New tank, clownfish, issues.

[MrLafogata]

So I got a 26g “all-in-1” tank from cobalt, and I have 2 very small percula clownfish in it, they’re scaring me because it seems they take a lot of stress under the filters strength. I have 2 heaters one on each side and a lot of rockscape (almost too much tbh) and about 2-3 inches of sand. Nothing else. 

 

The clowns do do the notorious figure 8 when it’s not on but when it is on they seem to be just non stop swimming. They’ve been in there for about 3 days. They’re roughly 2 inches each

[Ratvan]

My Clown seems to love playing in the flow of the Powerhead I have in my tank. I wouldn't worry about it too much they will adapt to your tank conditions. If they are struggling you'll notice that they'll avoid the high flow spots

[Clown79]

3 hours ago, Ratvan said:

My Clown seems to love playing in the flow of the Powerhead I have in my tank. I wouldn't worry about it too much they will adapt to your tank conditions. If they are struggling you'll notice that they'll avoid the high flow spots

Mine does the same thing, when he's done he goes back to areas with less flow

[Sarge_83]

Slow the flow. If it seems to be too much probably is. There are ways to buffer the flow from your filter outlet.

[MrLafogata]

2 hours ago, Sarge_83 said:

Slow the flow. If it seems to be too much probably is. There are ways to buffer the flow from your filter outlet.

How? I have mine in it’s lowest setting and they still seem to struggle. I got a good bubbler so what I’ve been doing is turning off the filter periodically and letting the fish have a breather. When I do turn off the filter they swim around and explore the tank, when I have it on they seem to figure 8 right above the sand non stop.

[Ratvan]

1 minute ago, MrLafogata said:

How? I have mine in it’s lowest setting and they still seem to struggle. I got a good bubbler so what I’ve been doing is turning off the filter periodically and letting the fish have a breather. When I do turn off the filter they swim around and explore the tank, when I have it on they seem to figure 8 right above the sand non stop.

You can put a sponge over the nozzle, have a look at the Betta community for baffle ideas.

[Sarge_83]

11 minutes ago, MrLafogata said:

How? I have mine in it’s lowest setting and they still seem to struggle. I got a good bubbler so what I’ve been doing is turning off the filter periodically and letting the fish have a breather. When I do turn off the filter they swim around and explore the tank, when I have it on they seem to figure 8 right above the sand non stop.

Well you have a saltwater tank so you want adequate flow in the tank in my experience fish wheel go in and out of flow as they please if you have the place were they can get away from the flow a substantial amount of room into tank then I wouldn't worry about it. 

 

But if you if you have too much flow throughout the tank all the time it's a bad thing for livestock. What people do is put their flow on timers or use indirect flow where the flow up against a wall and not going directly into the tank. 

 

If I were you I would make sure the fish have somewhere to go without flow if they do I would leave them alone because they're just playing in the flow. You could almost think about it this way the fishes in a small glass box where he can't swim out into the open and be free so he's going to sit there and play inside the flow inside the small glass box that he lives in. Just provide him with some nook and crannies brother so he can relax from time to time..

[MrLafogata]

22 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

You can put a sponge over the nozzle, have a look at the Betta community for baffle ideas.

I’ll try the sponge thing for sure, that sounds good

[MrLafogata]

12 minutes ago, Sarge_83 said:

Well you have a saltwater tank so you want adequate flow in the tank in my experience fish wheel go in and out of flow as they please if you have the place were they can get away from the flow a substantial amount of room into tank then I wouldn't worry about it. 

 

But if you if you have too much flow throughout the tank all the time it's a bad thing for livestock. What people do is put their flow on timers or use indirect flow where the flow up against a wall and not going directly into the tank. 

 

If I were you I would make sure the fish have somewhere to go without flow if they do I would leave them alone because they're just playing in the flow. You could almost think about it this way the fishes in a small glass box where he can't swim out into the open and be free so he's going to sit there and play inside the flow inside the small glass box that he lives in. Just provide him with some nook and crannies brother so he can relax from time to time..

I’ve tried to give them soft spots but no matter where they go they look like they’re struggling. I know this might not be the best thing but I just poked a hole in the tube that the filter feeds into the output and they seem much less stressed and the current is still strong 

[Ratvan]

6 minutes ago, MrLafogata said:

I’ll try the sponge thing for sure, that sounds good

Just remember to clean the sponge thoroughly on a regular basis.   

[Sarge_83]

4 minutes ago, MrLafogata said:

I’ve tried to give them soft spots but no matter where they go they look like they’re struggling. I know this might not be the best thing but I just poked a hole in the tube that the filter feeds into the output and they seem much less stressed and the current is still strong 

 

Maybe you fixed it. May not seem like a big deal but what you did is a good idea. A lot of companies will give you different outtakes for your filter like spray bars and such. May not seem like a big deal to have a spray bar but in this hobby all those minut details count. Aquariums can be a delicate process in their own right..

[MrLafogata]

Thank the both of you for your help through this 🙂 I’m probably still going to try the sponge thing to see if it still makes them happy! Again thank you so much