6095's controlled by an Apex unit.

I don't have a lid on the tank but it is eurobraced.

 

[deangelr]

If healthy they can go 2 weeks..

Try cyclops or live brine shrimp.. Feed small bite sizes and try a wide variety until they are eating.

 

[dixiedog]

Easily a couple weeks, a month wouldn't surprise me. Live brine or live blackworms will do the trick.

BTW I have a true perc in my QT tank doing the same thing right now, hiding up in a corner. I got her eating reef caviar yesterday finally, so she'll come out when she's ready.

 

[Jerdel]

Mine act like they will starve if they are not fed every 30 mins. I feed them every other day sometimes every 2 days

 

[dixiedog]

Oh yes they are an extraordinarily gluttonous fish. I dislike clowns for that reason, and why I bought this one I really don't know.

But in general it takes a heck of a long time to starve a fish to death.

 

[vwwanksta69]

Ive had wild ones last a week and once up to a month.

 

[banzai75x]

I tried some frozen food last night and it looks like they ate a little bit of that which is good news. Now if I can just get them out of the corner. It might be that I don't have a host for them. My tank is mostly rock right now.

 

[D-Nak]

Where did you get the Onyx clowns from?

What other fish do you have in the tank? I found that my fish seem to copy one another (or at least it looks that way). For example, my green chromis seem to draw out my blue-eyed cardinals into the open, and they all swim together. It seems like when one group of fish get excited to eat, the others so as well. They know when they are going to get fed when I open the hood on the tank.

If you can get some Rods Food, I can pretty much guarantee they will eat it. It contains virtually every standard ingredient (shrimp, scallop, brine, krill, plankton, etc.) you can think of, so I'm sure they'll find something in it that they will like.

 

[ptr13]

fish eggs will do the trick for any fish, lots of breeders use it.

 

[banzai75x]

I don't have any other fish in the tank. They are the first inhabitants. I tried some frozen food and they took in a little bit so I think they were just getting used to the surroundings. I'll continue trying to feed pellets to see if they like that too.

They are hanging out in different corners of the tank at least. They move from one corner to the other.

 

[jamesdean3]

clowns are goofy and can hang in the corner of a tank for awhile.( friend of mine has had his clowns 2 yrs and all they do is hang in the top right corner.) your right though, as they grow more comfortable they will venture out. +1 on rods food, good stuff and reasonably priced.

 

[Gill_bucket]

I wouldn't worry, they will eat IMO. I recently picked up a pair of B&W and they spit out the pellets for at least four days; I say don't worry but I did LOL. Everything is fine now, they are eating like pigs.

 

[dixiedog]

Yeah, mine is catching on to that reef caviar REAL GOOD now.

 

[DeathWish302]

I tried some frozen food last night and it looks like they ate a little bit of that which is good news. Now if I can just get them out of the corner. It might be that I don't have a host for them. My tank is mostly rock right now.

I would say it takes some adjustment time before they are the sea pigs they normally are. I received my Gasters about a month ago and only within the last couple weeks has their appetite picked up. Been that way with every single/pair I have owned minus the GSM pair which were pigs out of the gate. the Gasters also shuttered in the corner and I honestly thought they were coming down with brook with the larger juvie's odd swimming. Sure enough, I wrapped the tank with some printer paper, except for a 12"x12" area and voila. A day or two after that they thought they were king sh.. diving at me when I looked in that opening.

Try cyclopeeze, some live foods or a different pellet and they will come around.

 

[dixiedog]

I would say it takes some adjustment time before they are the sea pigs they normally are. I received my Gasters about a month ago and only within the last couple weeks has their appetite picked up. Been that way with every single/pair I have owned minus the GSM pair which were pigs out of the gate. the Gasters also shuttered in the corner and I honestly thought they were coming down with brook with the larger juvie's odd swimming. Sure enough, I wrapped the tank with some printer paper, except for a 12"x12" area and voila. A day or two after that they thought they were king sh.. diving at me when I looked in that opening.

Try cyclopeeze, some live foods or a different pellet and they will come around.

Never heard of this. Was it to give them 'privacy' while they adjusted to the new surroundings?

 

[DeathWish302]

After some 10yrs of collecting and breeding clowns, I have found that some species and most new arrivals are skiddish. With the 'curtains', the clowns become secure at a quicker rate than with a wide open QT or breeding tank. This 'privacy' has allowed some shy species to more readily spawn in my busy area where my tanks are located. If you don't mind looking top-down, you could even get skunks to spawn with a little one running circles around a tank. Take the paper down and you wouldn't see that same pair until lights out at 10pm-midnight.

Hope that more clearly explains my reason and experience.

 

[dixiedog]

Yep, that's what I figured it was about. I'll have to keep that little tidbit in mind!