elklown
01-29-2006, 01:14 AM
I picked up a pair of True Percs the other day from a very reputable LFS in my area, I observed them over a period of days at the LFS and finally decided I wanted them. They immediately took to my new tank, which finished its cycle a week earlier and knowing clowns were a relatively hardy bunch I thought they should be the first fish. I mean who else doesn't get clowns first right?
At the pet store, I brought some food and they ate well and were very active. However, I did notice they had a facination with the surface of the water "doing the whole Jaws thing" with their fins out of the water, but I had seen this in clowns before. My tank parameters were 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 10 nitrates, my salinity was approximately .023 HOWEVER my hydrometer has been acting up of late and the readings go from .021 to .025 regularly (I'm re-breaking in the hydrometer at the moment letting it sit overnight full). However, I have inverts, including shrimp which I would have expected some issues with if salinity was an issue.
Now to the problem. The next morning I awoke and couldn't find the pair, they had taken refuge behind the output flow of my power filter. One was swimming down vertically in place while the other swam on his side at the water's surface. Having had strange behavior in my other clowns, I thought little of this at first, but as the day progressed I started troubleshooting. First I turned an extra powerhead off - in the night I had noticed them working pretty hard against the flow. No change. Then I turned down the flow on my power filter, again no change. Then my girfriend who cares nothing for my tanks noticed that they appeared to be looking at their reflections in the glass and on the surface of a large bubble under the powerfilter. At first I dismissed this theory, it always looks as though there is a reflection on the glass at certain angles for tank observers. However, again having had something similar happen concerning a backing on my 29g I decided to put a white piece of paper in between the glass and by black backing - the pair moved back into the tank. Ah ha I thought, she was right and I went about my day. Then later I noticed the pair back up there...crap, what is going on? I've always known clowns weren't great explorers and they always tend to stake areas out, but while once clown seemed just to be hanging out the other persisted in swimming on his side at the water surface, seemingly looking at his reflection on the surface. Besides the sideswimming there appears to be no other signs of stress or illness, when fed he comes out to eat and so on, but I am concerned nonetheless. Suggestions?
At the pet store, I brought some food and they ate well and were very active. However, I did notice they had a facination with the surface of the water "doing the whole Jaws thing" with their fins out of the water, but I had seen this in clowns before. My tank parameters were 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 10 nitrates, my salinity was approximately .023 HOWEVER my hydrometer has been acting up of late and the readings go from .021 to .025 regularly (I'm re-breaking in the hydrometer at the moment letting it sit overnight full). However, I have inverts, including shrimp which I would have expected some issues with if salinity was an issue.
Now to the problem. The next morning I awoke and couldn't find the pair, they had taken refuge behind the output flow of my power filter. One was swimming down vertically in place while the other swam on his side at the water's surface. Having had strange behavior in my other clowns, I thought little of this at first, but as the day progressed I started troubleshooting. First I turned an extra powerhead off - in the night I had noticed them working pretty hard against the flow. No change. Then I turned down the flow on my power filter, again no change. Then my girfriend who cares nothing for my tanks noticed that they appeared to be looking at their reflections in the glass and on the surface of a large bubble under the powerfilter. At first I dismissed this theory, it always looks as though there is a reflection on the glass at certain angles for tank observers. However, again having had something similar happen concerning a backing on my 29g I decided to put a white piece of paper in between the glass and by black backing - the pair moved back into the tank. Ah ha I thought, she was right and I went about my day. Then later I noticed the pair back up there...crap, what is going on? I've always known clowns weren't great explorers and they always tend to stake areas out, but while once clown seemed just to be hanging out the other persisted in swimming on his side at the water surface, seemingly looking at his reflection on the surface. Besides the sideswimming there appears to be no other signs of stress or illness, when fed he comes out to eat and so on, but I am concerned nonetheless. Suggestions?