Is this normal clownfish behavior?

FishPureLuck

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OK am.going to be controversial...again here.
Sorry but this is not " normal behaviour" I have never had clowns exhibit these kinds of "abnormal behaviour" but then I never keep clowns without their appropriate anemone.
I belive clowns without their anemone experience some sort of psychological disturbance and even stress without a nem.
You will never find clowns in the wild without their host nem, nor will you find clowns behaving in anything like this in the wild.
I mean, after watching this video below, how could you keep clowns without a host anemone. Clowns are happiest, content and IME exhibit none of the unusual, unnatural behaviour we often see or hear about when they have a suitable nem to frolic in.

I don't consider what OP is decribing as normal happy clown behavior either, but I have a pair of ocellaris clowns that swim around the tank just like every other fish in the tank. They do sleep in one corner as opposed to in the rocks like the rest of the fish, but as soon as lights go on, they're swimming with the rest of the fish normally. They are tank raised, so that may be why. Every other tank raised clowns that I've owned in the last 20 years wanted nothing to do with anemones and they were perfectly happy and healthy. That's just my experience, yours may be different, but to say they absolutely need anemones is false according to my experiences.
 
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Ardeus

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Clowns are a controversial topic because, on one hand they're hardy but on the other they have very specific requirements to be kept properly.

Fish don't have facial expressions that we can easily recognize and their language is almost always lost in translation. That being said the behavior they show in your videos shows that they're not ok by any stretch of the imagination.

I've kept clowns without anemones when I started, then I kept them with anemones that were not their natural host and finally with their natural host.

There's very visible differences in behaviors between these 3 situations.

My best advise is to first assure their survival in the short term and help them get through whatever problem they're having now.

Since we have no idea on what's wrong, I recommend small waterchanges (10%) every day or every other day to help to improve the water quality while hopefully the tank finds its balance by itself.
 

reef_1

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Videos are not good enough for me to see breathing or any details.

But as far as their movements that looks exactly how it should look once they are settled with no stress and doing their clown business.

They will normally choose an area to host with no high flow or lights, with something which gives cover, so they frequently end up behind the intake nozzle or around the overflow box. Then they will spend their life in that 15x15cm area swimming/levitating around their host and picking stuff from the water column.

They will swim slightly sideways a lot, that is normal.

What is not normal if they are horizontal with belly up and cant right themselves, or if they have one end pointing down constantly and are obviously struggling to right themselves. I dont see this on this video, these fish look relaxed to me (I dont see their breathing though, so its only based on how they move around).

When you said you woke up and clown was vertical at the nero3 my first thought was it is sleepeing. Was the fish actually sucked into the nero3 or was it just lined up against it with its side? (Anyway if it can fit through its a good idea to remove it temporarily at least, or to wrap it in something, sponge etc)

If its the latter it might have just slept there. I had clowns hosting and sleeping against filter intakes, they always slept lined up to the filter, sucked to its sides sideways. They can sleep in any position you can imagine, look up youtube videos.

Stop panicking millions are keeping clownfish and you will also keep them if you want, regardless of what happens with these particular fish. Stop panicking and enjoy the learning curve.
 
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DirkDigler

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Clowns are a controversial topic because, on one hand they're hardy but on the other they have very specific requirements to be kept properly.

Fish don't have facial expressions that we can easily recognize and their language is almost always lost in translation. That being said the behavior they show in your videos shows that they're not ok by any stretch of the imagination.

I've kept clowns without anemones when I started, then I kept them with anemones that were not their natural host and finally with their natural host.

There's very visible differences in behaviors between these 3 situations.

My best advise is to first assure their survival in the short term and help them get through whatever problem they're having now.

Since we have no idea on what's wrong, I recommend small waterchanges (10%) every day or every other day to help to improve the water quality while hopefully the tank finds its balance by itself.
Thank you. I was just at my LFS and told me my fish looked stressed most likely related to the bacteria bloom I'm dealing with. The water looks very murky and I noticed it's becoming worse every morning I wake up. I've had the tank for two months now approx and going through diatom phase as well as from what I was told is a bacteria bloom. He told me similar to your advice on the frequency of water changes and should stabilize while monitoring my clowns. Today I did a 20% water change so hopefully it helps a bit.
 
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DirkDigler

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Videos are not good enough for me to see breathing or any details.

But as far as their movements that looks exactly how it should look once they are settled with no stress and doing their clown business.

They will normally choose an area to host with no high flow or lights, with something which gives cover, so they frequently end up behind the intake nozzle or around the overflow box. Then they will spend their life in that 15x15cm area swimming/levitating around their host and picking stuff from the water column.

They will swim slightly sideways a lot, that is normal.

What is not normal if they are horizontal with belly up and cant right themselves, or if they have one end pointing down constantly and are obviously struggling to right themselves. I dont see this on this video, these fish look relaxed to me (I dont see their breathing though, so its only based on how they move around).

When you said you woke up and clown was vertical at the nero3 my first thought was it is sleepeing. Was the fish actually sucked into the nero3 or was it just lined up against it with its side? (Anyway if it can fit through its a good idea to remove it temporarily at least, or to wrap it in something, sponge etc)

If its the latter it might have just slept there. I had clowns hosting and sleeping against filter intakes, they always slept lined up to the filter, sucked to its sides sideways. They can sleep in any position you can imagine, look up youtube videos.

Stop panicking millions are keeping clownfish and you will also keep them if you want, regardless of what happens with these particular fish. Stop panicking and enjoy the learning curve.
Thank you and appreciate the feedback. i did notice they pick at things in the water but not too far from their general area as you describe. The clown that was against it seemed it was just laying on its side against it. It was just my immediate reaction to move it away from there because I thought the vortex of the wave maker sucked it in and not allowing it to move but after I moved it, it met with the other clown behind the intake nozzle like you said. I showed the video to my LFS and mentioned that they do appear slightly stressed and could be due to the bacteria bloom in my water which is why it's impossible to see inside. Receiving reassurance from experienced hobbyist is always good to hear. Thank you for listening and taking a look at the video.
 

reef_1

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I was just at my LFS and told me my fish looked stressed most likely related to the bacteria bloom I'm dealing with.

Dunno but for example in the second video I see absolutely nothing, just two relaxed clownfish trying to look for food particles in the dirty water (I am not able to see their breathing at all due to the quality of video)

I dont know what are those particles if its bacteria bloom UV will sort it in a day or two, if its suspended particles then a bit of a filter floss will do the same. Just make sure there is oxygenation, skimmer or an airstone.
 
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DirkDigler

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Dunno but for example in the second video I see absolutely nothing, just two relaxed clownfish trying to look for food particles in the dirty water.

I dont know what are those particles if its bacteria bloom UV will sort it in a day or two, if its suspended particles then a bit of a filter floss will do the same. Just make sure there is oxygenation, skimmer or an airstone.
Thank you, i have a tunze 9004 skimmer, still kind of figuring out the adjustment valve on it if rotate the valve the tiniest bit it tends creat over flow and just filling the container with clean water...well somewhat clean. I will be performing water changes at 10% every other day to see if it helps.
 

reef_1

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The clown that was against it seemed it was just laying on its side against it. It was just my immediate reaction to move it away from there because I thought the vortex of the wave maker sucked it in and not allowing it to move but after I moved it, it met with the other clown behind the intake nozzle like you said.
Next time if it happens turn off powerhead and make a short video before you move it, but look it up on youtube how they do sleep, they are motionless for 10-30 seconds, then maybe move their tail or fins a little bit without actually moving much and then go back motionless. They love to sleep wedged in somewhere, in any corner etc

But if its fits through the powerhead intake its a VERY good idea to cover it in sponge or something, sometimes powerheads can suck small fish through.
 
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DirkDigler

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Next time if it happens turn off powerhead and make a short video before you move it, but look it up on youtube how they do sleep, they are motionless for 10-30 seconds, then maybe move their tail or fins a little bit without actually moving much and then go back motionless. They love to sleep wedged in somewhere, in any corner etc

But if its fits through the powerhead intake its a VERY good idea to cover it in sponge or something, sometimes powerheads can suck small fish through.
Yea probably do that just to be safe even though it comes with a cover to prevent that. I will try to catch a video of it if he does this again.
 

JaFish720

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As long as their eating a variety and you have flow and air exchange. My pair roll around or go vertically with their head down when they're sleepy and it’s usually a different spot in the tank than where they like to be during the day (unless they have an anemone-in which case they stay close to it)
 
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DirkDigler

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My larger mocha died. It ended up being sick with a bacterial infection. The other fish are good so far, eating well and moving well.
 

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Do you see any heavy breathing. I have a blood orange that does this and is just happy as can be. Are they eating normal? Any and all details of the fish would help.
 
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DirkDigler

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Do you see any heavy breathing. I have a blood orange that does this and is just happy as can be. Are they eating normal? Any and all details of the fish would help.
Hi, my larger mocha storm clown had passed away since this post and passed on Christmas Eve. The other is going strong, fingers crossed it stays that way.
 

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Hi all,
I am new to saltwater aquarium and have purchased clownfish to start off my journey. I have had my tank for about 6-8 weeks and 6 weeks of that was cycling the tank with no free german vps livestock. The first week the clownfish we're swimming all over the tank and sometimes hang out in corners either top or bottom. They would also do some of behaviors like swimming up and down in an area. What I noticed today was them hanging in the back surface aquarium swimming on their sides. I hope the video helps and that I am simply being a new paranoid hobbyist.
Its made for your tank for a reason. You can always do a screen top if your worried about it but i have glass lids on all my tanks and have never had issues.
 

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