Pit Digging Clownfish?

[mwp]

OK, so what the heck does it mean when your female clown is digging a pit in the sand?! Our female "Former Halfblack" Ocellaris is making a depression underneath an overhang. I've NEVER seen this behavior before.

Matt

 

[MimicTang]

Mine GSMs , Clarkiis, and Black Saddles do it. Pit in front of the house or near it. Maybe moving waste? Cleaning house?

 

[tanglovers]

I have never had ocellaris or perculas do this. My maroons (both WSM and GSM) and my new white tailed chrysopterus pair both dig in the sand like there is no tomorrow. None of these pairs currently spawn and the maroons pairs are now in BB tanks. The chrys. pair I have only had for a few weeks but they did the same thing in the previous owner's reef tank (this is how I got them).

 

[Baalz]

I have seen my Ocelllaris do this when I don't put the tile back after several days.

 

[Kathy55g]

Sounds Breedish to me.

 

[mwp]

Yeah, it reminds me of Cichlids. Only problem I have is that she is not nearly in breeding condition...

HMM.

Matt

 

[xfury]

I have had some clowns do this before. I never really thought much of it. But then agian I wasn't watching for any particular behavior either.

 

[Galilean]

My dad's 20 year old pair of Perculas dig by the nest. He's got a Maroon clown (no mate) that also digs.

 

[David M]

All my spawning pairs do this, they clear all the sand away from the flowerpot and pile it up against the front glass. In every tank there is a bare bottom area in front of the nest. I'm sure there are a number of explanations for this but I like to think that having a clean surface rather than a sand bed makes it easier to spot predators approaching ( snails, brisstleworms, etc). I constantly see females picking up snails and carrying them to the farthest corner of the tank where they drop them.

 

[mwp]

Well this is all very interesting...never recall reading about this, and my perc pair doesn't do this; maybe the "Halfblacks" are going to spawn much sooner than expected?

Matt

 

[Dman]

It's practice, if you watch breeding pairs, before they spawn they flutter on various surfaces, digging pits in the sand while fluttering is one of their favourite things to do.

 

[Ooulophilia]

I have stared at this for a while, while willing the pair to lay on the tile. I think it is to clear out or bury anything that would eat any eggs that did not affix to the spawning substrate, and give them a chance

 

[mwp]

Interesting hypothesis Ooulophilia...

Matt

 

[tmays]

I had a pair of tomato clowns that did the same thing every time they spawned. They would some times dig about 4" - 4 1/2" down to the glass bottom. It let me know they would spawn soon.

 

[tmays]

I also had to make sure my tiles were always secure. These guys are stronger than you would think!

 

[mwp]

So I just have to come back to mention that yesterday, while watching the perc pair, the female did something I just hadn't noticed before...she want down to the Jawfish's excavation pile and started doing the side-by-side thrashing that I've come to recognize as "pitting"! Guess I should've caught this before...haven't seen her do it before or since though...

Matt