Clownfish Behaviour

[Gujustud]

Well after almost 3 months of waiting (since I started my tank), I finally got my first 2 clownfish (percula). I picked them up today at OA. Thanks again Jack!

Now I've done a fair amount of reading in the past 3 months, and trying to learn as much as I can about them. But I do have a few questions now that I have them in my tank.

First, they are fairly small, which is what I wanted. I really wanted to be able to watch them grow up, instead of buying them already almost full size. If you've been to OA, then you know the sizes of them. Both of them are fairly small (the biggest one being just a touch under 1").

My tank is a 38g, with about 25lbs of LR (I am planning on getting more, as soon as my stand is done). Up untill now, I have only had 1 802 PH for shaking up the water in my tank.

I figured before hand that the one PH wasn't enough, even after putting them in, so I went and picked up another 802. I have both on the back corners, facing towards the front center.

I did find this created almost TOO much turbulence (or maybe, that I'm just not use to it).

My question is, how much is too much? I know its a bit of a difficult question. Even with the one PH, the 2 fish are really having a "battle" it almost seems against the current. Or maybe they are not use to it? There didn't seem to be much flow in the tanks they were raised in. Would they go closed to the rocks, or under the rocks if it was too much? Are they maybe enjoying the newfound currents? After the lights went out today, they started to roam around the tank more.

Is it also normal for them to peck at eachother once in a while? I noticed them (or moreso the larger one) doing this for a few minutes here and there earlier today. Is that them 'playing'?

Sorry if most of my questions are stupid and total newb, but I'm just trying to learn as much as I can about these guys. They are way to cool, and want to make sure that their new home is a good one.

Thanks!

[sumpfinfishe]

Gujusted

Congrats on your pair, I see you got them at OA, you purchased some healthy, happy fish.

To answer your first question is a toughy as many different factors come in to play when trying to provide ideal currents. If you only have 25lbs of LR then I would say that there is lot's of swimming space available. Two 802's doe's seem like a quite a lot of flow for a 38gl in my opinion but that's just my opinion. I played with current in my 27gl for the last year and finally I am happy with the flow now. In my three foot tank I have a MJ 1200 that provides intermittent current every half hour, I also have a Mag3 connected to a SCWD to provide constant flow from the sump. My goal was to provide a steady flow that kept a wide variety of creatures happy, this meant that the flow had to be constant yet gentle enough to allow my poor swimming clowns and gobies to explore freely throughout the reef yet strong enough at times to flush away debris and bring food to corals and inverts. All of my fish have no problems swimming within my reef even during peek flow periods yet during these high flows there are always area's within the reef were they can retreat too if needed.

IMO I think that it's best to provide a medium current throughout the day and night with some low flow locations for the poor swimmers, and also to provide an intermittent high flow zone during the day to simulate tidal movements or wave action. So if I were you, I would maybe try running just one 802ph on constant 24-7 cycle while running the second on a timmer to provide intermittent flow throughout the day. If this flow is too much and all your fish are hiding in the rockwork or are flat against the glass then you might want to step the secondary 802ph down to a 402 or a MJ1200. As long as you can provide areas where the fish can retreat to during high flow then there should be no problems. In my case, when my intermittent MJ1200 comes on every half hour the clowns will move to a less flow area and others such as my six line and my chromis will be in full blast as to seem like they love to swim in the higher flow location.

As for the pecking it could be play, but I would guess that the more dominent female is setting the rules for her territory or she is making sure that the other clown turns male. The larger female will do this for a long time to come, making sure that the smaller male knows his role and keeps him in line.

If you haven't read Clownfishes by Joyce .W, I would highly reccomend it- it's a must read and own for anyone who plans on keeping clowns.

Happy clowning around!

[Beverly]

Gujustud,

I use 802s with Quickfilter attachments filled with foam in my 42g hex and in the 72g bowfront. The two in the bowfront are on full throttle, one pointing across the back of the tank, the other pointing so the water hits the glass 1/2 way to the middle of the tank.

In the 42g, I have adjusted the single 802's water flow down to about half, otherwise there'd be water all over the dining room To adjust water flow, I find it best to remove the PH and break it down partway. If it's dirty, break it down all the way and clean it while you're at it

Anyway, what you are looking for is the red lever on the outside of the PH which moves the green thing inside the PH over the outlet. If you try to move the red lever while the PH's still running, you'll never be able to do it due to the force of the water. If you try to move the red lever while the PH is off, but not broken down, you won't be able to see how much of the outlet you have covered up for the next time you want to adjust the flow.

Also, I would probably use only one 802 in your 38g, or as someone else suggested, two 402s.

[Gujustud]

Hmm, yeah I should of thought twice about getting 2 802's and maybe got the 402. The reason for getting a second 802 was because I am planning on upgrading to a 48"l tank down the road (summertime).

I've got 2 of the quickfilter attachments as well, but still found it quite strong.

I only kept the new 802 in the tank for about 10 mins, I think I'll probably return it and get a 402. Hopefully there shouldn't be any problem returning it.

But then again, even with the highflow, if it was too much, they would be smart enough to go behind the rocks wouldn't they? Or maybe they aren't aware of that since they aren't use to a tank with currents and rocks.

I've been planning on getting my next book, primarly for clownfish, I'll take a look into that one.

From what Jack told me, is that they are only about 5 months old, and won't sexually mature till about a year, but I think that because one is slightly bigger than the other, she's already starting early on her role

[smokinreefer]

hey,
have you tried turning down the flow like beverly mentioned?
i'm sure that would solve your problem now, and also allow you to keep the powerhead for when you upgrade.

[LostMind]

Yah, just turn down the flow on both a bit. The flow reducer makes a big difference.

Also, you can borrow my clownfishes book if you want. I have already read it at least 3 times. Save yourself a few bucks

[Gujustud]

Well I re-read what Ben wrote. I never really took apart the powerheads, so I did so. I figured by reading the diagrams on the packaging, that if you change the slider (the green/red one) that it reverses the flow, -BUT- after opening the powerhead up, and looking inside, I see what you mean about just moving it partial way, so that the red drum just slightly covers the output.

Volia, instant heaven, and no more clownfish flying around the tanks .

I ended up pointing both of them towards the front center on the tank (one slightly more towards the center of the tank all together).

My lights are on a timer which has 2 plugs, so I put one of the powerheads in there, so that at night time, its not so turbulent.

I have noticed however, as soon as the lights go off, they start swimming around more often. They seem to like hanging around the body of the powerheads.

Thanks again everyone for the tips! Lostmind, I'll have to grab that book of you.

[Gujustud]

So my clownfish are doing just as good as when I first got them. They have grown quite a bit, and colors are much brighter now.

However, for the last week, I've noticed they almost seem to fight a lot more often. Always squaring off head to head, nit-picking at each other. They'll be swimming around side by side, then all of a sudden start fighting. Is this a normal behaviour? Are they reaching sexual peak? Is there such a thing as clowns not pairing off?

[mutabaruka]

My family has a long and storied history of very erratic behaviour on the part of our pets, including my clownfish

I had a 20 gal a while ago, with about 15# of live rock and 2 402's. The clownfish used to spend hours riding the currents (EAC? ) They would swim almost directly in front of the outlet from behind the PH and when in the outflow, surf the current the full length of the tank and around the corner. (the 402 was in one back corner, pointed at the other back corner) Then they would swim the rest of the way around and do it again, for hours on end. I got dizzy just watching them!

They had fun anyways!