Clownfish Hypnotized?

A friend of mine had this problem in his 29g tank. Tried twice with pairs of percs. They swam continuously into the corner until they died. Weirdest thing. Hopefully you experience better luck.

 

I have a true perc, and he stays in the same corner all day. Sometimes he will venture off to the BTA and host it for a little bit, but always comes back to the same corner. Mine has no trouble eating though. He started eating pellets right away, and he loves with brine shrimp. I wouldnt worry, they still need to adjust. They might want a small cave to stay in (assuming you dont have an anemone since the tank is so new) and be called their home. Im not sure though.

 

Ok, thanks for all of your help!

They are still not eating but hopefully they will soon!

 

It isn't uncommon for clownfish to stay in one spot. If you think he doesn't have enough room, throw them in a 1000 gallon tank, and they will still stay in one spot. Why not, that's what they do in the wild. Sometimes you'll get lucky and get one that swims the tank but that's not their general nature.

 

Like ibjellyfish, my 1 week old true percula is staying in one corner or another, but is eating well. Hope it ventures out some time. It has lots of cave like areas but likes that corner by the powerhead. Glad to read this isn't uncommon. The only other fish I have is a lawnmower blenny, and the blenny spends most of his time watching the perc.

 

I figured it out. I think they have a parasite b/c they both have some type of white string coming out of their belly. Roundworm?

I think I am running out of time to treat it- any suggestions?

 

BTW

Petsmart = stupid...they just have no clue about marine aquatic life!

 

ditto on that, i just got 2 clowns 2 weeks ago... one just died btw (check out my thread under ASAP).... my 2 clowns also get that wierd film from their belly.. i guess it's normal since i've read a lot of people going thru the same... just hope for the best i guess! GL! any updates???

 

I think the stringy stuff is just poop. I"ve seen that before a few times.
clown fish hypnotized---have you tried snapping your fingers?

 

Haha, I can get them to do fin stands when I count to 3

They are still not eating and, unfortunately, slowly dying

I heard it's called Clownfish Disease? It's a parasite and unless you have the right medicine (which is hard to find) they end up dying. Fortunately for my blenny it only is transferable to other clownfish.

So, all clownfish owners: Beware of the white string!