New clown seems lethargic

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Apwhite

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I got a clownfish on Saturday and he has mostly just hung around one area of the tank. Often I will find him just sitting in his anemone like this. Is this bad? Is he just getting used to the new tank? Or is there another issue? Also, when I feed him, heā€™ll swim around and it eat but not swim straight to the top and get it from the surface.
 

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I got a clownfish on Saturday and he has mostly just hung around one area of the tank. Often I will find him just sitting in his anemone like this. Is this bad? Is he just getting used to the new tank? Or is there another issue? Also, when I feed him, heā€™ll swim around and it eat but not swim straight to the top and get it from the surface.
I have no experience salt water what so ever but there are a few things that overlap with freshwater where I can help.

This may be a kinda dumb question but this is a saltwater tank you set up right? Is there enough salt?

Ok, but the main questions I want to ask is when you added him and how many decorations you have? Could you show a pic of the WHOLE tank? A lot of times fish need time to adjust or if there is not a lot of spots to hide in, they stay hidden in one spot and dont come out.

Is your tank cycled and if so how did you cycle it? It may have gotten a little sick if the tank wasnt set up properly.
 
Yes salinity is just fine. I added him Saturday afternoon. Cycled since February. Here is a pic of the whole tank. You can see him in the anemone just kinda laying there which heā€™s done a lot. Sometimes heā€™ll get up and swim a tiny bit but always goes back to the anemone. Breathing seems kinda fast but at this point I canā€™t tell if Iā€™m overreacting or not
 

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A lot of sw fish won't surface feed, nothing to worry about if he eats from what blows around the tank. Clowns also pick a home base and basically stick there most of the time. They do this with live anemones, corals, ornaments, etc. They aren't big active swimmer all-around-the-tank sorts of fish.

Edit: Should also say that clowns still swim when sticking in place at home. They don't literally lie still. If he's swimming slowly it's normal but literal lying against something no fin movement is not
 
I got a clownfish on Saturday and he has mostly just hung around one area of the tank. Often I will find him just sitting in his anemone like this. Is this bad? Is he just getting used to the new tank? Or is there another issue? Also, when I feed him, heā€™ll swim around and it eat but not swim straight to the top and get it from the surface.
Just from the photos, he seems to be healthy. Most likely just stress and getting used to his surroundings. When I got my clown pair, it took them around a week to get used to the tank and come out from the rock structure.

Often I will find him just sitting in his anemone like this. Is this bad?
Not bad, this is good. It means he is getting used to the anemone and thinks of it as his ā€œsafe placeā€.

Also, when I feed him, heā€™ll swim around and it eat but not swim straight to the top and get it from the surface.
This is also normal for clowns, they donā€™t like going up to the surface to get food, and would much rather eat it when itā€™s in the water column.

What are you feeding him?

Yes salinity is just fine. I added him Saturday afternoon. Cycled since February. Here is a pic of the whole tank. You can see him in the anemone just kinda laying there which heā€™s done a lot. Sometimes heā€™ll get up and swim a tiny bit but always goes back to the anemone. Breathing seems kinda fast but at this point I canā€™t tell if Iā€™m overreacting or not
How many gallons in the tank? What are the parameters?
 
Sounds like everything is good then. But I am a little worried about tank size. Isnt the minimum size for a clown ten gallons? Glad to hear from others with more experience that it sounds normal!
 
The fish is a baby and it is stressed out due to the lack of hiding places in the tank. The tank is also white and glary and that isn't good for any fish. When algae starts to grow on the rock it won't be as bad, but the fish will be stressed for a while.

If you add some plastic or live plants (Caulerpa or Halimeda), that might help. Reducing the light intensity might help too, but that will slow the growth of algae.

As for the feeding, @Donya covered it. Very few species of marine fish take food from the surface in the ocean and even captive bred marine fishes don't take floating food that readily. It is not natural for them to take food from the surface. If the fish have been fed on frozen or live foods, that will also reduce the chance of it taking food from the surface.

Getting a second anemone fish might help but make sure it is smaller than the current one.
 
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The fish is a baby and it is stressed out due to the lack of hiding places in the tank. The tank is also white and glary and that isn't good for any fish. When algae starts to grow on the rock it won't be as bad, but the fish will be stressed for a while.

If you add some plastic or live plants (Caulerpa or Halimeda), that might help. Reducing the light intensity might help too, but that will slow the growth of algae.

As for the feeding, @Donya covered it. Very few species of marine fish tank food from the surface in the ocean and even captive bred marine fishes don't take floating food that readily. It is not natural for them to take food from the surface. If the fish have been fed on frozen or live foods, that will also reduce the chance of it taking food from the surface.

Getting a second anemone fish might help but make sure it is smaller than the current one.
Ok, this makes more sense... I thought the tank was a bit bare. Clumping three of those anemones together in two areas and then making little caves out of the rocks would help out tremendously and yes, whitish cloudy tanks are never good.

The tank size looks to be a 3.5g but it could be 5g? I dont know
 
Ok, this makes more sense... I thought the tank was a bit bare. Clumping three of those anemones together in two areas and then making little caves out of the rocks would help out tremendously and yes, whitish cloudy tanks are never good.

The tank size looks to be a 3.5g but it could be 5g? I dont know
Some more rock work would help. Iā€™m mainly concerned with how bright the tank is, and the fact that the OP didnā€™t start out with live rock.
 
Some more rock work would help. Iā€™m mainly concerned with how bright the tank is, and the fact that the OP didnā€™t start out with live rock.
Doesnt live rock have beneficial bacteria and other life forms on it that help aquariums?
 
A lot of sw fish won't surface feed, nothing to worry about if he eats from what blows around the tank. Clowns also pick a home base and basically stick there most of the time. They do this with live anemones, corals, ornaments, etc. They aren't big active swimmer all-around-the-tank sorts of fish.

Edit: Should also say that clowns still swim when sticking in place at home. They don't literally lie still. If he's swimming slowly it's normal but literal lying against something no fin movement is not
Heā€™s pretty much just laying there. Occasionally gets up, swims a bit in his area, then goes back
 
Doesnt live rock have beneficial bacteria and other life forms on it that help aquariums?
Yes, they also usually contain multiple species of algae, which will help the fish feel more comfortable. It will also provide them with food for the first couple of days, as they are hiding.

Starting out with 100% live rock is very expensive, so I usually suggest aquarists start out with 30% live rock and 70% dry rock.
 
Just from the photos, he seems to be healthy. Most likely just stress and getting used to his surroundings. When I got my clown pair, it took them around a week to get used to the tank and come out from the rock structure.


Not bad, this is good. It means he is getting used to the anemone and thinks of it as his ā€œsafe placeā€.


This is also normal for clowns, they donā€™t like going up to the surface to get food, and would much rather eat it when itā€™s in the water column.

What are you feeding him?


How many gallons in the tank? What are the parameters?
Iā€™m feeding him flakes at the moment but looking into other things like mysis. Suggestions? Tank is a 10g. Tested for ammonia earlier and 0. Nitrate around 15ppm. Not home right now so donā€™t have a nitrite reading
 
I had live rock but found a bristleworm that I couldnā€™t be sure if it was a fireworm or not so I had a midlife crisis and took it outšŸ˜“
Some more rock work would help. Iā€™m mainly concerned with how bright the tank is, and the fact that the OP didnā€™t start out with live rock.
 

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