# clown fish isnt eating ?



## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

Hello my friends. My SW nano system is all up running and cycled. And all if my inverts are thriving well. My salinity is at 1 .022aprox ,and ammonia is 0. Oh 8.0- 8.4 by my neutrafin test kit. I still don't have a reef test kit yet but considering I bought 10G of water rather than treating and salting it myself I think its ok. I'm going to petco later to get them to test the calcium lvls etc. My issue is I have now added a clown fish , the blue chromis lived 4 days until night one with the clown. Pitty but the chromis was really only there to test water parameters and to make sure it was fish safe for the clown fish. He was dead the next morning the a small crabs (1 Blue 1 red leg hermit) an the clown chewed em up some but not bad. That was 2 mornings ago. I have not been able since to see him eat since. Iv tried brine shrimp a few assorted flake / processed food and a little dried sea weed even , is it possible he is eating the pods , I just added em this week so the population is hi. But I know he's not eating what I feed em cause I take it out 10-12 hours later.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Try mysis shrimp.Most everything will eat them.


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

10-4 thanks my friend


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## Sully (Oct 31, 2012)

You mention your ammonia but don't say anything about nitrites or nitrates. How long has your tank been up and running. Do you have live rock and/or live sand? Also, premixed water won't do anything for your cycle. Your LR and LS are your biological filter. We need some answers so we can get you going.

Also, I don;t think calcium means much at this point if you have no corals in there.


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

It's cycled. I spoke on it in another post its been up and running now a month. I have not looked at no2 or no3 in 24 hours but it was as of yesterday's mid day nitrate 5 nitrite 0.1-0.3 the color was light my temp has been steady at 80F I do have some live rock but not a whole lot also it has little growth on it. I also put in a small bunch of a red algae today (can't recall name) he seems to really like it I did get some frozen mysis shrimp but they thawed some and I stuck it back in the freezer so I can easily cut off a small piece. I don't waste it that way. But good for me I have a slew of African cichlids that are like trash compactor's eagerly awaiting any tasty snack I bring..


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

I only ment that the pre treated water I got for changes was probably sufficient for my button polyps and mushroom because they are moving and eating , the mushroom is very light reactive and so I assume my calcium , phosphate ,lvl etc should all be in an ok range since they are doing there thing. I'm just really not excited about that extra 45 bucks for the reef master test kit when I'm working in such a small tank. But I will have what I need as the hobby progressed. Which is looking like a week or 2 .
Also I have a few snails they nerd calcium for there shells growth as well as some of my corral frags that's why calcium even if its not the most important thing to watch I still want to watch it. 
But mostly I'm just trying to entice my shy eater to tak a nibble. His poop is very clear so its not much that he has eaten. Only noticed his poop once in 3 days. Then again iv not watched em every moment so I really don't know


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

If your planning on Corals and not just Polyps and Mushrooms, you will be watching Calcium and Alk religiously.


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

Which isn't an issue if and when I reach that point in the hobby.. 
I had a surprise this morning when I checked up on the clown, there was a small hitch hiker snail on the wall. Maybe it was in a rock or frag piece . He's so tiny it looks like a FW bladder/pest snail that is feed to my spotted puffer fish. 
The clown still looks good not looking as if its not eating its swimming good and active but payed no attention to the mysis shrimp unless he ate them after lights out. This am I fed blood worms to my friends and he payed them no attention either. I am only giving him a tiny bit so not to over feed him. I put 3 small pieces in with him I hope he starts eating soon. Although he isn't appearing to labor in his breathing or stress I don't want to loos him.


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

Clownfish can safely go a couple weeks without food. He may just be adjusting to his new environment. Live brine may stimulate feeding behavior. A mate of the same species may kick his brain into gear too but I caution you not to add more fish too quickly. Keep in mind that while your tank is almost "cycled" (I say almost because nitrites should be at 0 although I don't think your nitrites are going to harm your clownfish in the short term), it truly takes a minimum of 6 months but most often a year for a marine tank to become stable and mature. Keep this in mind as you add fish and corals...especially expensive ones. You might consider Googling, "New Tank Syndrome in Saltwater". New tank syndrome can happen in mature tanks on rare occasion...but it's nearly guaranteed in young tanks, and it kills fish, which is always heartbreaking. ( Been there, done that.

Good luck...I love clownfish.


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

I have had the same thoughts on another clown but I'd prefer to wait atleast another 2-3 week's first and that may even be pushing it a bit. Thanks for the inputs I'm going to just keep trying to appeal to hos appetite and stop worrying about it. He looks and seems happy so we Will see. 
About those nitrites ? At first there was none , I watched them increase and when I knew they were preset I added bio spira to help boost the cycles progress and continued watching chem lvls till they balanced where they are. But I'm not seeing they go away , also ammonia is reading zero so I'm a little confused iv never seen this process in sw until now.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

You might consider trying Garlic X on the Mysis, it entices the fish to eat.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I got two new clowns on sunday(snowflake occellaris)and they haven't eaten until today.I tried all my frozen foods(mysis,brine,prawn,krill and a clown favorite formula one(developed especially to bring clowns into bredding condition) and I see them eat nothing or 1 small bite.So while feeding all my fresh water fish I offered them a little flake(I use tetra pro crisp)and spectrum grow(all spectrum foods have strong smell IMO) and they seemed to go right to it.Possibly this is what they were used to being fed.Maybe call where you got them and ask what they were feeding.I don't plan on feeding flakes to them regulary, but will feed what they eat mixed with what I want them to eat till I can get them trained.They also seem very timid in their new home as they are all alone(possibly causing them concern for a hidden predator).Good luck!Keep trying what ever you have to and do as you are not over feeding to help their water.


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

tbub1221 said:


> I have had the same thoughts on another clown but I'd prefer to wait atleast another 2-3 week's first and that may even be pushing it a bit. Thanks for the inputs I'm going to just keep trying to appeal to hos appetite and stop worrying about it. He looks and seems happy so we Will see.
> About those nitrites ? At first there was none , I watched them increase and when I knew they were preset I added bio spira to help boost the cycles progress and continued watching chem lvls till they balanced where they are. But I'm not seeing they go away , also ammonia is reading zero so I'm a little confused iv never seen this process in sw until now.


It may be that you have enough of the beneficial bacteria that consumes ammonia and produces niTRITEes, but you just don't have enough of the beneficial bacteria that consumes nitrites and produces niTRATes. Products such as BioSpira claim the ability to instantly control both ammonia and nitirites but in my opinion they do a good job with the ammonia but the nitrite control lags...which makes sense if you go indepth about how the Nitrogen Cycle happens...which is boring so let's not. Theoretically your nitrites should go to zero in time. And then at some point you'll be faced with having to control nitrates too...and there's lots of theories on that. This hobby is neverending. )


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Goby said:


> It may be that you have enough of the beneficial bacteria that consumes ammonia and produces niTRITEes, but you just don't have enough of the beneficial bacteria that consumes nitrites and produces niTRATes. Products such as BioSpira claim the ability to instantly control both ammonia and nitirites but in my opinion they do a good job with the ammonia but the nitrite control lags...which makes sense if you go indepth about how the Nitrogen Cycle happens...which is boring so let's not. Theoretically your nitrites should go to zero in time. And then at some point you'll be faced with having to control nitrates too...and there's lots of theories on that. *This hobby is neverending. * )


Na, it ain't all that bad. I bet I still do less to my tank than most FW guys do to theirs.


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

Reefing Madness said:


> Na, it ain't all that bad. I bet I still do less to my tank than most FW guys do to theirs.


Yeah, but you're the Mad Reefer. I'll never be your kind of awesome. none 2


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

My salts are easier and require less work(maintenance) than my fresh.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Goby said:


> Yeah, but you're the Mad Reefer. I'll never be your kind of awesome. none 2


*r2


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

2 day update.. 
We tried the garlic on the mysis Yesterday evening. *td No luck (The Cichlids much appreciated the leftovers though)
But he took a few 2-3 xsmall bites of crushed dried sea weed and took a little nibble of a cichlid bite small size. it took me a long time watching to see this so i have determined he is eating , it must just be a picky one and also i think he eats differently than im use to witnessing with my FW fish . he is still small and eventually if/when i add another clown in that will most likely make em feed more aggressively because he will realize if he done eat he wont get to , this is the pattern with shy new FW fish iv seen so idk but thanks again to all of you that have shown interest and offered solutions to my small dilemmas. Even if it only helped me to not worry over it so much . Thank you.*go team


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)




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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

*sh
yesterday mid day-early afternoon i saw a small poop , but at bedtime/lights off time he was swimming strangly for his species and at first thought he was sleeping but never came off the sand. i told my wifey then that it most likely would not last the night , i checked my perimeters (AGAIN) temp 80F ammo-0 ph8.0 no2-no3 both look to be none existent nitrites were still showing slightly (very low a few days back. i had doen a partial water change , but it was mostly just more of an evap add in only 30-32 oz's as i used a red dixie cup to add it. salinity is at this moment 1.022-24 my floater bobs a bit , but i got the hydrometer for 3 bucks because it was a close out itme at the time (last one) so im really a bit bummed at the moment. i have to think that although its not a Betta bowl the 2.5 -3 G bio cube just didnt seem to suit that fish . I think it was either afraid of a hidden predator or just unhappy in his home. i have not taken him out of the water yet because my conch snail was hungry apparently , and i dont think it really matters now , but i dont know what to do now. im not giving up but dont believe im going to do fish in here again for a wile. may just play more with inverts and button polyps . my Blue and neon green mushroom is growing and i would like to know more about how to make its species thrive but because i dont know anything about it including its name im in the dark...
(most of the frag pieces i have were give aways , Hook ups from buddies working at different shops or personals , but mostly just employees giving me the old hush hush wink its in the bag so iv got no clue what i have .. ill work on some pics later if need be. *none


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

If the tank was cycled like you stated, you would not have had Nitrites in the tank.


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## ionix (Oct 11, 2012)

I know a few medications that have chemicals to incite their hunger. Perhaps there are foods like this.

What I can imagine my LFS guy would try is garlic enhanced fish food. Apparently that works for fish. I can't imagine why, but hey, it couldn't hurt to try.

How did you acclimate him?

*Sorry, my browser loaded the other half the page after I read through and replied. Lol. At least I guessed right.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Yes, soaking food in the like of Garlic X is to entice the fish appetite.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Sorry about your clown.


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

You'll have better luck next time. It's unlikely your fish died because it wasn't eating or because he was afraid. Chances are he either acclimated poorly (clowns are hardy in all aspects except acclimation), or the instability of a new tank got the best of him. In my experience it's likely the combination of both, as properly acclimated clowns tend to weather new tanks better than the average fish. And maybe you acclimated him well but the LFS that sold him to you did not? Who knows. 

Don't get discouraged. Give your tank some time to work things out and try again. You'll have sad endings in your SW tank and you'll learn the most from those. I'm also a veteran FW aquarist, which sometimes works against me in the SW hobby. That said, I think I've enjoyed my SW journey the most. I love everything about SW, especially the science. And the colors.


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

Goby said:


> You'll have better luck next time. It's unlikely your fish died because it wasn't eating or because he was afraid. Chances are he either acclimated poorly (clowns are hardy in all aspects except acclimation), or the instability of a new tank got the best of him. In my experience it's likely the combination of both, as properly acclimated clowns tend to weather new tanks better than the average fish. And maybe you acclimated him well but the LFS that sold him to you did not? Who knows.
> 
> Don't get discouraged. Give your tank some time to work things out and try again. You'll have sad endings in your SW tank and you'll learn the most from those. I'm also a veteran FW aquarist, which sometimes works against me in the SW hobby. That said, I think I've enjoyed my SW journey the most. I love everything about SW, especially the science. And the colors.


your helpful and kind words are appreciated , i want to believe it died for the same reasons you said , But i cant be 100% on anything i am just going to leave it all be 4 a wile .. I can say that the fish i got had only been at the lfs one morning as they had just come in the day i picked up , so therer was no quarantine apparently the fish came from a petco , not ususally my first choice (although iv had more good than bad experiences there) But the closest marine aquarium shop (Blueplanet) was an hour the other way from where i was , and i still had to go home from there so i went with petco... 
any tips on what i can do different acclimating next time to help the fish along , should it soak or drip acclimate (i do both) and for how long should i ??


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Best way is to Drip Acclimate, approx 2-4 hours depedning on the SG the fish is coming from.


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

And if the fishes water is much lower (hypothetically) in salinity , it was before but I only tested tbe bag water after it went in . Should I attempt to adjust it or what then is best.
Possibly a longer drip acclamation in a little larger container over more time ?if so how much longer ?


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

When it comes to clownfish, I've had good luck with both of the acclimation methods explained in this link...

Acclimation Procedure for Aquatic Life: Welcoming Home New Arrivals

Beyond that, it never hurts to test the water parameters in the shipping bag, just to gage how far they are from your tanks parameters...especially PH. If the PH is close (within 0.1-0.2 or so) an hour acclimation is appropriate. But if the PH is off by more than 0.3 I'd acclimate more slowly...and the more it's off, the slower I'd go. I also put just a smidge of PRIME into my shipping water during acclimation...especially if the livestock has arrived by mail. The PRIME neutralizes the ammonia. I use a 27ga insulin syringe and put about 0.1 cc's (or so) into the shipping water. It's not a big deal if you overdose PRIME a little. 

Regarding clownfish... 

I personally have nothing against Petco and haven't had any better/worse experiences with them than any other pet store. Of course you want a reputable store and all pet stores are not created equally...including Petcos.

I prefer dealing directly with the clownfish breeder, and my first choice would be a tank-bred clown. It’s unlikely that I’d ever purposely buy a wild clownfish. Clownfish are hardy but they do not ship well and wild clownfish have been handled and mishandled many times before they reach your tank, to where tank-bred clowns have probably been handled once and they associate food (pleasure) with humans. Most of my clowns came from breeders who shipped them to my home address. I did have one Picasso clown arrive dead and the breeder replaced him the same week. It happens. Also, I'd recommend getting a pair instead of a single. Two juvenile males who are familiar with each other will decrease stress...they don't necessarily need to be a mated pair. Two will cost more but pairs tend to acclimate to change better...that’s been my personal experience. And I prefer ocellaris and percula clownfish...they tend to be harty and well mannered.

I know exactly what those initial SW fails feel like. They suck. It will get better and more fun, I promise.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

tbub1221 said:


> *sh
> i have to think that although its not a Betta bowl the 2.5 -3 G bio cube just didnt seem to suit that fish . I think it was either afraid of a hidden predator or just unhappy in his home.
> I just thought I'd chime back in and say IMO that the list of fish that wll be happy or do well in such a small tank is very limited.Although the tank size may have had nothing to do with his death ,his long term outlook could not have been that long in that tank.The nanos are great for hermit crabs,some polyps,maybe even a shrimp(I wouldn't have HC and shrimp together though).But mostly "idle" species,not fish.
> Sorry about your clown again.


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## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

coralbandit said:


> I just thought I'd chime back in and say IMO that the list of fish that wll be happy or do well in such a small tank is very limited.Although the tank size may have had nothing to do with his death ,his long term outlook could not have been that long in that tank.The nanos are great for hermit crabs,some polyps,maybe even a shrimp(I wouldn't have HC and shrimp together though). But mostly "idle" species, not fish. Sorry about your clown again.


I totally missed the part about this being a tiny tank. A clownfish can't thrive in 2-3 gallons. Nevermind the instability of such a small volume of water, but clowns like to move around and go in and out of things...they're super curious. *tbub1221:* For the long term health of your future clownfish, upgrade that tank...come on...you know you wanna. No smaller than a 55g I say! Gotta make room for gobies! What's a SW tank without crabby gobies squabbling with nosey clownfish?


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

tbub1221 said:


> And if the fishes water is much lower (hypothetically) in salinity , it was before but I only tested tbe bag water after it went in . Should I attempt to adjust it or what then is best.
> Possibly a longer drip acclamation in a little larger container over more time ?if so how much longer ?


I wouldn't go longer than 4 hours on a drip acclimation. At 3 drips per second, that will do it for you.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Goby said:


> I totally missed the part about this being a tiny tank. A clownfish can't thrive in 2-3 gallons. Nevermind the instability of such a small volume of water, but clowns like to move around and go in and out of things...they're super curious. *tbub1221:* For the long term health of your future clownfish, upgrade that tank...come on...you know you wanna. No smaller than a 55g I say! Gotta make room for gobies! What's a SW tank without crabby gobies squabbling with nosey clownfish?


No, Clown fish are not curious, nor do they go running around the tank. They pick a spot in the tank they call their territory, and thats about it. They don't usually venture far from that spot. They can, don't get me wrong, but its not a normal thing for them to do. I had them in a 240g tank, and they sat in one corner. Now Clarkii and Maroons, and Skunks will swim the tank, but not Occelaris.


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

coralbandit said:


> tbub1221 said:
> 
> 
> > *sh
> ...


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