Little clowns learning to swim

[NicoleC]

I know that sounds wierd, but anone who has taken small TR clowns home knows they get in front of the powerhead and swim and swim until they are exhausted, rest up, then go back and do it again.

Well, I bought a new HOB filter for the clown tank, and I've had it in a trickle because the water line was low and it made a lot of bubbles, and I would turn it on only in the evening for a few hours.

I've slowly been raising the water level each night with water changes. The goal was to get the water line up so I can leave the filter on. Tonight it's up to a full 15g and I turned the filter on full blast... well, full blast at 100gph. The babies had a PARTY getting in the current and swimming hard; every last one of them! I only left it full bore for about an hour. When the smallest ones started finding the lee of PVC tubes to get out of the flow, I turned it back down. I didn't want to tucker them out too bad. The sheltered spots were probably sheltered enough, but I didn't want to take chances.

It's a treadmill for baby fish! They'll be getting some daily exercise, now. Funny thing, the biggest fish were not the strongest, it was the mid-sized fish.

 

[Kathy55g]

Yeah, my older ones are getting used to their new tank. They no longer have a large CPR overflow to hide behind. They used to host on the back wall of the tank. My husband thought they were sick because he only saw them swimming sideways. Ha, ha. I put some PVC in their tank that has been in there since they were small. They ignored it. But tonight in their "new" system tank, I caught one the medium sized ones swimming against the current of the return. Just what yours were doing. Then I saw a couple swimming in and out of the PVC.

There must be something in the air. All generations of my fish are suddenly interested in the PVC bits. I have a group of 5 week clowns crowded up in the crook of an elbow at lights out time. And even my metamorphosing week old larvae are showing interest in the PVC bits I put in there last night. I'll try to get pix soon. They are all so cute! And thankfully, none of them swim sideways forever. Only sometimes.

I worry a little bit about the larvae that go into the elbows. Is there enough oxygen in there? There is not a lot of flow in the larval tank, and having an elbow would cut even that down some. But I thought they should have a place to hide if they want to during meta. I hope I don't find any dead bodies in the morning.

 

[NicoleC]

I don't think there will be a big difference inside the PVC.

Mine are not really interested in it anymore, exceot for at night. Half descend to the bottom and find a tube to sleep in or next to; the other half congregate in one of the corners all jammed up together.

Most of the bikering has stopped, too, except my runts are picking on each other now. Either the pecking order has been sorted out, or it's a phase. My runts are finally starting to look almost as developed as the others, just smaller.

It didn't take long -- the filter on high doesn't phase them anymore. I'm still not leaving it on high al lthe time, though, until I can be home all day to keep an eye on them.

 

[Kathy55g]

No dead bodies this morning. I think I have around 40 of the 11 day larvae/juveniles. They are looking pretty hopeful. I think there must be something wrong with the ammo alert badge, though. It has stayed yellow all this time. Usually it goes a little green by now...

 

[BlackOnyx]

PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES!!!

 

[NicoleC]

Day 32, a mid-sized baby:

Day 32, one of my runts:

And just for good measure, here's Lad at Day 48. He doesn't look quite that yellow to the naked eye, but he is getting more yellow.

With some airline tubing for comparison:

 

[Kathy55g]

Very cute, all of them. You can tell that Lad has been eating the red stuff!