clown swimming at top of tank

[z_dano]

Just started doing it that last couple hours... Hungry maybe? I fed them earlier. Haven't seen that behavior before except when they are feeding.

 

[Jake337]

It's normal behavior for clowns. Have my pair for 7 months now and that's all they do all day.

 

[z_dano]

Thanks.
My other clown could care less other than checking up on the top swimmer. I'm glad that's comon, I was getting worried something might be wrong.
Ps- I've only had them for a week.

 

[Jake337]

Haha yeah I rather have my fish swim on the surface than lay on the sand bed. Scary stuff.

 

[danbstrong]

Just started doing it that last couple hours... Hungry maybe? I fed them earlier. Haven't seen that behavior before except when they are feeding.

Could be needing oxygen

 

[obscurereef]

Haha yeah I rather have my fish swim on the surface than lay on the sand bed. Scary stuff.

Yeah, I was turning on my fuge light at night and noticed my clown not moving on the sand bed. I died a little inside then concluded that he must have been sleeping, which he was. So weird how they don't hide, but just stay in the open at night...

 

[z_dano]

Dan, that was my original thought but my other clown and purple psudo (lfr name) are absolutly fine.
I have a 56 column with a triton 4 pump (1050 gph). So I figured I had good flow... I had just installed a skimmer the other day, I'm getting some micro bubbles but didn't think it was a big deal...? If the oxygen is low what could potentially cause it?

 

[baron1282]

Your tank top looks really calm, do you have water moving? Oxygen is a big deal, and water movement is how you get it. Get some movement in the tank and see how the Clown reacts. Most fish will swim to the top of the tank if the Oxygen below is no good.

 

[z_dano]

Very true Jake lol

 

[baron1282]

Z_Dano

I had my filter splash the water. It was a filter for fresh water that hung on the side of the tank. The more movement you have on the surface the more O2 can get to the bottom of the tank.

"At the water’s surface, oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged. Carbon dioxide goes from the water to the air. This is important because the carbon dioxide concentration in the water is raised as it is produced by fish. The fish would die if the CO2 was never allowed to escape into the atmosphere.

While CO2 is going from the water to the air, oxygen is going from the air to the water. This is important as it provides oxygen to the water that is needed by fish.

For this gas exchange to occur, the surface tension of the water must be broken. Agitating the surface breaks this surface tension and allows for a proper exchange of gases." ( Robert Lashlee, 2008) Properly Aerating Your Aquarium | RateMyFishTank.com

 

[danbstrong]

Dan, that was my original thought but my other clown and purple psudo (lfr name) are absolutly fine.
I have a 56 column with a triton 4 pump (1050 gph). So I figured I had good flow... I had just installed a skimmer the other day, I'm getting some micro bubbles but didn't think it was a big deal...? If the oxygen is low what could potentially cause it?

I think that with a skimmer tho your oxygen levels should be fine

 

[z_dano]

Baron, I should have roughly 20x the volume of my tank in flow (minus 3' head). Maybe ill put 2 diffusers on the output of my pump? It'll give me more reason to get a circulation pump.

 

[z_dano]

I think that with a skimmer tho your oxygen levels should be fine

Hopefully

I'm taking barons advice and agitating the surface also.
Thanks everyone for the advice... I'll keep you updated on what happens.

 

[baron1282]

How long have you had this set up? The tank that is? Is it fully cycled?

I made that mistake with my fresh water set up, and paid the price. It sucked, but now I am going to go for a Salt Water set up. I am on here studying like mad in hopes to do it right this time.

Good luck with your first. It sucks when a fish dies. My Clown Loaches (Fresh Water) died and it made me very upset. Had them eating out of my hands. :-(

 

[z_dano]

It's a relatively new tank, about 2 months old. It cycled about 2 weeks ago. I have 3+ inches of live sand, over 50# live rock, t5 lighting (going to upgrade in the future to reef capable lighting, in some time tho).
Oh, I also have a liter of matrix in the sump. I have better movement on the top water, hope that's all it is.

 

[z_dano]

Thanks baron, hope it turns around and it fine. Thanks for the advice.

 

[baron1282]

Let us know if your fish is all right.

 

[Phranque]

Mine sleeps like that all the time... first time I saw it, I thought for sure he was dead. At night, he'll just lay up top on his side and let the current catch him & barrel-roll him around....

 

[z_dano]

It seems better today, not skimming the top of the water like last night. It didn't eat too muck today (but my flakes basically just blow right into the overflow, so they have to act fast). I have to remember to turn off the pump when feeding the flakes.

 

[z_dano]

Still cruising top half of the tank but I can live with that.