My new tank wit clowns

[iluvfishyy808]

hey im a saltwater newbie but i have been into fish and fw fishh for along time now jus never had the money...so i jus bought 2 false percula clownfish yesterday and they r about the same size and 1 of them keeps makeing a jittering motion is this bad? and the same clown is more reluctant to eat...also i bought about 6 lbs of LR and today i jus found there is a black brittle star stuck in the rock crevies is there any way i can get him out? becuz im afraid of him not eating and i want to see him pleaz any help at all wud be very appreciated thanks :]
-cHriS

 

[DonCollins]

From my experience, the jittering motion is normal. With my 2 percs, the submissive one (smaller) did that quite a bit at the beginning, but now (2 years later) has died down to an infrequent occurance. Also watch for them to "lay" near the top of the tank on their sides at night...its pretty cool. My submissive perc also did not eat much the first few weeks, but is just fine, so for now I wouldn't worry.

Don in Ohio

 

[severum mama]

Did you cycle your tank? If the info is correct in your tank description, you have way too many fish and not enough live rock. A 12 gallon tank just can't support 2 damsels and 2 clowns IMO, and 3 weeks into it, you still have a very immature tank. Adding too much livestock at once can spell big trouble in any tank, but especially a new one. Have you tested for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate at least?

 

[thominil]

Get at least 6lbs. more live rock and ditch the tangs. I wouldn't stick anything else fish wise in there. The brittle star will be fine as they poke their arms out of the rock and grab particles out of the water column and off the rock.

 

[HN1]

Did you cycle your tank? If the info is correct in your tank description, you have way too many fish and not enough live rock. A 12 gallon tank just can't support 2 damsels and 2 clowns IMO, and 3 weeks into it, you still have a very immature tank. Adding too much livestock at once can spell big trouble in any tank, but especially a new one. Have you tested for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate at least?

I totally agree.

Welcome to AA! I'm afraid that more research was probably needed before you added fish.

 

[jessicasmarine]

Besides the tank being immature starting with a small tank increases your chance for failure. Bigger is better.