Clownfish behaviour

[Milan'22]

I just bought two Ocellaris Clownfish and i was wondering if they need to come up to the surface and breathe like bettas do because they only hang out at the top of the tank and poke their heads out.

And because of being at the top, they are being pushed around by the current and are hitting into the rocks but they still refuse to come down, could an aggressive tank member be the problem?

Their sight may be the cause as they are always bumping into the glass, rocks and even my hand whenever it is inside of the tank.

Any ideas?

[Milan'22]

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[Milan'22]

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[CollegeReefer]

could be a sign of two things

First it could be that they are just stressed
Or
It could be your water quality

Suggestions:

Check to make sure all over your tank readings are where it should be. Ammonia, nitrate, nitrites should all read zero. Also make sure to check your s.g.

Also how long did you acclimate your fish for? How long did you qt them?

Lastly the forums are somewhat dead on weekends and that is why you didn't get a response that quick.

[Torpedos]

also is their plenty or agitation at the surface? it could be O2 levels.

[Scuba Kid]

What size tank? What are the water paramters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, most importantly)? What else is in the tank? How long has it been set up and running?
When you answer these questions, answering your's will be a lot easier.

[TheOldSalt]

These are classic signs of transfer shock. Your acclimation method may or may not have been to blame, either; the petshop's tanks may be way off from where they should be chemically, or maybe yours is the one that's wrong, but there is almost certainly a big difference between them.

Blindness does occur in marine fishes, usually from poisoning or faulty diet. It takes several months to blind them from poor diet, so that's not my guess, assuming they're actually blind and not simply in shock.

[Milan'22]

90 gallon tank and i tested my water at the lfs and they said that it was fine to add more fish.
right now i have 2 tangs and 3 damsels who are perfectly fine, but the 2 largest damsels seem to nip at th clownfish whenever they come down
I tried to catch one but they are too fast and there are too many hiding places in the tank. Any Ideas?

[Milan'22]

Originally Posted by Torpedos

also is their plenty or agitation at the surface? it could be O2 levels.

What do you mean? btw when i turn off all of the power (no water flow) they will go to other areas of the tank

[CollegeReefer]

Well my first response to your last two post is that you need to get your own testing kit. Did the LFS tell you what your levels are at or did they just say they are fine?

I doubt it is 02 levels so don't worry about that


How did you acclimate your fish? Old salt goes into more details why this is important.

Lastly your damsels are very aggressive fish and should have been the last fish added. Your clownfish are stressed because of the damsels and this could be causing it, but this can also get worst for stress contributes to fish getting sick which can affect your whole tank. It goes the same for us, when we are stressed we are more likely to catch a cold or flu. My advice would be to remove the damsels into a qt and let the clown fish establish a home before adding the damsel back, that is if you want them back. Many hobbiest who add those fish first because they are cheap regret it in the end.

[Milan'22]

I have my own test kits which read all zeros but a nitrate of about 5 and a ph of 8.2 i just had them test it for confirmation

and i acclimated my fish by putting them into a bucket or pitcher with only their water, and then used a tube to trickle water from my tank into the bucket until it was almost full (15-20 min) then i scooped them out with a net and put them in the tank

[Fishfirst]

Fish stores (especially ones that are still living in the "dark ages" of aquaria aka most fish stores) will have their specific gravity low (around 1.016 -1.018) if your specific gravity is where it is supposed to be (1.025ish) 15-20 minutes of acclimation time may have not been enough especially for clownfish (more sensitive to that kind of stuff because of thier close evolutionary ties to their invertebrate counterpart the anemones) I'm either suspecting acclimation shock, or an aggressive tankmate, or even an aquarist just being a bit over analytical and worried about their fish... clownfish are "weird" and behaive in strange ways sometimes especially when they are new to a tank.