questions re: new clownfish pair / MP40ws

[habs247]

hey everyone,

my first tank has completed its cycle and after five long weeks i added my first fish to the tank today, a pair of false percs.

having had no experience with these fish, and it being my first marine tank and all, i turn to you guys to make sure i don't make any avoidable mistakes.

first question: the pair seem to be swimming in one spot primarily - front of the tank, middle, near the sand bed. they appear to be fighting the current and have pretty much stayed in the same spot all day (all though they have had moments exploring the ends of the tank, both together and separate). but mostly they stay in one spot, and as night falls, they're still doing the same kind of thing - just "fighting" the current, hanging there...is this behaviour normal?

second question: related to my first - perhaps the current is too strong in my tank? it's a 100g (48x24x20) that has two MP40s for flow, running at 70% reefcrest. when i turn the pumps off, they seem to be a bit more exploratory, but i imagine i'll normally have to keep these pumps on as the tank matures. should i be turning them down?

any advice is appreciated. thanks in advance guys.

[Madmak]

Clowns hover like that a lot, mine tour around a bit but are usually found in a corner in the lower half of the tank. They really aren't the smartest fish nor are they the best swimmers. With your Vortechs you could always program a random flow or a slower night flow for now.

[Rogue951]

Clowns naturally only stay in a small area. it's fine, they're not a distance swimming fish.
Mine almost never cross to the right side of the tank (furthest from the MP10)
they stay on the right and near the nem.

[habs247]

Clowns hover like that a lot, mine tour around a bit but are usually found in a corner in the lower half of the tank. They really aren't the smartest fish nor are they the best swimmers. With your Vortechs you could always program a random flow or a slower night flow for now.

Thanks. The reecrest mode appears to be one of the random ones. Any experience with these pumps? Do you think 70% is appropriate for day? At night, by default, they fall back to 50% of the power for 10 hours. Both of these defaults can be changed...

[habs247]

Clowns naturally only stay in a small area. it's fine, they're not a distance swimming fish.
Mine almost never cross to the right side of the tank (furthest from the MP10)
they stay on the right and near the nem.

Ok thanks. On to getting them to eat. I dropped some brine shrimp in there (will also use flakes) and they just floated everywhere around them, but I don't think either of the little guys took a bite.

Hopefully they'll be better acclimated tomorrow and start eating.

[daplatapus]

When I first got my clowns, soaking the shrimp in garlic seemed to be the only way to get them eating. I guessed they stressed a bit in the move and they needed a bit of a kick start. They eat fine now. You might try that if they continue not eating.

[habs247]

Thanks everyone. Day 2 with these little guys. While the larger, I presume female, one appears to be just ignoring through (and at times spitting it out) it is the smaller one that I'm worried about. He does not even appear to notice any food that falls around him, and swims much closer to the sand to bed. His swimming also seems more laborious than the other's.

I hope I'm just being over concerned rather than having any real basis to worry.

[mike31154]

Give it time before getting overly concerned. When I added my first Maroon clownfish as a juvenile years ago, he (now she) didn't eat for a week & swam laps back & forth along the front glass all day. Beats me where he got the energy to keep up that behaviour for a week with no food, but didn't seem any worse for the wear. Simply started chowing down after the 7th, 8th day & eats almost anything now.

Clownfish in the wild won't last long without finding an anemone to call home, hence they are conditioned not to stray far from that area. So I'd guess the behaviour of your pair is not unusual. They've found a comfortable spot for the moment. It's a survival thing.

As far as flow, I have 3 MP40W ES VorTechs running in my 77 gallon, one at each end & one at the back in the middle. Not sure if you have the ES controllers, but I do & run the pumps in the ES Tidal Swell Mode (TSM) at around 80% max speed. I also use night mode & the pump on the back glass is configured to run at a slower speed even though it is a slave in the group of 3 pumps. The 77 is a narrow tank & flow from the back glass needs to be kept down to keep things manageable. TSM is similar to reefcrest mode & the pumps vary in speed throughout the day, until night mode kicks in. Suffice it to say that you shouldn't need to turn down your VorTechs in a 100 gal to make your clownfish feel at home. They should be more than able to handle your pumps running at 100%.

[habs247]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[habs247]

Ok pretty sure the bigger one is fine. So fine that it snatches all the food before the other can get it. The few pieces that do make it past the bully are seemingly missed by the smaller one. Since I put them in the tank, I've only seen the little one get one mouthful.

Is this normal? Should I try to separate them during feeding? Thanks guys. Would hate to lose one because of my stupidity.

[mike31154]

Any idea how old your clownfish are? Where did you get them, LFS or a fellow hobbyist? Do you know if they are a mated pair, i.e., any history of spawning in their previous home? We generally make a distinction between 'bonded' & 'mated' pairs. Bonded means they are paired, male-female, with the larger specimen being the female. Mated means a bonded pair that has spawned. Either way, if they are bonded or mated, the larger female is usually the more active feeder.

Athough my mated pair are Maroon clowns, I reckon paired behaviour is similar with most species of clownfish. Mine have been spawning for a couple years now & I too often worry that the little male isn't getting his share of food. I call the female 'Miss Piggy' since she's a terror when food hits the water. She will charge quite a distance to take a piece of food. The male is a picky eater & often too busy minding the clutch of eggs when feeding time is on. He will not stray very far from the BTA for food. Despite my concerns, he's a healthy little guy & does his duty of tending the clutch admirably. Lately he's been a little more agressive chasing food, but still no comparison to the female who is easily 3 times his size if not more. I use an Eheim dual chamber auto feeder to feed my tank with flake, cyclopeeze granules & an assortment of other pellet food. There's a veggie clip with nori in there as well, to keep the tang & angelfish happy. When I'm home, in the evening I feed thawed out frozen food - marine plankton, brine shrimp & mysis shrimp. All the fish go ape over that, including the little male Maroon.

You may get the smaller one to eat by separating them, but that could be a tricky undertaking & in the end may even stress out the pair. If my guess is correct, you added the pair less than a week ago. Still a bit soon to get too worried IMO. You have observed him get at least one or two mouthfuls, that's a great sign. If you're only feeding once a day, try multiple feedings. An auto feeder might be a good idea, that way there's more flexibility in feeding times. Your presence during feeding time may also distract the little guy.

[habs247]

Thanks. Very helpful. And reassuring. I will switch to two feedings a day.

[mike31154]

Glad to be of assistance. My auto feeder goes off 3 times a day. As mentioned, when I'm home in the evening, I pull the auto feeder & feed frozen treats. Usually end up feeding what the auto feeder spills into a little bowl as well in the end. Many folks would consider that too much, but it's working for me & the fish eat pretty much all of it. They're a chunky bunch. I don't have a lot of sps coral, so not that concerned about having an ultra low nutrient water column, sooner have well fed fish.

[reefwars]

pe mysis or pacifica plankton.....fish go nuts for it ..if its pellets go new life spectrum....awesome stuff:)

feeding with garlic will prob entice the little one.....fish also get alot of food from the tank it self...algae,pods etc.

[Nano]

fish also get alot of food from the tank it self...algae,pods etc.

+1 To Denny
Here is my hermit cleaning the pods out of his shell and the fish eat it, very cool
Video Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF-FDryrg0Y)

[habs247]

That's really cool! Thanks!

The pair are doing well over the past couple of weeks!