help on clown fish

marty · 07-18-2008, 10:01 PM

we have a new tank with two clown fish and one is acting peculiar, it is swimming face down in the same area ?

**Amphibious** · 07-18-2008, 10:50 PM

Hey Marty, welcome to TR.

Tell me al little about your tank and filtering system. Newly acclimated clowns can act a little peculiar. What are your water parameters?

Dick

marty · 07-19-2008, 02:28 PM

10 gal plastic tank with whisper filter, have put a heater which helped, they like the water warm, there are two small crabs ( the species escapes me) they are there to take care of the excess food on the bottom....now to really mix things up we now have a 34 gallon waiting for them, because my wife wanted more rock and more room for them to ...actually we don't have a place to set the 10 gallon on, so of course the pet shop has a sale on tanks so we needed one with stand.

marty · 07-19-2008, 07:04 PM

one down possibly the one with the nose down , but don't know crabs went down too.

Skurvey Dog · 07-20-2008, 11:53 AM

to TR Marty,

Sounds like your situation there is rapidly decinigrating. If help is to be given, we need some very important information that will be used to get a better picture of actually what you have there and what is happening in your tank.

When did you set up this tank and what water source did you use? Do you have live rock in there and if so, when did you put it in there? You mention placing a heater in the tank. What temp is it set at and what is the water reading? Also, are you doing basic testing. Amonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Salinity. Any swings from the safety zones on any of those is a "Dead Man Walking."

Sorry for the interrogation, but it is necesary in order to help you.

**CarmieJo** · 07-25-2008, 11:46 PM

Hi Marty and

to TR. Please fill us in on the parameters, it will really help us help you.

marty · 07-29-2008, 06:29 PM

getting totally confused w/ lfs..we have been taking our water to two places and getting different answers , to our to our questions on our 37 gallon tank. our one clown that is left is into its third we in the 10 gallon tank, we think it is lonely , because it doesn't move around , even when feed, we feel lucky to have it last this long but want to put it in the big tank asap which has been evolving for 3 weeks also. thats about all for the update.

**Amphibious** · 07-29-2008, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marty

getting totally confused w/ lfs..we have been taking our water to two places and getting different answers , to our to our questions on our 37 gallon tank. our one clown that is left is into its third we in the 10 gallon tank, we think it is lonely , because it doesn't move around , even when feed, we feel lucky to have it last this long but want to put it in the big tank asap which has been evolving for 3 weeks also. thats about all for the update.

Marty, being confused by a LFS is not strange, it's the norm. You might find this hard to believe but, others on TR will verify. The worst place to get accurate information about saltwater aquariums is your LFS. This is the truth in about 95% of cases. It's truly sad!!! You have come to the right place for answers. If you are to be successful with your SW aquarium there are certain things you must do! Do not take anything I say personally. We've ll had to learn the lessons. Most of us the hard way. Everyone on TR will try to ease your pain but, you make the decisions. You are ultimately responsible. There are no short cuts but, some simple rules to follow. Here are a few of them...

#1. You must take personal responsibility for the success and/or failure of your aquarium.

The only way you can do this is to purchase the necessary equipment for testing your water yourself. Running to the LFS (x 2) for them to test your water is shirking personal responsibility. You've already discovered the irresponsibility of their actions. Two LFSs, two different results. The test kits you must own are...

Hydrometer (preferably a Refractometer) for testing Salinity
pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

If you intend on keeping corals...

Calcium
Alkalinity
Magnesium

#2. The three most important things you must do to attain success with your SW aquarium is research, research and research some more.

You need to start a research library. Go to this link - Talking Reef LibraryThing, there are many choices of books TR members have listed their, our favorites. Also, go to this link - Nine Simple Rules. It is an article that I wrote to give people a sense of what it takes to buy healthy fish and to keep them that way.

#3. Luck has nothing to do achieving success with SW aquariums.

Commitment, taking personal responsibility, passion, determination and seeking truth are what it takes.

There are more rules but, a shortness of time makes me leave off here for now. If you want, I'll continue at another time.

Dick

**CarmieJo** · 07-29-2008, 10:54 PM

I agree with Amphibious, you need to get your own test kits. Even if the LFS was perfect you need to have them for when something goes wrong at 8 PM Sunday!

Clowns will actually do OK on their own so nothing to worry about there. They are not big swimmers, they usually find their own area and pretty much stay there. Does it eat? What are the parameters from both stores?

As far as the new tank goes don't put your clown in there until the ammonia and nitrite are both ZERO. If the clown is not doing well the nutrients could quickly kill it.

marty · 08-13-2008, 04:19 PM

sorry about thanking everyone yhat answered my quirey.. so i'm thanking everyone now. the 35 gallon tank is doing well and so is the lfs in the area...$$$$$