Is my clown fish about to die?

Question

I have one percula clown that doesn't look to well. There is no visible disease or marks that would cause him to die. He seems to sit on the bottom all the time and sometimes leans to one side, and only come up for food which he sometimes doesn't. I have one larger percula clown, one condi-lactin anemone (doesn't sting me when I touch it, so I don't think that's the problem), and one peppermint shrimp. I have tested my water about a week ago (three days after I had bought the larger percula), and everything is the best it can be. He's been like this for a few days. I heard that clown fish have their little quirks, but does this usually happen? And he is probably not sleeping because he is like this almost all the time. Please help!!!

Answer 1

Does your smaller clown's behavior coincide with the arrival of the larger clown? I think that may be your problem.

If your clowns are adults, they might not accept each other and form a pair bond. All clowns have a degree of aggressiveness, and perculas are among the milder of the bunch, but they may still see each other as "rivals". It sounds to me like the larger one is harassing the smaller one, even though it was in the tank first.

Your best bet for a pair is to buy two juveniles and introduce them at the same time. No guarantees there, either, but you'll stand a better chance.

ADDITION: This may not be the experience for all who only keep personal tanks, but I've dealt with fish care on a larger scale (in a university setting and fish store). I HAVE had the experience where a larger fish in an unmated pair of clowns has killed the smaller fish.

Also, if your fish are adults or subadults, and your "smaller" one was the largest in the tank when you bought it, you may have two that are developing as females. Don't keep your hopes up of one changing back if both are female - the gender change only functions in one direction (male to female) called protandrous gender determination.

Answer 2

I had the same problem with two Allardi clowns. However, until I fell asleep on the sofa in the living room I did not realize what was happening.

When you pair up clowns, they are all at first MALES. Only one (even if you have 10) will become a breeding female. The strongest and usually the largest one will be the alpha female and she will choose the alpha male to mate with. She will not mate with any of the other males. Unfortunately the female will chase the male to keep him in his place.

My Allardi's are 7 inches long. The female chased the male so violently he cracked his head on the support bar above my tank. Then into the glass. She was relentless in her prusuit. The male hit so hard, his eye popped and his nose split. I had to put him into a floating hard side so he could have time to recover. I am going to assume here you have a 55 gal or smaller? this is why they say breeding clowns requires 75 gallons or more.

Your lactin anemone plays no part when it comes to the health of your clowns.

Your clown could have been beaten and needs time to recover. I would place him in a breeding net until he can. Internal injuries are harder to see than external ones.

If you need additional help feel free to email me.

Answer 3

This is not normal behavior. What is going on...is this...every fish has a little bag of air inside of them. And sometimes, this bag of air can lose air, gain air, become dieseased and not function properly, etc. This air bag is what helps them rise and fall in the water (besides thier fins, of course) Now this does not nessesarily mean he is going to die. My sister had a gldfish with the same problem and he would float at the top of the tank upside down for hours and then just act completly normal again. This went on for months. Just keep an eye on him, and time will tell. Call a vet and ask questions, things like this is what they are there for. Hope your lil fishy gets better!

Answer 4

i hope it wont