Clownfish Acting Afraid of Me?

[motheroffroggyfish]

Hi everyone! Hope you guys can help. 

I have a 29 gallon. Water parameters read; 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites & nitrates, 8.0 Ph. Temperature is about 76-78

I do a 25 % water change every week and deep clean the tank every 2 weeks. 

I've had my tank up by itself without any live-stock for about 3 months. I have 1 frostbite clownfish (Omen), 1 turbo snail, and 1 kermit crab. 

I've had the clownfish for about 3 weeks now, got the snail a week after the clown and the kermit crab a week after the snail. 

I do have an air stone in there along with my regular hang on the back filter. 

When Omen first came home he was very active. He already developed a personality within hours of getting him. He was swimming around and coming up to us every time one of us in the house would pass by the tank. When we'd feed him he'd come right up to the tank and if he was hungry he'd go to the top and bop his head out. After I got Omen I begin getting brown algae and that's when I got the cleaning crew (kermit crab and snail). After I got the cleaning crew a few days later I deep cleaned the sand thinking maybe there was a lot of poop and food creating the issue and it slowed down but didn't fully get resolved until I changed my lights. I have a Fluval Reef 2.0 LED light and I had it on a 14 hour cycle to get used to things when I make my saltwater tank into a reef tank and I had my brightness like all colors rgbw all the way up to 100. I did some research and thought the reef purple color would look pretty cool. I've had the purple color for about 2-3 days now and as of yesterday my clownfish has been acting afraid of us. He won't come up to the tank and he just tries to hide. What do you guys think could be going on? The only thing I can think of is the light cycle has messed with him but I'm unsure how bright to go and not get the brown algae. 

Please help! 

[j.falk]

If I had to bet, it would be the light change.  Mine did the same thing when I went from a low light florescent to an AI PRIME HD.

 

Brown algae is a normal part of the tank maturing process.  It needs to go through that cycle.  Let it run it's course.

[motheroffroggyfish]

@j.falk Thank you for replying!

May I ask what you have your light settings at? 

I'm working towards having a reef tank so I'm trying to have that type of lighting but I don't want Omen to get sick or anything. 

[j.falk]

I'm currently running the David Saxby preset.  https://www.aquaillumination.com/signature_series/david-saxby

[j.falk]

48 minutes ago, motheroffroggyfish said:

...and not get the brown algae. 

Take a few minutes to read through this post...it explains how a reef tank matures over time and the stages it will go through.  

 

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycle-process-and-stages.284898/#post-3461668

[motheroffroggyfish]

Thank you for all your help! I really appreciate it :) 

[Clown79]

A single fish often will be more skittish than when it has other fish around.

 

In the ocean when all the fish scatter and aren't seen, it's usually due to a predator being around. Instinctively, being alone could reflect the same thing in a tank. 

 

Algae is normal and many outbreaks will occur in a new tank. 1 snail and 1 hermit in a 29g is not enough of a cuc to clean it all.

 

14hr light cycle is very high. 

12 hrs at most and that's including ramp up/down. Without the ramp up and down 10hrs at most for lighting.

 

Did you change the light to only purple? If so, it may be too dark, emulating night time, there for possibly causing skittishness in the fish.

 

There are many light settings that work, they are all different. Best thing is to do alot if research on lighting, spectrum, and various settings.

[motheroffroggyfish]

Omen is a captive bred and he has never had tank mates besides a cleaning crew (even when he was in the pet store) 

I can have more cleaning crew? I just heard the turbo snails were reproduce like crazy if there's more than one. 

I've attached a picture of what the tank looks like and it's really dark. 

Yes I do the ramp up and ramp down time. Currently only 10 hours of light. 

I have an led Fluval 2.0 light so it's only measured in the rgbw. 

The light goes from the purple in the picture to a darker purple til it goes blue. 

[Clown79]

3 hours ago, motheroffroggyfish said:

Omen is a captive bred and he has never had tank mates besides a cleaning crew (even when he was in the pet store) 

I can have more cleaning crew? I just heard the turbo snails were reproduce like crazy if there's more than one. 

I've attached a picture of what the tank looks like and it's really dark. 

Yes I do the ramp up and ramp down time. Currently only 10 hours of light. 

I have an led Fluval 2.0 light so it's only measured in the rgbw. 

The light goes from the purple in the picture to a darker purple til it goes blue. 

Not sure about the light spectrum. I don't know much about that light.

 

Are you topping up evaporation water daily because salinity changes effect fish.

[j.falk]

I agree.  I've never seen a purple light used on a reef tank before and I'm unfamiliar with the brand of light you are using.  You might want to look up reef light settings for your particular light online to see if there are any certain settings that need to be adjusted.  Purple light just seems unhealthy for the long term.

[A.m.P]

Better to have a timid clown than one trying to draw blood everytime it smells you near the tank XD 
If it's eating I wouldn't be overly concerned, and purple seems fine for growing corals, you should get decent florescence, but your tank will never likely look particularly-bright and you might find things don't grow as quickly. I would advise trying to keep the red channel low as it can contribute to algae issues and won't help much with coral growth.