Is this normal or is my fish stressed?

[MOB122]

Added a goby/pistol shrimp combo the other day and also slightly tweaked lighting to run a little longer. Otherwise water is in check and no other indicators. Goby is shy but seems fine. Has opened his mouth once or twice pretty wide for no reason but I’m not taking that as cause to be alarmed. Thanks for any help!

 

 

[WV Reefer]

26 minutes ago, MOB122 said:

Added a goby/pistol shrimp combo the other day and also slightly tweaked lighting to run a little longer. Otherwise water is in check and no other indicators. Goby is shy but seems fine. Has opened his mouth once or twice pretty wide for no reason but I’m not taking that as cause to be alarmed. Thanks for any help!

 

 

 

Chasing the glass is a sign of stress.  New fish will do it at first until they settle down. How long has the clown been in there?

[MrObscura]

Sometimes clowns attack their reflection thinking it's another clown. 

[MOB122]

Clown has been in the tank for about a month. He’s had various forms of poop over that time but today was the first I’ve noticed white string poop. I’m currently dosing the tank with Brightwell Aquatics Fish Recover M as well. I used it when adding the clown and did it again for the goby/shrimp addition.

[Clown79]

Do you feed mysis because that can cause white poop.

[lpsouth1978]

IMO, that is not normal behavior for a clown. I am certainly not an expert, but I have NEVER seen one of my clown acting like that. it seems to be very erratic and spooked. My clowns are always quite slow and calm (except for feeding time and when attacking my hand).

[MrObscura]

While the one in the op does look erratic is also seems to be responding directly to its reflection at times. So idk. If it stopped doing it's possible it was simply spooked by something.   

 

As for the poop. While white poop can be a sign of illness, I've read posts by a number people commenting on clowns having weird poop. Mine alternate from white, brown, stringy, loose, etc. Maybe it's just a clown thing?  And based on other fish I've had when there is illness associated with white feces the fish is clearly ill,

i. e. Not active, lacks appetite, etc. Whereas my clowns behave perfectly healthy and eat like pigs. 

 

Again, I'd just keep an eye on yours op. If it stopped freaking out and eats well  I wouldn't worry too much. Though I know that's easier said than done. 

[MOB122]

That behavior isn’t typical but it does happen. He was swimming like that for a better portion of the day yesterday. After lights out he chilled and went straight to the bottom left corner of the tank where he sleeps. I’m trying to be patient but the plan was to get a small wall hammer for him to try and host. Is this a bad idea? 

 

This AM w/o lighting on. Could any of this simply relate to too much lighting? The A80 isn’t the most powerful from my research. Max lighting is 45% color/40% intensity at peak. Controller is set to mimic sunrise/set, so it’s only that high for an hour or so.

 

 

[lpsouth1978]

This seems much more normal. I can't imagine that it is reacting to too much light. I have 2 x Hydra 26 HD's, which are A LOT more light than an A80, and my clowns don't have any problem with it. Perhaps the light is causing a lot of reflection inside the tank and causing him to see himself as others have suggested.

 

I wouldn't say that getting a hammer is a bad idea, but I wouldn't do it if the only reason is for the clown to host. Clowns are funny critters and will do their own thing. I have a pair of clowns with a hammer, frogspawn, torch, BTA, and carpet anemone. They have been known to use ALL of these as a host, yet my clowns ignore them ALL. If you are getting the coral because YOU like it, then go for it, if it is only for the CLOWN, don't get it. There is no guarantee it will like it.

[MrObscura]

Yeah, I doubt lighting itself was the issue. Though quick changes can spook fish. 

 

As for the hammer, as mentioned don't get one just for the clown. Get one if you like them. Also I'd go with a branching hammer rather than a wall. The rend to be hardier and easier to deal with overall.