Clown fish acting strange

[Firecapt34]

So I have 2 clown fish in a 35 gallon tank. Today they have started acting weird. Agressive Twain’s each other. Swimming fast, falling over sideways till they reach bottom. Shaking. Breathing heavy. Salinity is 1.022, ph 8.2 nh3- 0 no2- 0. Didn’t eat when I fed them. Any ideas or
Suggestions. Tank is about 3 months old.

 

[PeaBrain]

How long has the tank been up and running? Are you able to test for ammonia?

 

[PeaBrain]

Sorry, I see your tank is 3 months in. How long have the clowns be in the tank?

 

[Firecapt34]

How long has the tank been up and running? Are you able to test for ammonia?

Amino is was 0, tank has been 3 months

 

[Firecapt34]

clowns have been in tank for 1 month

 

[Firecapt34]

Sorry, I see your tank is 3 months in. How long have the clowns be in the tank?

1 month

 

[DeniseAndy]

Aggressive is clowns natural behavior. I assume they were small when you added them and around the same size or one larger. It was not a bonded or mated pair yet? Captive bred? Not exposed to wild? Qt?

 

[Firecapt34]

Aggressive is clowns natural behavior. I assume they were small when you added them and around the same size or one larger. It was not a bonded or mated pair yet? Captive bred? Not exposed to wild? Qt?

They are close to same size, captive bred, in the same tank when I bought them

 

[DeniseAndy]

If you got them from a local dealer, did they keep them in a different system than the wild caught animals. If not, they are probably fighting something picked up. Parasite, infection, both.

Do you have good air exchange? Protein skimmer or powerheads breaking surface of water?

Can you get some meds to treat them? You will need to move to a hospital tank for medication. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/beginners-guide-to-acclimation-and-quarantine.304980/

 

[NewGoby]

Keep an eye out on the feeding.

Clowns are always aggressive.

You mentioned that they were close to the same size - how big are they roughly?

Could be that they're both females - if they are 1 will kill the other in a 30g

Ocellaris (Clown fish) - are sex-less at birth.
When growing up the strongest - most aggressive fish will become the Alpha female (females are MUCH larger than males)
The second strongest & most aggressive fish will become the male.
All other fish in the harem will remain sexless.

If the male or female dies the ranks shift.
Male becomes the alpha female
Strongest sex-less fish will become the new male

2 females in 1 tank & the weakest of the 2 will die, if not both.

Always buy 2 tiny (half an inch to an inch) long ocellaris, or buy a tiny ocellaris to add to an existing (established) fish to make sure - the small one will be a male, and the larger one will be(come) a female

Edit - +1 to possibly fighting an infection or parasite which causes a bad eating behaviour. if you can post pictures

 

[Firecapt34]

 

[NewGoby]

My test kits just arrived and the parameters seemed fine as I expected. However, I got 0.06ppm for phosphate which I think is a bit high. I placed it in low flow and low light area with my other scoly. That scoly immediately receeded like crazy after one night. I actually have no idea what is going on with my display tank so I just set up a quarantine tank and moved all my coral there.

Here is a pic of my other scoly. Would dipping them in iodine help?

Amino is was 0, tank has been 3 months

is your ammonia 0 - or WAS it 0?

Eitherway - measure ASAP - fish seems stressed - but could be startled - can you post a longer video?

 

[Firecapt34]

is your ammonia 0 - or WAS it 0?

Eitherway - measure ASAP - fish seems stressed - but could be startled - can you post a longer video?

Is and was 0

 

[Firecapt34]

Look

 

[DeniseAndy]

She is flicking a bit more than usual. I would maybe get her out and see if you can do a dip for parasites. Use a Rally dip.

 

[Firecapt34]

She is flicking a bit more than usual. I would maybe get her out and see if you can do a dip for parasites. Use a Rally dip.

What’s that?

 

[Dr Jimmy]

Well I was going to make a smart remark about normal clownfish strange or actual strange. The behavior does look a bit concerning. You might do a freshwater dip and see if anything pops off.

 

[NewGoby]

hm.. yeah the behaviour is odd - even for a clownfish.

Put in some activated carbon just incase there's any chemicals in the water - meanwhile do a 50% water change - see if the behaviour improves - if it does I'd continue to do water changes every day of 25-30% - if it gets worse again do another 50% water change.

While we're at it - just to rule it out - check for stray voltage - fish I recall my ocellaris having similair sporadic behaviour many years ago.

I got a call while @ work saying that my room smelled of chemicals & that my fish were acting oddly.
After urging home - I found out that my pump had poisoned my tank over night & was also leaking electricity into the water.

#reefsquad please help him out - seems rather urgent looking at the ocellaris' behaviour.

 

[Retro Reefer]

A lot of people will not be able to see videos unless you upload them to youtube and then post link in your thread. Full tank pictures are also useful.. any possible contamination? Air fresheners, bug sprays, high voc paint? I would point power heads towards surface to help make sure you have plenty of oxygen. water changes as mentioned and fresh carbon. how are you checking salinity? You may want to bump it up a little.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Ruby Red Rally is a type of dip. Lots of people will use freshwater dips to detect some parasites. I am not a huge fan of them. I will dip in acriflavin or formalin or a reef rally product. You can dip in a bath of 1.010 though to see if relieves her a bit.
Check about voltage. I have never had that problem "knock on wood".