Clownfish hosting...

[WebbedFishToes]

The heater... I guess this is where they decided to host? lol

At first I thought maybe it was to cold on other side of tank but no the temperature is fine on both sides. Sometimes they will swim to other side but always end up back near the heater.

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[WebbedFishToes]

Also could anyone tell me if this is normal clown behavior? I have never seen the rapid fin movements at the end until today.

[flash=]

 

[Sniperhank]

It isn't normal behavior. There is poor CO2 exchange in the water column. You need more flow. Point the powerhead up towards the surface to get yourself a nice 'ripple' going, that way you can get the CO2 out and oxygen in.

 

[WebbedFishToes]

Ok will do, thanks for the info sniper.

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[Andy Sager]

If the O2 isn't the issue, another possibility is that there is not enough places at the bottom of the tank for your clowns to feel secure and safe. Clownfish hide in Anemones for security. That's their mindset. I've kept many clowns happy with no anemones because I gave them plenty of places to hide in along side being in with fishes that don't make them feel threatened. You may need to do the same.

 

[WebbedFishToes]

If the O2 isn't the issue, another possibility is that there is not enough places at the bottom of the tank for your clowns to feel secure and safe. Clownfish hide in Anemones for security. That's their mindset. I've kept many clowns happy with no anemones because I gave them plenty of places to hide in along side being in with fishes that don't make them feel threatened. You may need to do the same.

When putting the live rock in I tried to make some caves out of them.
I have never seen them actually go in them though so what might you suggest for hiding spots?

 

[Andy Sager]

When putting the live rock in I tried to make some caves out of them.
I have never seen them actually go in them though so what might you suggest for hiding spots?

IMO, the tank is too bare and that may be the way the clowns feel too. HOWEVER, the O2 situation should be the first thing you try to solve before decor. That just might be the problem here and the rest is moot.

As for possible other decorations, there are synthetic anemones that you can buy which may help their psychy (if you can't do live anemones) as well as types of artificial plants you can put into the tank to make the bottom more appealing. As for the caves, they are not really "cave" dwellers so you would be better served to put a back to the cave so that nothing can get them from behind. Just a little indentation for them to get in to may be all they are looking for.

Here's a pic of one of my old tanks. It's a 75 gal ( which I think is a bit bigger than your tank?) but you should get the concept. The thing to know is that by decorating this tank the way I did, many of the fish that are known "scaredy cats" and like to hide, are visable all day long because they have the security to go to if they get scared. This pic was taken just about 10 minutes before "light's out" so many of the fish were already in bed but there are actually over 20 fish in the tank including Angels, Butterflies, Tangs, Gobies, Blennies, Sweetlips and Clownfish. 10 minutes later, not 1 fish was visable.
Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - Andy Sager's Album: Clownfish - Picture

The area where the clowns are ( which was being blocked by the Majestic Angel ) is actually a piece that had some fire coral in the back and 2 types of mounding corals on the sides and a hollowed out center making it look like a baseball mitt. The clowns would sleep in there while the other fish went behind the decorations. Keep in mind, because of all the decor, I did need to put 2 power heads in the tank to make sure I had adequit circulation through the decorations.

Hope this helps

 

[Sniperhank]

After looking at your full tank shot, with no powerheads this is totally an oxygen deprivation issue. Need much stronger flow. You want to aim for 10-50x turnover of the entire water column.


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[BigMacDaddy69]

Wow your tank looks amazing . Salt water tanks are my specialty .

 

[WebbedFishToes]

After looking at your full tank shot, with no powerheads this is totally an oxygen deprivation issue. Need much stronger flow. You want to aim for 10-50x turnover of the entire water column.


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That pick is from when I first got the clowns. I got a power head a few days ago shortly after getting them. It's a jebao rw-15 but like you guessed I did not have it facing up. I had it facing straight so the flow was barely shifting the surface. I will post a video of the current positioning and how much flow it's giving to the surface when I get off work.

 

[WebbedFishToes]

IMO, the tank is too bare and that may be the way the clowns feel too. HOWEVER, the O2 situation should be the first thing you try to solve before decor. That just might be the problem here and the rest is moot.

As for possible other decorations, there are synthetic anemones that you can buy which may help their psychy (if you can't do live anemones) as well as types of artificial plants you can put into the tank to make the bottom more appealing. As for the caves, they are not really "cave" dwellers so you would be better served to put a back to the cave so that nothing can get them from behind. Just a little indentation for them to get in to may be all they are looking for.

Here's a pic of one of my old tanks. It's a 75 gal ( which I think is a bit bigger than your tank?) but you should get the concept. The thing to know is that by decorating this tank the way I did, many of the fish that are known "scaredy cats" and like to hide, are visable all day long because they have the security to go to if they get scared. This pic was taken just about 10 minutes before "light's out" so many of the fish were already in bed but there are actually over 20 fish in the tank including Angels, Butterflies, Tangs, Gobies, Blennies, Sweetlips and Clownfish. 10 minutes later, not 1 fish was visable.
Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - Andy Sager's Album: Clownfish - Picture

The area where the clowns are ( which was being blocked by the Majestic Angel ) is actually a piece that had some fire coral in the back and 2 types of mounding corals on the sides and a hollowed out center making it look like a baseball mitt. The clowns would sleep in there while the other fish went behind the decorations. Keep in mind, because of all the decor, I did need to put 2 power heads in the tank to make sure I had adequit circulation through the decorations.

Hope this helps

Awesome tank! Thank you for the advice it definitely helps. I will work on getting the tank filled out some more.

 

[WebbedFishToes]

ok here is the current tank flow. Let me know if I should adjust some more.

[flash=]

 

[Sniperhank]

You get the idea. Move the powerhead down further in the tank some. The goal is for flow through the entire system and it seems to be pretty strong up at the surface. Too much splashing will cause unneeded salt creep.
Though by watching the video, the lid that is on it might also be a part of it. They also get in the way of proper gas exchange. Easily addressed by removing it or even keeping the lid open.

 

[Andy Sager]

Awesome tank! Thank you for the advice it definitely helps. I will work on getting the tank filled out some more.

Thanks. I got the idea from some of my books which showed pictures of where these fish were coming from. So I tried to duplicate it ( basically the edge of the reef.) All of my marine tanks had that same concept with the same results, happy fish out and about fearlessly.

Rock is just the base of the reef. Look at some youtube videos of underwater areas and you'll see just how many nooks and crannys the fish actually have to use. Compare that to fish that need open water for swimming. My tank was great for the hiders who liked to swim a little but definitely not a good one for big swimmers like Nasos and Idols, etc. You have to either decorate for the fish you want or only get the fish that fit your decor.

 

[WebbedFishToes]

You get the idea. Move the powerhead down further in the tank some. The goal is for flow through the entire system and it seems to be pretty strong up at the surface. Too much splashing will cause unneeded salt creep.
Though by watching the video, the lid that is on it might also be a part of it. They also get in the way of proper gas exchange. Easily addressed by removing it or even keeping the lid open.

Ok I moved the power head down some and more towards the middle and this is what I have currently. I also took the plastic parts of the hood off the back of the tank. Do you think this will be good enough for the proper gas exchange?

[flash=]

 

[WebbedFishToes]

Thanks. I got the idea from some of my books which showed pictures of where these fish were coming from. So I tried to duplicate it ( basically the edge of the reef.) All of my marine tanks had that same concept with the same results, happy fish out and about fearlessly.

Rock is just the base of the reef. Look at some youtube videos of underwater areas and you'll see just how many nooks and crannys the fish actually have to use. Compare that to fish that need open water for swimming. My tank was great for the hiders who liked to swim a little but definitely not a good one for big swimmers like Nasos and Idols, etc. You have to either decorate for the fish you want or only get the fish that fit your decor.

You are absolutely right! Watching some of these videos I see that there are tons of places for the fish to hide and a lot of them appear that the fish know exactly where to dart back to when the camera gets to close. I initially was not planning to do coral for awhile because I thought I should keep it simple since saltwater was a big step for me. Just how hard is it to keep coral? It seems like it would be difficult to create a fake reef that's as full as the videos I am seeing. I'm pretty sure at the moment I dont even have the correct lighting for a coral reef, which is a fluval aquasky.

 

[Andy Sager]

You are absolutely right! Watching some of these videos I see that there are tons of places for the fish to hide and a lot of them appear that the fish know exactly where to dart back to when the camera gets to close. I initially was not planning to do coral for awhile because I thought I should keep it simple since saltwater was a big step for me. Just how hard is it to keep coral? It seems like it would be difficult to create a fake reef that's as full as the videos I am seeing. I'm pretty sure at the moment I dont even have the correct lighting for a coral reef, which is a fluval aquasky.

That's just it, all those corals in that tank are decorations not alive. The fish don't care. I've actually been a collector of display corals for over 35 years. (Some go into tanks while I also have a whole display of corals that will never go into water again because they are so intricate.) I still have the corals from that tank ( just in case I get the bug again ) which are now close to 40 years old just in my possession. Today, if you don't want to use natural coral skeletons, there are many lifelike artificial coral decorations that won't require the lights and water quality of living corals. (And they are a lot less expensive. ) So if $$$ is a problem, go artificial. If you are new to the marine hobby, I strongly suggest you go artificial until you get the hang of keeping a marine tank stable and healthy.