Clownfish on side

Psherman42 · 2026-09-06T14:16:22-0400

Clowns been sitting at the top of the tank below the water. Swimming sideways . The bigger one is below. Ive noticed they have been pairing the last week, when the smaller one comes down the big one moves up then he goes back. I see nothing wrong with them, they are eating. But hes just swimming sideways. Is he just hosting the corner while the other one watches for danger or is it something bad? I didn't notice this before except at night they sleep funny. Vid below.

Ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 , salinity 1.025
Is it water flow maybe im not sure if its good or not.

Mickle · 2026-09-06T14:40:40-0400

They arent happy in their environment, this is equivalent to glass surfing in clownfish

Tahoe61 · 2026-09-06T14:41:01-0400

I would turn down the flow and see if the clown stops struggling.

Psherman42 · 2026-09-06T14:53:31-0400

Mickle said:
They arent happy in their environment, this is equivalent to glass surfing in clownfish

They have been fine for the past 2 weeks, what would u suggest doing. Im not sure if hes being bullied a bit too much by the bigger one. They are both swimming together dancing around eachother.

Psherman42 · 2026-09-06T15:03:06-0400

Tahoe61 said:
I would turn down the flow and see if the clown stops struggling.

Ive turned the flow off. They are now both doing it and touching eachother and twitching. They aren't breathing heavy or anything. It looks like they are hosting the glass tbh. I fed and they just ate

Tahoe61 · 2026-09-06T15:07:50-0400

Typical weird clown behavior.

Psherman42 · 2026-09-06T15:22:20-0400

Tahoe61 said:
Typical weird clown behavior.

Okay thanks. I always think there is something wrong with them, as someone said on another post that clownfish are a pain in the back side to tell if something is up with them. They just do weird things ive noticed. Its just cause he hasn't done this in the 2 weeks ive had them, about a week ago they stayed at the other side of the tank where the royal gramma lives. He's since kicked them out so they probably got a little stressed having to find a new house im guessing. Id like to get them an annemone but its way too soon. Do u recommend any hardy corals they may like to host instead for the time being?