holy carp Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I woke up this morning and noticed two unusual things. First I saw my juvenile clownfish laying pretty still on a rock almost like a clown goby... He otherwise seems healthy - no marks, fin damage, etc. Breathing and appetite seem normal. He rushes up if I approach the tank in anticipation of getting some little pellets, but otherwise has spent most of the morning sitting on that rock. He's been in the tank about 50 days, and I've never seen him do this before; he's usually a pretty active swimmer. Is this something I should worry about? Here he is laying on the rock And the other thing I noticed was my acropora had a lot of waxy mucous or something on it today. I've also never seen that before. It's been in there for over 3 months. Could these be related? This is my first tank, so possibly just overly concerned... I did a 5 gallon water change on Wednesday (~15 gallon system), but I have a hard time imagining that would cause this 3 days later... Here's a little water test info: pH 8.3 Mg 1300 dKH 8.4 Ca 430 NO3 0.00 PO4 0.02 sg 1.025 Any insight is appreciated. Also, I've put up a temporary life feed of that rock here: Ivideon [EDIT: cam is back online] Sorry for the poor image. It's my old HTC one, and those ultrapixel camera sensors were absolute garbage... Link to comment
ReefSafeSolutions Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I've experienced a similar thing with my clown lately. One of them died, and shortly afterwards, the other clown started just laying on the rock next to the zoas. I think it was looking to pair up with the zoas, so maybe your clown is trying to do that with the torch there (or whatever those tentacles are)? (I can't say what's up with the acropora...I'm a mostly LPS fan!) Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I'd squirt the Acropora to get off mucus if the flow alone can't do it. Clownfish are weird. Link to comment
holy carp Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 I think it was looking to pair up with the zoas, so maybe your clown is trying to do that with the torch there (or whatever those tentacles are)? There's an elegance and a torch near there, but where he's laying is not that close to them. He doesn't seem to swim to them like a clown hosting an anemone. (or is it the anemone that hosts the clown? I can never get that straight) You can see it a little more clearly in the video feed than the photo. Whenever I go into the room he swims up, but on the video he's pretty still. I'd squirt the Acropora to get off mucus if the flow alone can't do it. Clownfish are weird. I've tried squirting the acro with a pipette, but that mucous is waxy and won't blow off... It wavers a bit but clings fast! Link to comment
holy carp Posted October 3, 2015 Author Share Posted October 3, 2015 So another thought/question... Is it possible that becoming a male is exhausting and making this fish so lethargic? He was tiny when I got him, and I have to imagine he was still gender-less. It's just so odd to see him dart around like normal to eat and then go back to lounge on the rock looking almost dead. It's especially unsettling when he flops over onto his side and lays there with nothing but his gills moving. (taking the cam down now - I don't have night vision) Link to comment
holy carp Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share Posted October 4, 2015 Well, that little fish is still lounging most of the day on that rock... I guess Harry said it all. Maybe he thinks he's a lazy dog. The acro seems to have shed most of the waxy mucous today, but still looks different. Polyps won't open and tips are lighter than they had been. I'm not sure what to make of it. Perhaps it was a delayed reaction to that water change. Shame on me... How much of an alk increase causes reactions in corals? The water change raised my alkalinity from 7.6 to 8.7 dKH using I/O Reef Crystals @ 1.025. Link to comment
Bingo1213 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I have had a clown for 4 years now who loves to lay on the bottom of the tank multiple times a day. Some are just super lazy. Mine has been doing this since day one and clearly is still very healthy! Link to comment
holy carp Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 I have had a clown for 4 years now who loves to lay on the bottom of the tank multiple times a day. Some are just super lazy. Mine has been doing this since day one and clearly is still very healthy! Thanks, Bingo, that's reassuring. Funny that he started doing it overnight, but now seems to spend most of the day laying there. He doesn't sleep there, but goes back to that spot as soon as the lights start to come on in the morning. Maybe that's his way of getting some 'me' time away from the wife... I'm thinking I might consider getting him a bubble tip. Link to comment
Bingo1213 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I have two bubble tips in my tank and my clown ignores both haha. Mine is a very ummm unique clown hahahaha Link to comment
Tamberav Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Hard to say with clowns as they do odd things. Mine lays just like that inside its anemone and will flop over on its side as well. Maybe that clown thinks the rock is its host? Link to comment
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