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Post by lindsey1984 on Jan 6, 2013 12:11:04 GMT -5
I got this pair of saddleback clownfish a while back from petco. If you look at the video, in between 15-20 sec you can see it rub it's face up against things. I asked them at petco and they said clownfish do that sometimes and it can be marking their territory, however I see some of my other fish doing it now too and petco's answer was they teach each other. Have any of you seen this behavior? Is it normal? I dont see any Ich so i really dont know what's going on. <embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid270.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fjj114%2Flindsey0784%2FVIDEO0102.mp4"> s270.beta.photobucket.com/user/lindsey0784/media/VIDEO0102.mp4.html(i posted it two ways to make sure it works.  |
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Post by oceangirl2009 on Jan 6, 2013 12:51:08 GMT -5
What are they rubbing up against? Maybe they are trying to host something?
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Jan 6, 2013 13:08:47 GMT -5
LOL, clownfish marking their teritory.......what are they, dogs! Sounds like another idiot working at a petco passing on more false information. There's only one guy at any Petco that I know who actually knows his stuff about saltwater and he goes by Seamonkey84 here on the forum. Fish don't have scent glands to mark territory by the way. Clownfish and some species of damsels will rub against an anemone to build up tolerance to the anemone's sting so that it can be hosted my the anemone. Beyond that, if a fish is rubbing on anything else, its almost always due to some form of irritation like ICK or something else.
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Post by gotareef on Jan 6, 2013 13:25:53 GMT -5
looks to me like it is showing dominance.
are they an established pair? if so is this the male or the female?
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Post by lindsey1984 on Jan 6, 2013 13:30:32 GMT -5
They have only been in my tank about a month so im not sure if they've changed sexes yet however i have seen them do the seizure dance. LOL They're rubbing against the sand, the shells and ive only seen them do it on the rock like once. Like i said, now a few of my other fish are doing it too but I also dont see any spots on anyone?
They arent rubbing up against the anemone (in fact, im wondering if they will, is there a safe way to introduce my clowns to the anemone?)
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Post by gotareef on Jan 6, 2013 16:17:06 GMT -5
the clowns are most likely tank bread and have never seen a nem you can try to push them into the nem but they may never host it
do you have any cleaners in the tank? (cleaner shrimp, cleaner fish) I like my shark nose goby so do my tangs
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Post by lindsey1984 on Jan 6, 2013 16:50:12 GMT -5
I have some snails, hermits, a cleaner shrimp, 2 emerald crabs and an arrow crab. As far as fish, i have two clowns, a snaffin tang, a striped damsel, a domino damsel and a yellow damsel, 3 chromis, a firefish goby and a sixline wrasse. Im hoping they'll eventually take to the anemone. I love the relationship!
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Post by jess on Jan 8, 2013 22:33:20 GMT -5
most likely a parasite. mine have come down with something to. they will do what's called "flashing" off rocks, sand, anything, to scratch the itch. if it gets worse they will start to look cloudy like, have tiny white spots, act listless, and some lose weight. sucks
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Post by lindsey1984 on Jan 8, 2013 22:44:40 GMT -5
Could any of this be due to high nitrates?
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Jan 8, 2013 22:47:54 GMT -5
Higher nitrates = dirty water = more stress on the fish = higher rate of bacterial and parasitic infections. Keep the water clean and the tank a low stress environment and you won't have to worry much.
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Post by lindsey1984 on Jan 9, 2013 7:48:35 GMT -5
I've been doing my water changes and i've cut back on feeding an the nitrates are slowly coming down but we're getting there! How often is too often for water changes? Aren't I taking out the good bacteria with the bad?
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Post by lindsey1984 on Jan 9, 2013 7:49:15 GMT -5
i mean replacing the good bacteria along with replacing the bad*
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Jan 9, 2013 9:50:31 GMT -5
You don't have to worry about removing good bacteria from your water column. There is such a small amount free floating in comparison to the bacteria living on every hard surface in your tank, not just sand and rock. The only way you could remove enough bacteria to be detrimental to the system is if you take out too much sand or rock at one time.
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Jan 9, 2013 9:53:03 GMT -5
Oh and usually 10% weekly water changes are sufficient but is some cases I've even done 15%-20% water changes if I cut too many corals at one time or disturb to much of the sand bed at one time. A good quality carbon like seachem matrix or Rox along with a poly filter will definitely help with nitrates and phosphates too.
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Post by lindsey1984 on Jan 9, 2013 11:46:16 GMT -5
Thanks Ryan, I just did a water change last night so the next one I do ill try doing a bigger percentage of water. If I do a 20% thatll be 20 gal, is that too much? Also, what form does carbon come in? is it a filter? a liquid? I have NO idea!
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