Aqua Girl Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 So today I brought home the first batch of fish to live in my tank community: two ocellaris clownfish and a starry blenny. I acclimated them all properly, taking my time and adding more of my tank water every 10 min. to ensure a healthy transition. The starry blenny went straight to the back wall of the aquarium and got to work on the algae right away before he went on to find his favorite perching spot. The black ocellaris was super mellow and like I imagined a happy clownfish should be, swimming about calmly and fluidly. The orange ocellaris, on the other hand, was not relaxed or happily swimming, but continues to swim quickly up and down one of the front corners of my biocube which he has been doing for the past few hours. He will occasionally break habit and swim somewhere else but for the most part he has stayed in the corner. I noticed the ocellaris clownfish exhibiting the same behavior in the bag on the car ride home where the orange one was frantically swimming left to right at the edge of the bag, and the black one was pretty calm for the most part. When I first got them in the tank, I offered them some food and they were eager to eat. I worry that he is going to exhaust himself or stress himself out. So I just want to make sure that I do not over react and that this behavior is not completely out of the ordinary. Thanks for all your help in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+etannert Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 I've seen fish do this when they are stressed. One of the best things you can do when you put new fish in the tank is to turn out the daylights or even all the lights. It gives newcomers a chance to swim around, hide, relax, and generally acclimate to the new environment without being the target of other fish or being stressed by being looked at. Your guy will probably be fine tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Girl Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 He's still not acting completely relaxed yet when I turned on the actinics this morning. He left his corner but he keeps swimming back and forth in front of the front glass. I fed them and turned the lights off. Should I keep them off for the rest of the day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 If those are the only fish you have then I wouldn't worry about it. He should adjust soon. As long as he is eating and active I wouldn't worry about it, but a reduced light cycle should help him relax more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Girl Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 (edited) He chilled out alot. I turned the actinics back on this afternoon and he was acting better swimming around more and still going back to the glass and swimming across it every so often. After a while of the actinics I turned the 'big lights' on because my GSP isnt happy with just the actinics, but the clownfish did not like it and his behavior regressed so of course I turned them off again and just kept the actinics going. He is happy with the low light and I'm sure he will be fine soon Edited August 22, 2011 by Aqua Girl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Girl Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 Both Clownfish are doing good and swimming happily under the big lights now and are also having fun surfing the powerheads. The GSP is not happy about the abnormal light changes that have occurred today, but I know they are pretty hardy and will eventually be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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