why wont my clowns move!?

[Turbovr3six]

i just picked up a mated pair of saddleback clowns... where healthy and eating. swimming good, but wont leave this one spot in my tank. there the only fish in the tank and theres lots of coral and rockwork for them to play in but they just stay in a high flow area and dont really leave, even when feeding... ive only had them for a day or so but i just dont know if there is a reason to this and thats why there not exploring... its a 125gal long so theres plenty of room to play but there being lame....lol.... any advice?

 

[NCSUsalt]

it's what clowns do. they aren't the best swimmers, so in the wild they can't stray far from their anemone host. in most aquariums they'll chose a spot and stay fairly close to it. if they eventually start swimming around they will, but there is not going to be much you can do about that.

 

[Turbovr3six]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15378656#post15378656 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NCSUsalt
it's what clowns do. they aren't the best swimmers, so in the wild they can't stray far from their anemone host. in most aquariums they'll chose a spot and stay fairly close to it. if they eventually start swimming around they will, but there is not going to be much you can do about that.

well the side of the tank that there chillin in is sps dominated so its a high flow area.... the other side of the tank has euphelia, mushrooms, duncans and low flow.... why wouldnt they go to the lower flow area since there bad swimmers?

 

[davocean]

Not sure I'd call them bad swimmers(they are fish) but agree that clowns usually pick a spot that suits them and tend to hang there.

 

[Mike31154]

They're biologically programmed to host in an anemone and typically don't stray very far from that area. In the absence of an anemone or other host, they'll choose a territory and pretty much hang there in most cases. Yours apparently like the flow in the particular spot they've chosen. Besides, if they're the only fish in the tank, there's no need to move for any other inhabitants that may have designs on their chosen spot. Give them more time as well, when they get settled in a bit more in a few days or a week or so, they may decide to explore a little more.