Maroon G.B Fanning the Sand Bed

[MATIBY]

My Maroon Gold Bar has been fanning the sand lately with it's tale.

It's not sick, no visible spots on the lower body, not breathing rapidly and seems to be happy and normal. It'll just a swim to the bottom and start fanning the SB.

Could it be looking for an Anenome to host?

It's the only Clown in the tank with a Sixline wrasse and watchman goby as tankmates.

It's stays in a 25 gal tank.

 

[nick18tjetta]

That is just part of the joy of owning GSM's. I had a pair for 6 years until Katrina contributed to my tank crashing, and the female fanned the sand constantly. It did not matter if there was a host anemone or not. It never was a problem, occasionally the sand would damage her tail fin, but it usually healed after a couple of days.

 

[tpdpercula]

I agree, my large female GSM does the same thing. She and her mate have a choice of 8+ RBTA and GBTA to choose from (Usually two or three of the largest) and she does it everyday.

 

[MercZ]

Mine as well.

 

[MATIBY]

So they fan the sand bed when they're happy and playing.
It does it when I'm near the tank all the time. Maybe they think it's feeding time or something.

Now with all that sand being fanned about, would it cause a spike in nitrates?
I was monitoring some of my Acros and they seemed pretty ok with it. Polyps are extended out and all.

Thanks for info. Whew, I can now relax.

 

[traveller7]

They clear loose substrate from where they live and spawn. Eggs need to be laid on a hard surface and protected from silt.

She is just playing house as nature intended.

 

[RightWinger210]

My ocellaris female does similiar activities to clean and tend her nest and spawn site, so it's all good!

 

[bencozzy]

my single WSM female done this to look through the tanks glass bottom, mainly done this in her favorite spots.

 

[LargeAngels]

Very normal for GSM.

 

[xxseawolf]

yep i get daily sand storms in my tank. i gave a up long time ago trying to fix the sandbed