I just picked up two new clownfish last night. It took awhile for them to come out from under my live rock but eventually they did. When i got up this morning, there was just enough light to see in the tank. Both of them are constantly touching the surface of the water and one of them is staying in pretty much the same spot. I don't know if they are just staying there because the light is still off or if they don't feel good because of something wrong with the water. I checked everything last night before i put them in and all was fine. 0 ammonia, 8.3 PH, Salinity was 1.022, and the temp. was 80 even. Do you think my clownfish are fine or is there something else wrong. I thought maybe it could be that there was not enough oxygen in the water but i have a powerhead in the tank. Let me know what you think or if i didn't give enough information. Thanks for any help.
Worried about new Clownfish!
- Thread starter Robobby21
- Start date
Relax that is perfectly normal behavior for new clownfish, and posts like this are on the forum weekly. expect them to pick a safe spot at the surface in a corner or behind a powerhead or something and spend most of thier time there until the feel more comfortable. prolly a week or more. also expect them to sleep in a spot like that until they find a host or pick a new spot. my male after 8 months still spend everynite exactly like you described . he even rolls on his side at the surface .. wierd lil fish those clowns
Thanks for the help. They are doing just what you said. Even the lying on his side thing. He seems to be swimming around now so you are right about the comfort thing. I guess I should have just waited a bit longer to see what he did. I'm just paranoid because i just lost my green spotted puffer after a couple of weeks. Thanks for the help though, I'll try to relax a bit.
well it may not be good for them but they shouldn't die from it the same day i did a water change. I used to have balla sharks, fresh water, when i first started and was even more clueless then i am now. I had them in 4 ppm of ammonia cause i didn't know i needed to test the water. They are now in a bigger tank and still doing fine.
rkelman
New member
.25 at a low ph may not be an issue. When you do a water change it raises the ph significantly causing the ammonia to be way more toxic. Sometimes its better to battle ammonia with a product like Amquel which converts it to non toxic ammonia because of this. Fresh water fish aren't as sensitive as marine fish. Just because the fish didn't die does not mean they weren't harmed by the ammonia.
EllieSuz
Premium Member
A ten gallon tank is way too small for a Puffer of any kind. Your pair of Clowns will pretty much be all the fish this tank can hold. You are a couple of months ahead of yourself putting any kind of fish in this tank. I suggest you spend many hours researching the saltwater hobby before you do anything more with your tank. Begin by reading the top two threads in the "New to the Hobby" forum here. On your next post, tell us all about your system. Size, amount of rock, whether you have a sump, what kind of lights, whether you have a skimmer, what test kits you have acquired, etc. We will need all this information and more to assist you in your beginner phase of the hobby. Good luck.
