I acquired a beautiful true perc three weeks ago. He was happy in my LFS's 75 gal. tank with a few other fish (evident by his spirited swimming freely all over the tank). Before I added him to the 10 gal. QT I put in a small brown carpet & cleaner shrimp (purchased a week beforehand) to give him a comfortable transition home. His eating habits are good but he is scared to go down more than 2" from the surface and won't go near the carpet. The cleaner is trying desperately to win his attention but I believe he's afraid of the cleaner as well. He spends most of his time swimming in the corner/surface of the tank. Am I to just be patient and he will get more comfortable? Should I take the shrimp and carpet out now and put in my show tank to give him the QT to himself? Any advise is greatly appreciated.
Question re: True Percula new to Q-tank
- Thread starter GillJoy
- Start date
TippyToeX
Premium Member
A quarantine tank should not have any other inhabitants. It should just be the clownfish, and some hiding spaced (PVC, flower pots or tile, etc). 
Reason being is that he might need to be medicated, and those meds would surely kill the inverts you have in the QT right now.
So yes, do remove them and leave the clown. Be sure he has place to hide and feel safe in. Then just give him time to adjust to the QT.
Reason being is that he might need to be medicated, and those meds would surely kill the inverts you have in the QT right now.So yes, do remove them and leave the clown. Be sure he has place to hide and feel safe in. Then just give him time to adjust to the QT.
stykthyn
New member
I have noticed that percs and occelaris are notorious for sticking to the top of the tank, give him a while he will adjust. Do take the shrimp and anemone out of the tank if you do have to medicate they will not be too happy with you. I always prefer to do hypo salinity in my QT for 2 weeks. If that doesn't do the trick then I would medicate. I find it easier on myself and the fish.
Thank you very much. Although my intention was to remove all but the clown if medications were necessary, this step seems to work well for everyone. The cleaner is happy (but busy) in the show tank, all fish in there are stoked and the brown carpet is in full bloom. Clown is still at the top of the water but hope your experience holds true.
Now...although I keep the h2o a little below the lip so the splash from the hang on filter creates enough o2, I also have a small air stone and powerhead in there. I only operate them 1 at a time and sometimes leave them both off all together. Any suggestions here on how to keep the h2o in the 10 gal QT w/out overdoing it?
Now...although I keep the h2o a little below the lip so the splash from the hang on filter creates enough o2, I also have a small air stone and powerhead in there. I only operate them 1 at a time and sometimes leave them both off all together. Any suggestions here on how to keep the h2o in the 10 gal QT w/out overdoing it?
stykthyn
New member
your hangon should provide enough water movement and air for the 10 gal, provided it is the right size filter. For QT I like the whisper 10-15. It is cheap, quiet and if cleaned properly povides all the water movement and oxygen the figh will need. You should always keep your QT tank as simple as possible.
After four weeks my clown is still not going down more than a few inches. He has no problem swimming at the surface. When feeding, he will only chase food a couple inches but once more than 4-5" from the surface he retreats as though he is scared of what lies below (which is nothing but a few pieces of PVC as it is my QT).
I'm excited to put him in my 150 established tank but am afraid he may sit at the top, not "take to water" and mingle with the residents, stress out and die. Should I keep him in the QT until he starts to dive down a little more?
I'm excited to put him in my 150 established tank but am afraid he may sit at the top, not "take to water" and mingle with the residents, stress out and die. Should I keep him in the QT until he starts to dive down a little more?
