maroon clown fish food

[vertikul19]

My maroon clown fish seems not to be eating. I have offered flake, pellets, and mysis shrimp cubes. It has been 3 days since I picked him up. He seems only to want to swim in the current of one of my powerheads. He picks at timy pieces of the mysis shrimp when they come to him from the current, but sucks up and spits out any food of relavent size. any ideas ?

thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi there vertikul!

Wow, what are the odds that I would see this post? I live in Davis too. What frat do you live in?

I would expect the maroon clown to take live brine. You can buy it at Petcetera, located at 4th and E streets downtown. Live brine is a great first food to get finicky fish eating, but it has a very low nutritional value. You'll want to switch the clown over to a mixture of what you're already offering eventually. Try adding the brine and flakes at the same time, and the clown should get the point.

Regarding the powerhead...it's common for clowns to swim in powerhead currents. I don't think anyone's ever really figured out why they do it, but it shouldn't be a cause for concern.

 

[Anonymous]

Do you still have your damsels? Do they look like this?

Chrysiptera parasema

Are there any other fish that might be bothering your clown?

 

[vertikul19]

ok sounds like a plan. damsels are still in tank. I was gonna take them out or put them in the sump, but they only posture to the clown. The clown is much larger and he doesn't even acknowladge their presence. I am in the Sammy house, what sort of setup do you have ?

Nik

 

[Anonymous]

I have a 125 gallon fish only tank, a 6 gallon SPS coral tank, a 12 gallon soft coral tank. I maintain a few tanks around town too, the one at Sophia's bar, the one at Osaka sushi, and at a few private homes. Also, I help maintain some of the tanks in the Bio labs in Storer Hall. There are links to pictures of my tanks underneath my post.

Sammy house, are you guys still on the corner of A and 1st? I live in B St. apts, right next to Baker's Square.

What I was going to say about the damsels is you shouldn't worry about them. That species is very peaceful as damsels go. The clown will be much more aggressive as it matures.

Good Luck.

 

[vertikul19]

what LFS do you use ? Are you the guy with that aquarium right inside his front door just a few houses north of B.S. ? Do you think a Bangaii Cardinal would be able to live with the damsels/clown in a tank my size ? yea that is us on the corner.

thanks a bunch

p.s.
I was always wondering who maintained those tanks in storer.... are they for any purpose ?

 

[Anonymous]

I use lots of LFSs, but I also have a retail license so sometimes I buy stuff wholesale down in the Bay area. There aren't any LFSs in Davis that I would ever buy a fish at. Petcetera is run by a couple very nice old folks, though, so I buy food from them. They actually have a really good stock of frozen food, and live food. They're the only place in town I can get DTs phytoplankton.

I know the guy you're thinking of, Rob. He lives in one of the "Pike" houses just north of my apartment complex. I live RIGHT next door to Baker's square, in the complex. A bunch of Alpha Phi and KKG girls live there. If you look at where the mailboxes are, and turn around, you'll see my tank through a window. I'm usually home during the day, so knock on my door if you come by.

I think a Banggai Cardinal could work in your tank. You could even get a male and a female pair. I always like to have pairs of fish when possible. How big is your maroon clown in inches, exactly? It might be possible to get her a male partner.

The tanks in Storer are for display. If you've taken Bio 1B, you've seen all the animals we have 'behind the scenes'. We have a representative from almost all the major classes of every invertebrate phylum for the students to look at.

 

[vertikul19]

my maroon clown is only 2.5 inches. she has some slime on her today :-( you think that is the mucus they excerete... its kinda grosse. she is acting fine though. what are the chances if i get another marron clown that the two will take to each other ?

 

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't add anything at all right now. Wait until you've had that maroon at least a month, it's settled down, eating, and it doesn't have slime on it. That's definitely not a good sign.

If you do eventually try to pair her with another clown, it's a bit tricky process. Without going into too much detail, you need to select a juvenile that is much smaller than her--like half the size. If you search under the words "Pairing Premnas biaculeatus" on google or here at RDO you'll find more extensive info.

 

[vertikul19]

So my clown fish passed away last night, richard nixon (her name) probably died from whatever was causeing her to have that slime on her body. any ideas ?

 

[Anonymous]

I don't have a clue w/o actually seeing the fish. What's important right now is to not add any other fish for the next month or so, and keep a close eye on your current fish for signs of disease.

In the future, you might consider adding a more peaceful clown species too, like an ocellaris or percula clown. Maroons can become real terrors when they mature in small tanks.