are my 1st clowns okay

[buleetu]

hi there

i got my first fish today,2 clown fish,there tiny,
well i was just wondering if u think there ok?,they are swimming around really fast and when i knocked the lights off they started to swim really close together banging tails and that.

Also i just wanna know if my skimmer is ok too or should it take a while for it to start collecting skim mate,its running about 2 weeks now and it collected abit when i put the LR in but then it slowed back down to bubbles only,what do u think?

thanks

david

 

[fungia]

yes, baby clowns school together. they wiggle a lot and i thinkn they are very cute. i wouldnt worry.

did you buy your skimmer new? i think it is breaking in still. what skimmer is it?

 

[buleetu]

hi there

i have 2 skimmers,but i dont know which one to use,i have a tunze nano and a deltec mc 500,i got the tunze free with the tank,and i paid €320 for the deltec,the thing is the nano is a lot easier to use and adjust but im still not getting any gunk,(its being running all through the cycle so it should be broke in by now

im using tropic marin salt,it seems to be fine,ye know when im mixing my salt for a water change,would it be ok to use boiled RO water to disolve the salt in a big bucket(should i match the parametres in the tank in the bucket) how do u do ur water changes?

whats the best way to feed clowns,there very small,i have a pack of frozen brine shrimp mixed with spirila algae or somethink,ive feed them twice yester day,but the food seems to just blow every where because of the power heads

talk soon tanks

david

 

[FB]

Your tank may not yet be producing anything to collect.

just a thought. Wait till you start feeding the clowns and they start doing there business in the water. It will pick up I'm sure.

I did a 40% water change last week and it took about 3 days for my skimmer to start to pull stuff out again.

FB

 

[Anonymous]

Use mysis instead of brine... there's a bit more nutrition in mysis.

 

[Meloco14]

I don't know anything about the tunze skimmer but I have heard only great things about the Deltec. It is common for skimmers to have a break in period where it takes a few weeks to start producing skimmate. It is also common for recently cycled tanks not to produce skimmate. So I wouldnt worry right now. How tiny are your clowns? If they are too small to eat normal foods you can buy food specifically for baby or small species fish. I always recommend having at least 2 or 3 different kinds of food just so you can feed a variety and ensure they are getting proper nutrition. I like using pellets as dry food because they pack more protein and nutrition into each bite. But a lot of times pellets sink too quickly for fish like clowns. A good flake food like Prime Reef or Formula 1 would be good. Then feed your frozen food every other day or a couple times a week. As mentioned, brine shrimp have very little nutritional value, so if you buy them try to get enriched ones, or enrich them yourself with a vitamin mix or selcon. Also you should strain the liquids out of your frozen foods because they have a lot of phosphate and there have been a couple threads recently related to this problem. Also, don't be afraid to turn off your powerheads when you feed. Tropic Marin is regarded by many people as one of the best salt mixes out there. When you mix your water for water changes you want to match the temperature and salinity of your tank water. Also, let the new saltwater sit at least overnight before adding it to your tank. The newly mixed water needs time to settle and let the pH stabilize, and it can cause problems if added to the tank too soon. If you are using RO water you don't really need to boil it. RO is pretty clean, if it comes from a good RO unit. Most people put the RO water in a bucket with a small powerhead and heater. Then add the salt while mixing. When you think you are getting close to matching the SG of your tank water, slow down adding salt until you hit your goal. I then cover it with a towel and let it sit overnight before doing the water change. HTH

 

[Anonymous]

That's how clowns behave.


Two weeks is still the break in period for a skimmer. It needs to build up a layer of filth on it's inner surfaces so that the bubbles hold longer and it can produce more.

When it starts to look dirty, it's broken in.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi David

I have just aquired 4 tiny clowns for my growing tank. Initially I put 2 in the tank to see how they would fare and put the other 2 in my 'fuge portion of the sump. I learnt some interesting lessons that may help you:
Dont put baby (7mm) clowns in a big tank with lots of current, one went over the overflow, thru the floss, and the coral column and into my sump- fortunately the little monster survived, how I dont know. The other one I rescued and put with his mates in the sump. The poor fish was swimming flat out on the surface 24/7 and looked like the energiser bunny! 8O There is no current in my 'fuge and they are much happier at the moment. I will put them in the main tank when they are bigger and better able to cope with the current.
I feed my main tank flakes (2 types) and granules. The granular type of food is no good for clowns (small or not) Apart from being too big for small clowns, it sinks too fast and they wont feed of the bottom. I have taken to grinding up some flakes really fine- almost to dust, and adding a small amount regularly. Some still sinks too fast but the clowns are able to get most of it in time. I have also put some tiny boxer shrimps and dancing shrimps that need to grow into my fuge with the clowns. They eat anything that ends up on the sand. If you have the facility to acclimatise small clowns and get them feeding and growing properly before you put them in your tank, its not a bad idea. Its working really well for me. Alternatively, try and reduce the current in the tank, I turned off the powerheads until I could catch the last clown- not ideal, but I dont have much in the main tank yet so could do it as an interim measure.
My 4 hang around in a gang and always look like they are swimming actively even though there is hardly any current in my fuge.(Water in over a baffle, out thru the LS bed) They are usually in the upper section of the water column although as they adapt and settle, they are more increasingly being 'hosted' by my macro algae.

On the skimmer question, IMHO Deltec RULES!!! We dont have access to all the products you guys do, but I did the research carefully before buying and their kit is the right stuff. Remember that out here, a good skimmer costs about the monthly salary paid to a senior clerical position.(over $1000 on a straight conversion from our monopoly money.) Not something bought lightly!

Manny: I religously clean my skimmer cup every weekend, and wipe off the layer of gunk..... should I just leave it?

Andy

 

[bleedingthought]

That's what makes clown so awesome! The back-and-forth-wiggling swiming!