Paramedic Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Hi folks, Long time no posting. I've been watching my tank working well. Got a nice present from a friend, although would have liked a little more advance notice. I just got a very small ocellaris false clown and a cleaner shrimp. Recently, I've just had two snails, a blue legged hermit and a zoo colony all doing well. Had some major problems with cyano about 2 months ago and there's now a bit of an outgrowth of green hair algae, but no more cyano Been quite pleased with that fact. My tank still holds at trate trite and amm all at 0. I have 77.4-78.6 as temp range, have two 13W CF (10K and blue actinic) good circulation with a 250 GPH HOB filter and a micropump for added circulation. I also have a small zoo colony. Salinity is 1.026 OK, so my question is what other things should I do and watch for to make my new clown feel at home. He had a brief period of spastic behavior when first introduced (did a 15 min acclimation and then slowly introduced him, but seemed rather freaked) About 10-15 minutes after being in the tank he calmed dramatically and started to explore normally. I also have a cleaner shrimp newly introduced. I'll watch chem levels closely and deal with them as needed, but what else should I look for. Thanks for your help as always. Ah, finally, I have a 5.5G AGA nano. Link to comment
adinsxq Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 you could drop the specific gravity down a smidge if you want for mr clown. not too fast though or you'll nuke mr shrimp. Link to comment
Paramedic Posted October 23, 2003 Author Share Posted October 23, 2003 Good/Bad news. Clown is doing quite well. Seems to have some rather odd behavior. Tends to sleep on his side and likes to almost host with the powerhead, but seems quite content circling the tank and exploring. I put in a ground up FD brine shrimp and he went psycho running around the tank eating every last bite. I also put one full one (both small) that he has been gradually picking at. Poor guy does seem to be looking for an anemone which I don't have, but he seems content enough. Unfortunately, my shrimp does not seem quite as happy. He's been back hiding behind a rock since I got him. He's bouncing back and forth just barely and seems uninterested in eating. I'm not sure if the salinity might have been too far off when I put him in. Was 1.026 and I haven't changed it yet. May look at reducing slightly as suggested in a few days, but for now I'd like to give the shrimp a chance to bounce back. Any suggestions on if this is normal behavior to a new addition or if there's anything else I can do to keep him from biting the dust? There are no other predators here (except for the blue legged hermit and he seems quite harmless) Thanks again. Link to comment
MrKrispy Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Put your hand in and see if the cleaner wants to play, if not then he doesn't sound normal! Good luck... Link to comment
aquariumclown Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Originally posted by Paramedic Good/Bad news. Clown is doing quite well. Seems to have some rather odd behavior. Tends to sleep on his side and likes to almost host with the powerhead, but seems quite content circling the tank and exploring. I put in a ground up FD brine shrimp and he went psycho running around the tank eating every last bite. I also put one full one (both small) that he has been gradually picking at. Poor guy does seem to be looking for an anemone which I don't have, but he seems content enough. From my personal experience. If he is eating, that's a very good sign. All the new fish I've gotten, it always takes a couple of weeks for them to feel comfortable. I've found that best thing to do (oddly enough) is to leave the tank alone. I've probably killed more fish due to stressing them out by messing with the tank than anything else. I wouldn't worry about him sleeping by the powerhead. For some reason, many clowns tend to do that. I guess they are comfortable leaning against it. Good luck! Link to comment
onthefly Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Don't worry.....it took my cleaner a week or 2 before he would run behind the wall every time I walk into the room. Now he runs up to the glass like a dog wanting a scoobey snack. As for the clown, well, their clowns! Strange behavior, patterns, goof balls, etc. Just make sure he eats and if not, try some garlic... Link to comment
aquariumclown Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Originally posted by onthefly As for the clown, well, their clowns! Strange behavior, patterns, goof balls, etc. Just make sure he eats and if not, try some garlic... Goof balls! That's what I call "hitting the nail on the head". They are the goofiest fish EVER! Cheers! Link to comment
Paramedic Posted October 24, 2003 Author Share Posted October 24, 2003 Yep, heard that about clowns. I'm pretty concerned about the shrimp. He doesn't have any interest in my hand even when I hold a piece of FD Brine near him, actually cowers behind the rock. I'm afraid he's about down and out. Clown seems to be doing very well and is eating like a pig. I have one small piece of FD brine floating in the tank and he runs up and tears at it every so often. Oh well, I'll have to be much more careful about salinity and maybe try to adjust to the LFS level before I get another shrimp. Hopefully this one will bounce back, he's certainly not going anywhere until he kicks it. Thanks for the tips. The clown is really cool. Just would like to have a cleaner in there in case I get any parasites. Link to comment
Paramedic Posted October 24, 2003 Author Share Posted October 24, 2003 Quick update, just before I left (the tank is in my office) I realized that he might just be a little shy, so I killed 90% of the lights and sure enough, he started bouncing around a bit within his area. Still a huge difference in activity from the pepps I once had and was used to, but he even came up and worked on the FD Brine for a few secs before jumping back behind the rock. All may not be lost, but he might have some brain damage. Time will tell. Link to comment
Chronicles Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 I'd just give the shrimp a few days. For mine he hid for almost a week until one day I saw a molt float through the water, only indication he was still alive. Now he's out and about all the time. Make sure your tank has enough Iodine so he can molt. I like to use Kent Tech-I long lasting because you don't need to test for it or worry about overdosing (I mean you do want to follow directions). But I wouldn't give too much more thought into it, just give him time. Link to comment
MrKrispy Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 How can you NOT worry about overdosing Iodine? I don't want to spout, but I don't think Kent came up with a magical iodine. It is just bound to a carrier ion like Potassium, and/or is a stablized form as Iodide. If you just add iodine without testing for it how do you know you aren't approaching toxic levels? Sorry, don't mean to seem hostile, that just sounds like unsafe advice for beginners Link to comment
birdman204 Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Your shrimp could be preparing to molt, I have a rather friendly cleaner, except about 2 days before he molts, he goes into this weird hiding stage. He doesnt move or eat either. When I see the molt in the tank, i pull it out, 4 hours later, he is all over the place. Hope all is well in nano land Link to comment
Paramedic Posted October 25, 2003 Author Share Posted October 25, 2003 It is my sad duty to report the passing of Dear Mr. Cleaner Shrimp. He is survived by his friend Mr Ocellaris who you can even see the sadness in his eyes as he picked at Mr Shrimp. Now removed so that his memory may go on and the tank may maintain an ammonia level within tolerance. May we please have a moment of silence..... Thank you for your help. I'll be extremely careful in watching the salinity between LFS and my tank before replacing him. Any other suggestions on a cleaner that will help with fish parasites (none yet, but I'd like to keep it that way) and possibly with a little green hair algae. Thanks much. BTW, hadn't checked and/or dosed with Iodine for a long time, will also make sure that's within tolerance before I get another shrimp. Link to comment
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