Saddle clown eye bulge!!!!

[rlf_racing]

I just purchased this 2.25" saddle clown along with a 2.5" ocellaris clown a couple days ago. Ocellaris is eating great, saddle is eating but it is very timid. Today I noticed the ocellaris is picking on it a little bit and the right eye on the saddle clown is bulging out. Will this heal? Do I need to put a seperator in the tank until the ocellaris has calmed down? There are 2 more ocellaris in the tank along with two neon gobies, blue tang, and a blu green chromis. Do I need to keep my ocellaris clowns in even pairs or can I have an odd amount of them? Also do you think I should get another saddle clown? Here are some pics of the fish in the tank.

Here are the ocellaris clowns. This one is 1.5" long.

This one is the 2.5" clown.

And this is the smallest one, just over an inch.

Sorry for being such a long message w/pics. Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[Slakker]

You should remove the two new clowns you've purchased. You should never keep more than one pair of clowns in a tank (unless it's very large) and you should especially never mix species. If you have another tank, I would say that the saddle's popeye will resolve itself with some good water quality and a reduction in stress, otherwise please return the two new clowns to your LFS.

 

[rlf_racing]

Tank is a 75gal fowlr. I have been told and read that you can keep more than one type of clownfish in the same tank. As long as they are the more pieceful spieces. The 3 other clowns get along fine. So is what I read and been told wrong or is what i have been told only personal accounts.

 

[JamesJR]

You can mix some species but not others. Saddles get pretty big and are a lot more aggressive than ocellaris.

Bulging eyes are caused be either trauma or by some form of infection. Popeye, as the disease is called, is very common with saddle clowns but is really not a serious problem. Don't panic or do anything rash as a fish can live a long time with this condition and you will likely not do the fish any good. Try separating the pairs and just give the saddles some good old fashioned tlc, lots of water changes, good water quality and a good diet and it should take care of itself. If this doesn't work after a few weeks go ahead and quarantine the saddles and give them a treatment of Saltwater maracyn 2.

good luck man and keep us informed. Cheers.

 

[Slakker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11646344#post11646344 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rlf_racing
Tank is a 75gal fowlr. I have been told and read that you can keep more than one type of clownfish in the same tank. As long as they are the more pieceful spieces. The 3 other clowns get along fine. So is what I read and been told wrong or is what i have been told only personal accounts.

It's not necessarily wrong, as some people have seen limited success keeping multiple species of clowns together. However, very few see any type of long term success, and as the clowns mature a male/female pair will form and will often proceed to harass any other clowns to death.

As James has said, Saddles are much more aggressive than Ocellaris and are not really a suitable candidate to be housed with them. Your trio of ocellaris may do well for a while (it's one of the few species where the long term success of a group has been documented in aquariums).

In my opinion, given the general temperament of saddle back clowns, it would be best to start looking for a better long term home for him.

 

[rlf_racing]

Well at the time I only have just one saddle and three ocellaris. The ocellaris are getting along fine. The big ocellaris and the saddle were in cubicles right next to each other for a couple months at the lfs. The saddle was very panicky in the bag and during acclimation period. It also seems to get very spooked very easily. Just walking by the tank it gets spooked. Now I have noticed that it is starting to calm down a little bit. But the large ocellaris is picking on it. I don't have an extra tank to seperate them, but I do have a light diffuser that i can use to seperate them in the 75gal tank. I just don' want to rearrange the rock agian to give it its own hiding place. Or is this my only option?

 

[Slakker]

Use the light diffuser for now...however, I don't think that rearranging the rock will do much. Clownfish develop pretty large territories, and it's likely the ocellaris will continue to pick on the Saddle even if you do rearrange. That's my personal opinion based on my experiences and all of the research I've done on clownfish.

 

[rlf_racing]

This is a full tank shot to give a better idea why I would have to rearrange the rock to get the diffuser to fit the tank right.

I just can't really move the rocks on the lower left. That is where my large neon goby made its home. Also any suggestions or opions on this tank are all welcome.

 

[JamesJR]

I really think he is fine for right now. Ocellaris clowns are incredibly mild mannered fish and that saddle is so small I doubt he would have any problems right now. Just keep the water conditions optimal for right now and see if it clears up. These aggression issues can take a while to show themselves as these clowns may not have formed pairs yet so I wouldn't put further stress upon the fish unless you can see the fish being bullied.

 

[Slakker]

True, for the time being it probably wouldn't be a problem, however, the Saddle is already showing health problems and the Ocellaris have already begun to pick on it. IMO, it'll be better for the saddle's recovery if it's not being hassled.