Clown acting strange and lethargic

[rlmtrey]

When first introduced into the tank, my clownfish’s mouth was normal and closed. We had an aggressive clown that was constantly attacking him. I noticed a few days after having the two in the tank the less aggressive fish’s mouth was more open and breathing heavy yet still swimming and eating normally. Do to the aggressiveness of the other clown we returned him to the local fish store and got another clown. These two now get along great. The initial clown’s mouth is still open and breathing heavy. Its been about a week. He's now swimming at the top of the tank with heaving breathing. He seems very lethargic as well.

We did add a goby to the tank yesterday, and rearranged the rocks in the tank. The water metrics were checked yesterday and today and were normal. Water is 81.3 degrees. His color seems normal. I have attached a video and picture of his behavior/color. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Peace River]

Please know that aggression is part of the nature of clownfish. This is how they determine hierarchy and even their sex. What you describe is the sign of stress for the fish - the next step is to determine what is causing the stress.

 

[vetteguy53081]

When first introduced into the tank, my clownfish’s mouth was normal and closed. We had an aggressive clown that was constantly attacking him. I noticed a few days after having the two in the tank the less aggressive fish’s mouth was more open and breathing heavy yet still swimming and eating normally. Do to the aggressiveness of the other clown we returned him to the local fish store and got another clown. These two now get along great. The initial clown’s mouth is still open and breathing heavy. Its been about a week. He's now swimming at the top of the tank with heaving breathing. He seems very lethargic as well.

We did add a goby to the tank yesterday, and rearranged the rocks in the tank. The water metrics were checked yesterday and today and were normal. Water is 81.3 degrees. His color seems normal. I have attached a video and picture of his behavior/color. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Fish is somewhat thin and breathing heavy and may be a victim of clown hierarchy in which the larger one often being female may be preventing it from eating, chasing it to a corner and biting at it
With the aggressor gone, is fish starting to eat?