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Clownfish behavior

S

ScottNJ

These are the first two fish in my new tank, a 34 Gallon Red Sea. The larger of the two moves quickly up and down about 1.5 - 2 inches for a few seconds then swims around like normal. Is this ok? This is my first tank so everything is new to me, thanks .

Regards,

Scott
 
greybolt03

greybolt03

How long has the tank been running? How long have you had the fish? Did you test your water before adding fish?
clowns do all kinds of crazy moves when they are matting...
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

welcome scott!

How old are the clowns - did you purchase them as juveniles/babies or are they mature clowns?

Mature clowns - it would seem to be a possible mating move, but was the other clown nearby? If it's just swimming along by itself erratically that is not mating but possibly plain neurotic or weird.
 
S

ScottNJ

Thanks, The tank was running for seven days before we put the fish in. We tested with strips, the only thing that looked off was the ph everything else looked good. I'm not sure of the age, but one is about1.25 and the other is 1.5 to 1.75 inches. They seem to be getting along.

Regards,

Scott
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I’m a bit concerned that the tank has not cycled. Ammonia and nitrite are very toxic to fish. You need to monitor these two chemicals to assure your tank has cycled. Once they are no longer detectable, and you now have nitrate, the tank is ready for fish. Without using a nitrifying accelerator, such as BioSpira, this cycle usually takes about a month.

And welcome to the site!
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

I agree with paul - but the saving grace here is that at that size those two fish are not big producers of waste....YET.

Is there anything else in the tank? Don't use strips - they are old school test methods that were ok for a gut-check, but precise measuring they are not good for.

With new tanks - an ammonia badge is a really great tool to have. Your LFS may stock it:
http://www.amazon.com/Seachem-10-Am...id=1347925586&sr=8-1&keywords=seachem+ammonia

also at that size there is no way they are mating. One is just acting erratic. Although fish may do that in a brand new tank that is still cycling.

Might not be a bad idea to look into getting some biospira to help.
http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Ocean...UTF8&qid=1347925705&sr=8-2&keywords=bio-spira

But explain how much Live ROck or Live Sand is in the tank - that would be a compensating factor.
 
S

ScottNJ

We put in 20lbs of wet sand, and there's roughly 30lbs of rock. As far as live rock goes, does the man made rock help the tank the same as natural rock? Would it be ok to put the Biospira in while the two Clownfish are already there?

Scott
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

Should be fine. Now that i think about it I might have biospira from one of my macna good packs i never used. Does it expire? hmmm - i'll have to check. Where are you located?

and yes adding biospira is fine while the fish are in there, ideally it goes in before.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

no luck i don't have bio spira...but i'm in metuchen which is a short drive (Depending on how bad route 18 is) away.
 
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