Clown scared of Tunze pump?

[ArtsyAxolotl]

I bought a Tunze Turbelle Nanostream 6040 on Marine Depot, thinking my tank might like the varied flow. Well, I hooked it up, turned it on, and my female clown went bonkers.

She started darting around the tank, nipping at everything that got too close, and at one point grabbed the male by the fin (she NEVER makes physical contact with him, only feints towards him). I adjusted the flow, practically turned it to nothing, and she was still freaking out. As soon as I turned the pump off, she calmed down..

Has anyone had this trouble with a pump before? I want to try it again but I'm afraid of my inverts and my pipe going into the top of it (I don't like that the blade is exposed). I'm going to the pet store later today to get a mesh filter media bag to tie over it (that's how I kept my lettuce slugs out of my Koralias on my last tank), but I'd like to know if this is normal behavior or if I did something wrong.

 

[Tahoe61]

I have this pump and clowns without issue.
Established clowns become very territorial as they age, any new addition or change may cause them to appear distressed when in actuality they are just upset that their territory has changed.
My clowns will not even allow new corals near their spot. I have to double glue and epoxy the corals down because the clowns will eventually remove the coral.
How large is the tank? I used this pump on a 20, 30 and now a 45 gallon. I do not cover the pump but that is a common sense step.

 

[ArtsyAxolotl]

20 gallons. Maybe she was just doing what you described, then. Freaking out because her new territory changed. I didn't know that was something they might do.

I'm definitely giving it another try tonight regardless, I'm just not comfortable setting it up with the possibility of my critters going into it.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Is it possible that it is leaking electricity into the tank?

 

[ArtsyAxolotl]

It's certainly not out of the question, although only the female clown reacted. None of the shrimp, the male clown, or the corals were affected.

I tried the pump again today. I put it in and let it sit for an hour before turning it on. My cleaner shrimp (who finally came back from hiding!) was all over it. Then I finally turned it on and got the settings I wanted and my clown seems calm this time. Dunno if waiting to turn it on helped but she's not panicing so I'm going to see if the tank appreciates the extra flow.

 

[ArtsyAxolotl]

So a day later, and the pump is working pretty well. I have a nice "bobbing" flow going on. The female clown isn't spazzing out but... she and the male are spending a lot of time in their corner. Usually, during the day, they come out from the left rear corner and swim around the tank. But for most of the day today, they've been down in their corner generally not leaving the area.

Is that to be expected when first introduced to varied flow like that? or might it be an issue of the flow being too strong? or is that completely normal behavior? I'm just not used to seeing them spend a ton of time down in their corner unless they're sleeping.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Every fish responds differently, my old clown RIP loved the current he would swim underneath it and then hitch a ride across the tank,like in Nemo with the turtles, he would do this all day.

 

[ArtsyAxolotl]

Blue Spot Octopus that sounds adorable! It's been just over a week and I'm still not sure if they like it or not. I'm not home most of the day but in the evenings when I am home they seem to stick to the side of the tank opposite of the pump. They seem to be sleeping in that corner regardless of whether the pump is on or not. I'm not even 100% sure I have the pump set optimally. I'm really not sure what settings make for good waves. It always seems like too much or too little.

 

[ArtsyAxolotl]

Ok yea I'm really not sure I'm all that crazy about this pump.. Not that there's something wrong with the tunze itselfm but maybe the animals I have aren't suited for that much current?

I've been sitting watching them a bit more closely now, and occasionally the clownfish seem to be getting "sucked" towards the pump. They seem like they're being pulled backward toward it and will start wiggling rapidly to get away. Or, at least that's what it seems like is happening. The pipefish seems to be having a particularly hard time whenever he wants to swim in the open instead of snaking around on the rocks. Without the addition of the wave maker pump, it seems like he can navigate a lot more easily.

Idk if the pump isn't programmed right or what. I don't know what settings to use. I just keep trying different things and I'm not really wild about anything. I also tried just the wave pump without the built in powerheads and it still doesn't help. The fish still seem to gravitate towards it tail first.

It almost sorta seems like my moving animals are more comfortable without the current. I'm going to unplug the Tunze for the night and keep an eye on them tomorrow morning while I'm getting ready to work. See if they calmed down any to sleep.