Clownfish started randomly laying down all the time

[Redbeards.Reef]

Hello everyone!

Kinda weird I recently did a 20% water change and added 100 mL of Magnesium to my tank. After that I noticed one of my clownfish started going to a specific spot and laying down. It doesn't look like he's struggling to breathe and nothing visually evident. I did 2 more 20% water changes just in case and retested my water and everything looked great. It was the first cold day so I thought maybe it was water temp or something? It's been about a week and he is still doing it. not all the time just randomly sometime for a long time sometime for just a few seconds. He gets pretty still and lands and then pops right back up like normal. He eats and interacts and seems to do everything the same just now he spends part of the time laying in that spot.

The longer it continues I guess it's some type of behavioral thing, but wondering if anyone has encountered something like this in the past? There is another similarly sized clownfish that he is paired with and they've been together for months. Anyways it seems to be part of his new norm but just want to make sure im paying attention! let me know what you think!

 

[KrisReef]

Nesting is common, has it cleared the area?

 

[Redbeards.Reef]

Nesting is common, has it cleared the area?

Oh thats good thanks for the response! Ya I guess it did kinda clear out some shells from there. I was planning on removing the rock that he's laying on. He'll just find a new spot then right?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello everyone!

Kinda weird I recently did a 20% water change and added 100 mL of Magnesium to my tank. After that I noticed one of my clownfish started going to a specific spot and laying down. It doesn't look like he's struggling to breathe and nothing visually evident. I did 2 more 20% water changes just in case and retested my water and everything looked great. It was the first cold day so I thought maybe it was water temp or something? It's been about a week and he is still doing it. not all the time just randomly sometime for a long time sometime for just a few seconds. He gets pretty still and lands and then pops right back up like normal. He eats and interacts and seems to do everything the same just now he spends part of the time laying in that spot.

The longer it continues I guess it's some type of behavioral thing, but wondering if anyone has encountered something like this in the past? There is another similarly sized clownfish that he is paired with and they've been together for months. Anyways it seems to be part of his new norm but just want to make sure im paying attention! let me know what you think!

Add any chemicals to sump in lieu of directly to the tank to prevent high exposure to chemicals and shock. This can be a response to chemicals, aggression from another fish or health issue such as brook, all guesses without any pics.
Please post a video if possible of at least 15 sec using Bright white light intensity, No blue to identify any signs. Can also be behavioral.
Is fish breathing normal or rapid?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Not necessarily. While they have been known to nest can also be a sign of an issue and with my post, a video can confirm and eliminate possibilities

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello everyone!

Kinda weird I recently did a 20% water change and added 100 mL of Magnesium to my tank. After that I noticed one of my clownfish started going to a specific spot and laying down. It doesn't look like he's struggling to breathe and nothing visually evident. I did 2 more 20% water changes just in case and retested my water and everything looked great. It was the first cold day so I thought maybe it was water temp or something? It's been about a week and he is still doing it. not all the time just randomly sometime for a long time sometime for just a few seconds. He gets pretty still and lands and then pops right back up like normal. He eats and interacts and seems to do everything the same just now he spends part of the time laying in that spot.

The longer it continues I guess it's some type of behavioral thing, but wondering if anyone has encountered something like this in the past? There is another similarly sized clownfish that he is paired with and they've been together for months. Anyways it seems to be part of his new norm but just want to make sure im paying attention! let me know what you think!

I agree - a clear video will help us. It may not tell us exactly what’s going on, but it will allow us to rule out some potential issues.

 

[Redbeards.Reef]

I actually found some eggs right near where he was laying so I think thats what is going on!