what's wrong?

[catchyy]

I just added a clown fish to my 10 gallon AR-380 and at first my blue damsel wouldnt let her swim anywhere and/or eat anything. Last night i came home and she had white bubbly spots all over her and was barely swimming. The hydrometer reads 1.021 and all the tests for water (nitrate, nitrite, ph, and ammonia) came out good. Temperature is about 80 degrees. The next morning i woke up and most of the spots were gone and she seems fine now...not really eating though. I'm feeding them Spectrum THERA+ A. What is going on?

[bneyman]

Damsels are mean ba$terds... Chances are, especially since he was there first, he's beating up on the clown. Decide which one you like, (I'd go with the clown), and take the other one back. Damsels can be mean, and very territorial. Do a search on damsels and you'll see what I'm talking about! Devil Damsel..

[darwin604]

all second Cathcyy on damsels

 

I had a couple damsels in my nano to start with, I added a small clown to the mix (I was planning on taking the damsels back asap at the time), and within about 2 days they stressed my poor clown out so much that he died. I eventually got rid of the damsels and got a replacement clown and he's been doing great for about a year now. Damsels are horribly aggressive and territorial, they are hardy and a good beginner fish, but I cant see them getting along with anything else in a small nano without problems.

 

d.

[skeletor]

I'll second (or third) the given theories on damsels, they are bastards, but lovable ones. Just wait until the clown gets established, they can get very agressive. especially towards hands in the tank.

 

you might want to get in there and move all the rocks around, that should level the playing field a bit for the clown.

 

-skeletor-

[seabass]

I assume that you're talking about a False Perc. A few days of not eating is not that unusual for a new Clownfish.

 

It’s true that Blue Devil Damselfish are territorial and somewhat aggressive. Due to territories, I feel that it’s too small of a tank for those two fish.

 

I think False Percs are usually happier in mated pairs, but the 10-gallon is kind of small for that as well. A 15-gallon tank works out better for a pair of Clownfish that might grow well over 3” in length.

 

Keeping fish responsibly in a nano is a challenge. I’d be tempted to take the Clownfish back and gets a couple more invertebrates instead. You just have to balance your preferences with the requirements of your inhabitants.

 

Good luck.