egloskerry Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 I have an Oceanic 29 that has been set up for around two or three weeks. 40lbs of live sand, 10lbs of live rock. Stupidly, I bought two clowns shortly after the live rock because I didn't read about cycling. I figured they were going to die, but miraculously they didn't. Now my N cycle is complete, with NH3 and NO2 testing 0, and NO3 testing around 10ppm. PH is 8.1-8.3, salinity is 1.022-1.024, temp is 78. I had a hair algae bloom and bought 11 blue leg hermits, 3 astraea snails, and 2 star astraeas. They have all but wiped out the algae and all are living happily. Except the false percs. When I first got them, they swam around, ate, and were generally happy fish. But now all they do is sit behind or near the rock and swim in one place. They won't eat when before they would swim quickly up to the top to grab the Prime Reef. They don't seem to have any other symptoms. I'd say it's been around 4 days since they've eaten. I really don't want these little guys to die. Any ideas? Link to comment
jewbilee Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 They might be stressed from having to endure the cycle. I don't have clowns so I'm not an expert... Link to comment
Scott Riemer Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 You could try soaking the food in a garlic product such as Kent's Garlic Extreme to see if the scent attracts them to the food. Have you attempted a different food? Link to comment
mpatzer Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Keep doing 10% water changes everyday. They should be fine. Link to comment
egloskerry Posted January 2, 2009 Author Share Posted January 2, 2009 No, I haven't tried a different food yet. I was confused as to why they suddenly stopped eating it when before they'd wolf it down. Also, I wanted to add that I've been feeding them every 2-3 days. As to the garlic, could I soak some fresh garlic in something like canola oil, then remove the garlic and soak the food in that? Or use the oil from a jar of minced garlic? Why the water changes so often if all my levels are stable and my cycle is complete? I'm doing 10% per week right now. Link to comment
small reef Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 I would recommend live food. If you can buy or hatch some live brine shrimp, I would try that first. Link to comment
egloskerry Posted January 2, 2009 Author Share Posted January 2, 2009 Pike, I am using frozen. Small, if the garlic trick doesn't work I'll try some brine next. The lfs has them in spades. Link to comment
small reef Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Just be patient and keep trying. Hopefully they'll come around. Good luck! Link to comment
egloskerry Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 No one answered my question about soaking it in garlic oil. I just fed them a bit to see if they'd eat, and one became interested after some food blew by him. He ate a couple pieces, but not much. The other one seemed disinterested. It's the other one I'm concerned about. He contstantly sits behind the lr and usually behind the heater, which is in the corner of the tank. I recently turned down the temp to 77 from 79 for fear of the snails. Could that be the problem? Also, he seems to enjoy swimming upright, eg with his head facing upwards. I also was wondering if it could be stress from the new guys. I added those 11 crabs and 5 snails at the same time. The clowns used to love swimming all around the tank, now they both seem to hide behind the lr all the time Link to comment
egloskerry Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Well, the brine shrimp must've sparked something in them. They didn't gobble them up, but now when I feed them their regular frozen food, they go after it like they used to. Thanks for all the advice. Link to comment
Scott Riemer Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Good to hear they're eating. Link to comment
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