New Ocellaris swimming up and down chasing air bubbles

gus6464

I got new Tank raised Ocellaris yesterday and when I first released him he was acting shy in the back of the tank but today he is swimming all over the place in the tank. For the past hour he has been swimming up and down the tank chasing the air bubbles the powerhead makes. Is he telling me he is suffocating or is he just being silly? I've never had a fish be so active after only one day in the tank.

Water parameters are perfect btw.

Pasfur

I think he is just being "playful". The rising water currents in the area around the air bubbles is a very natural condition, and I suspect evolution has taught Clownfish to explore these areas for small plankton that have been caught in the currents.

gus6464

Ahh ok that makes sense. I was really freaking out for a while. I guess I am not used to fish being so active so fast in a new environment. He didn't eat yesterday but I am guessing today he just might today since from the looks of it he is used to his new home now.

Arkamaic

Haha I had the same kinda scare with my new True Perc I just bought. He finally settled down. But at night when his mushrooms close up, he swims against the current or watches me on here.

gus6464

Yeah I fed him earlier today and he ate all the brine I gave him but I dosed it with some garlic so that is probably why. I ended up turning on the Koralia Nano again today because he looked like he was struggling at first with the all the flow but now he is loving swimming against the current of the nano. I was just going to keep one ocellaris in this 12g with another type of fish but now I think I am just going to get another ocellaris because they are just so much fun to watch.

Arkamaic

You might wanna be careful with that. In that small of a tank they may be too territorial. Pasfur pointed that out to me in a different thread. Cause getting another clown to go with mine. (I have a 12g Nano as well) But who knows, could work out.

But I'm with ya. I love clownfish. The 90 gallon just got a Maroon Clown. Hes a bit strange tho, doesnt swim below mid tank really.

gus6464

Yeah I have read that in order for it to work it's better to put in a much smaller clown than the one already in the tank so the large one won't be as territorial. My LFS got in a shipment of very small clowns as well as the large ones like mine. I figure that if I don't take too long to introduce the small clown (1 week) the large one won't be as territorial considering he would still be somewhat new to the tank as well.

My LFS last week had a pair of huge black and white ocellaris and I was absolutely in love with them. The second my girlfriend saw them she began to think about getting a big tank (50-70g) down the road and getting a pair.

gus6464

Here is a little movie clip of my Ocellaris. Sorry if it doesn't look that great but I took it with my digital camera. He seems to love swimming against the powerhead current but can anyone tell me if he looks stressed at all? I really don't know how to tell.

Water parameters:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
pH 8.0
KH 12
Salinity 1.024g

I don't have a Calcium test kit yet because I don't have any coral yet but I am going to start checking next week and start dosing Reef Code A if needed.