How do clownfish sleep?

[tigalig]

We have set up a new tank (20 gal) and after five weeks of cycling, we added the only fish we intend to have, two clownfish, today. They seemed okay all afternoon and evening, but I just checked on them and they were both on the sand, struggling to swim up. After turning on the light and attempting to feed them (very little), they swam up and seem okay now, but I'm wondering if they were just sleeping when they were on the sand. Can someone please tell me so that I can stop stressing about the fish? Any information will be appreciated.

 

[sokhamik]

i don't know about sleeping, but when it's lights out, both of my clownfishes find a place of which they feel safest and just stay there...

 

[D_Frag]

I've had my 2 false perc clowns for about a month now, and they still freak me out almost every night. If most of the lights in the house have been out for about an hour, I can find them sleeping in all kinds of weird ways... all of which make them look as if they are either dead or sick. The weirdest/scariest sleeping behavior has been happening in the last few days. The female floats on the surface, on her side, letting the current push and bounce her off of the wall of the aquarium. If I flick on a light, she will right herself and swim normally. She's just sleeping. Other than that, I've seen both of the float while sleeping (but remaining upright), and both have slept on the bottom, actually laying down on their side. Crazy fish...

 

[kidafius]

My true percula sleeps laying in either my carpet or saddle anenome(they both host him). so he lays flat in the middle of one of them, and they close around him until lights on. I have a black percula, which is a false variety I believe. He sleeps either resting on a rock near the other percula, or swims near the surface of the water. If his belly is not resting on a rock, then he is fighting current.

So your fish behavior is not what I'm used to, which is not necessarily bad. What are your ammonia testings?

 

[reefrunner69]

but I just checked on them and they were both on the sand, struggling to swim up.

Sounds like perfectly normal sleeping behavior to me

 

[be-be815]

what kind of clowns is it? my false percula slept upside down about halfway the tank, but my clarkii clowns sleep on their side on the bottom of the tank.

 

[two11devan]

I found one of my clowns laying on its side accross the top of my heater. The top of the heater is just below the water surface about an inch or two. I came home one night and couldn't find one of my clowns, he scared the s*** out of me when I found him sprawled out on top of the heater 8O . As soon as I turned the lights on, he woke up and started swimming around. Now both of them slowly swim in place right under my skimmer when its lights out.

 

[tigalig]

Thank you for your responses. I truly thought I would wake up to dead fish this morning, but they are both fine and swimming. To answer the questions asked in response to my post, I don't know the ammonia test result because my LFS does the test for free and tells me if it's okay or not okay. After last night, I want to test the water myself so any suggestions on the type of test kits I should buy will be appreciated too.

I believe I have one true percula and one false percula (Ocellaris) clownfish. I say that because one is dark orange and the other is more yellow in color. I wish I knew how to attach a picture. The true percula was the one scaring me last night because it could hardly swim. The false percula, however, got "sucked" by the strainer of the filter (Aquarium Systems Millenium 2000) at one point and that's when I grew faint. I am very grateful for all of your responses and now I know that I must learn to be less panicky about them. Thanks again for letting me worry here.

 

[reefrunner69]

My firsat impression is that you have two ocellaris clowns I think one has just been off the hormone/color enhancing foods longer than the other

 

[sokhamik]

they both sort of look like false percs to me, also...