Whats really going on here ???

[frodaddy]

Ok ... So I have several clownfish in my 150 gal. (5 total) a Ocellarus, a Black & White Ocellarus, 2 Picasso's and a Tomato clown !! Everyone gets along fine and there is no fighting among them .. However My Tomato clown has started to fan out large sections of my sand bed in random places in my tank and it completely clouds out the tank .. The Tomato hosts in a large bubble nem and seems very happy !! What the heck is going on here ?? Do I need to add a second tomato to make a pair to make this sand storm stop ?? Or am I doomed ?? What do you guys/girls think ??

 

[Emac909]

Ur doomed. If u add a second tom she might kill it or if they mate(get a long) then they will both get very aggressive.

 

[frodaddy]

Ur doomed. If u add a second tom she might kill it or if they mate(get a long) then they will both get very aggressive.

So not what I want to hear !!! This is something that just started to happen in the last couple months but is becoming more of an issue now !!

 

[ep3n3wp]

Sorry to join but my male clown fish has just started doing this same exact thing... Started last week.

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[frodaddy]

Sorry to join but my male clown fish has just started doing this same exact thing... Started last week.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

What kind of clownfish do you have thats doing this in your tank ??

 

[ep3n3wp]

Just a pair of the super cheapy clowns($14 each) they host a frogspawn but the last week every now and then the male is fanning the sand bed in a couple different areas... I thought i had a powerhead pointing the wrong way.

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[frodaddy]

I see !! Im starting to wonder if its the same for some saltwater fish like clownfish as it is for some freshwater fish like bass and panfish where they will fan out a bed to spawn in ?? Or maybe he is just trying to fan the area clean of rocks and frags where his nem is hosting ??? all I know is that it is really starting to bug cause everytime it does this im sure my Nitrates are going through the roof ... : ((

 

[Reef Bullet]

I am bare bottom now but when I had sand, my percs did this on a daily basis. Drove me crazy!!!! Not just the sand going everywhere, but the way they'd make a Valley and cause it to dune up. Grrrr
Clowns are weird.

 

[frodaddy]

yeah my tomato is not making valley's yet !! But deep bomb craters wouldnt be far off ...

 

[Reef Bullet]

Does he only do it in one spot? Mine did it at night. I always said they were making their bed

 

[frodaddy]

It always seems to be later in my light cycle about an hour before the main lights switch to night lights .. It used to be just one spot on the back side of my rocks .. Now its on the front side of my tank center glass !! All this started after I took away his old nem for eating my Nahaky wrasse !! It was like he was pissed off at me for taking his home .. So know I bring him home a nice plush bubble nem and everywhere the nem moves to, he stirs up the sand around it !! Maybe my clownfish just like to keep a clean yard around his nem ???

 

[Reef Bullet]

It always seems to be later in my light cycle about an hour before the main lights switch to night lights .. It used to be just one spot on the back side of my rocks .. Now its on the front side of my tank center glass !! All this started after I took away his old nem for eating my Nahaky wrasse !! It was like he was pissed off at me for taking his home .. So know I bring him home a nice plush bubble nem and everywhere the nem moves to, he stirs up the sand around it !! Maybe my clownfish just like to keep a clean yard around his nem ???

I think he's trying to bury the new nem cuz he wants his old home back. You homewrecker !!! Lol

 

[jesuses]

I thought I read that clowns like to clean an area for spawning, which happens usually at later hours. This is probably whats going in since you mentioned is was happening later in the evening

 

[frodaddy]

I think he's trying to bury the new nem cuz he wants his old home back. You homewrecker !!! Lol

No he loves the new nem !! He only comes out to eat and move sand !!! lol

 

[frodaddy]

I thought I read that clowns like to clean an area for spawning, which happens usually at later hours. This is probably whats going in since you mentioned is was happening later in the evening

Yeah .. I dont know !! Im going to do some reading into this more and see what the real deal is !! Till then I may have to bump the water changes up and work the skimmer a little harder ...