New Maroon Clown Fish Hiding / turning into a girl?

Marc15

New member
Hi everyone, I'm new to the hobby and have found this site unbelievably helpful. So thank already.

I have a specific question that i cant seem to find the answer too. I have a fluval edge set up as a FOWLR thats about 2 months old. I have a 13 watt PC 50/50 10k/actinic for lighting and have another to hook up still for 26 watts total.

I just purchased a maroon clownfish last week and his only tank mates are three hermit crabs and two snails (plus a handful of tiny new snails that came out of no where..).

He's about 1.5 - 2 inches and has been eating well, mysis shrimp only (which tend to mess up the tank a bit with tiny particles floating). He looks great, but tends to hide in the corner for most of the day, especially when the light is on. He'll come out some to eat but spends most of his time back there.

when we saw him at the LFS, he was active, picking up rocks and spitting them, burrowing with his tail, etc. now, he's basically jsut floating at the bottom behind the rock.

he's out in the morning before the lights come on. Could he be opposed to the lighting or could it be too strong for him??

I have a small powerhead in there, could the current be too much?

IS HE REALLY A SHE?

any input or ideas would be great and thanks a lot in advance.

marc
 

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I think he picked out his "spot" in the tank. Clownfish will pick a spot in the tank and hang there everyday. Will occasionally swim around the tank then back at the spot again. My pair of ocellaris clowns will do that. As for the gender question, I think it is sexless right now since it is still new to the tank. It will turn into a female if it's the only clown in the tank. Will take several days-weeks to change sex.
 
But it won't turn back into male,I have one right now and she's really aggressive,make sure you have a cover or something,it will chase the small ones if they close to her area or close to her anemone.ie.firefish,it's a good jumper.
I actually have to move her anemone to save my firefish and royal gramma,my firefish jumped into overflow box and I am lucky to save it,scared to death and hide under rock for 2 days.
I am gonna try pairing it,I already ordered one,maybe sure it's really small one if you want success pairing.
 
thanks for the quick replies. I guess I'm just being paranoid. I had read that they find their 'spot' and go there often but didnt know how often, often was.
 
The only time my pair of clowns swim out of their corner is when I stand in front the tank. They will think I'm giving them food and would swim to the front.
 
how big is your tank? the only fluval edge tanks I can find are 6g. sounds like a fat guy in a little suit
 
how big is your tank? the only fluval edge tanks I can find are 6g. sounds like a fat guy in a little suit

yeah, 6g. We're thinking he wont be in for more than a year or so before we have to move him to a bigger tank (which is a great excuse to get another tank).
 
the maroon clownfish has a min tank size of 30g, that said I think the inches to gal calculator is already busted in your situation. with a fish that big(in a tank that small) your water quality will swing like a gate, I would keep water change ready.
 
My reading aren't fluctuating that much so far. I do 25% water changes every week and have a 7.5 gallon refugium. I think water quality will be fine?
 
welcome.gif

<b><big><big>To Reef Central</big></big></b><big><big></big></big><big><big></big></big>

You will be surprised how much she grows in a year. She's probably going to out grow what your system can handle biologically before you know it. I would completely fill that refugium with all the LR it can hold. Female maroons tend to decide that about 20-30 g of a tank is theirs, you maybe should consider upgrading to a 75 or 100g tank.
 
Ha---I had mated clarkii's that claimed HALF of a 100g. And terrorized my damsels.
 
6g is way to small for maroons. I have a solitary female that is about 3 inches and she's very aggressive with the other fish. I have a 110g and trying to find time to upgrade to a 150g.
 
Don't think of these comments as an attack, the guy at your lfs should draw a little line in the sand to say look at these instead of these if you know what I mean. A Google search will tell you some very good options for tanks this size i.e. nano goby size. I understand they are not a clown but still very entertaining. I would hate for you to put time and care toward this fish and it expire due to a lack of environmental support.
 
Clowns are asses

Clowns are asses

I purposely bought a small and medium maroon clown at the same time, I now have a mated pair. They hosted the top corner of the tank for about 6 months until the larger of the two has finally started to host my condalictus anenome. I know Condy's are not recommended for clowns but it does work with patience, I just think they need to get bigger to handle a Condy. Having the pair seems to reduce the aggression (unless other fish come in their area). Bottom line is that if they are healthy don't worry about where they host, they will find where they are most comfortable.
 
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