Guest alex wlazlak August 26, 2005 Share August 26, 2005 okay, so recently ive noticed that my clown has more black on it. do you guys know why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller August 26, 2005 Share August 26, 2005 Maybe because it's maturing and gaining more adult coloration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex wlazlak August 26, 2005 Share August 26, 2005 yeah, thats what i was kinda thinking. my "brother" had one and it was a little bigger, and it would lay on the ground when it slept.and the other night my clown was on the ground, when i got closer he got right up. i think its cool, but is it normal for them to do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryL August 27, 2005 Share August 27, 2005 they start to develop black splotches when they host with something. is it hosting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex wlazlak August 27, 2005 Share August 27, 2005 all i have is a feather duster, and a few xenia, and some zoos. i didnt really see him near them or trying to host with them. but id really like it if he did! but id like to plan on getting an anemone soon, but my tank has high nitrates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Jake August 27, 2005 Share August 27, 2005 Alex Keep an eye on them at night after the lights are off. Clowns will host Zoo's when there are no anemones available though developing some type of protection oil on their skin that protects them from the Zoo stinging and at the same time develops a black coloration on their body. Jacob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex wlazlak August 27, 2005 Share August 27, 2005 usually at night he is at the top of the tank "sleeping" and just floting around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grav August 27, 2005 Share August 27, 2005 Hard to tell from the pics... They do get darker with age. Black spotches are prolly zoo stings, they will go away in a few months if the clown stops making contact. Someone may tell you it is brookenella, but that condition results in a quick death, if it has been there for a few days, it is not brook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex wlazlak August 27, 2005 Share August 27, 2005 nah, hes acting normal. ill try to keep a close eye on him to see if he is around the zoos. but i dont think he goes near them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller7 August 28, 2005 Share August 28, 2005 The pictures are not clear enough to be sure, but the darkening does not appear to be a reaction to "hosting behavior". That effect, frequently called melanism, tends to first appear as smaller black blotches on the ventral surfaces. IME, the dorsal darkening the pictures seem to show would lean toward maturation, diet, scaring, etc. End of the day, it's still a SWAG PS: it is definitely not brook, that would be white, peeling off in strings, accompanied by heavy breathing, and death ;>) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex wlazlak August 28, 2005 Share August 28, 2005 i did notice that he brushed against a rock a few days ago... but the spot looks like a reflection on each side.im gonna go with hes becoming a man.OH YEAH, i read that they are all born males, then one just becomes a female. how does that work, and is it possible that "he" could become a lady? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 August 28, 2005 Share August 28, 2005 I think what usually happens (don't quote me on this) is that when there are more than one clown, one of the males will continue to grow and turn into a female. Only one will do so in a given area/anemone so that there are not more females than males. I don't know if this will occur if you have a single fish. Also, if your fish is scratching itself on the rocks, then it has got something parasitic probably. Fish don't "scratch" unless there's an itch. Also, I have never in my own experience had a clown that "floats around" at night. Mine are always swimming, and they always did even when they were hosting to a certain extent in that they would wriggle around a bit within the anemone and reposition themselves to be covered. That said, I am not so sure I would take "floating" as sleeping, but possibly as part of an illness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex wlazlak August 28, 2005 Share August 28, 2005 i hope not, he always did this, and i had him for probly 2 years now, and hes usually at the top just kinda widling around and hes usually near the back of the filter where there isnt alot of flow.sorry, he doesnt "float"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishface August 30, 2005 Share August 30, 2005 Hi Alex: I'm surprised that you still have high Nitrates. I have heard that many tanks may have a problem with the sand bed after 2 years. The Deep Sand Bed is anything deeper than around 4 inches and higher. Don't quote me - others would have an opinion. But it can't be just 2 or 3 inches of sand. So determine how deep it yours is. In any case, you've starting skimming, added an RO filter and we all assume that you're feeding properly. So either the LR is contaminated - which is unlikely and even unheard of as long as it's coral based. No lava or terrestrial rocks are in there to leak contaminants. Or maybe your sand has accumulated stuff and it is due for a cleaning or replacement. Not many other possible causes there. After 2 years it's possible it has trapped all kinds of stuff dsb or not dsb. So since it is not functioning as a dsb filter you could vacuum or siphon it, wash it or replace it. Anyone think this may be a good next step to resolve this? FF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex wlazlak August 30, 2005 Share August 30, 2005 the tank hasnt been set up for 2 years, i had the clown for 2 years or so. the tank is PROBLY around a year old (???) i didnt keep track of anything with it. but im so angious to set up my 120 now, im probly going to end up keeping this tank up too. yeah i dont really test anything cause if it looks good, then it better be good, and with the nitrates so high, im really suprised everything is doing so well. im starting to get some more corals now, but at a slow rate, and dont wanna waste money on them if they just dies cause of nitrates, so i like to get frags from people, and also buy cheap things offline. i have been runing my skimmer for a while now and it has been doing good i guess. water changes are a different story, i only add ro/di water now, but dont change any or remove any because i dont want to kill everything. any sugestions to try to do water changes with out having me go crazy afterwards?? i added like 3 gallons at once before, and everything looked fine, so im thinking about taking out 2 gallons and then adding 3 and seeing how that works out. any sugestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishface August 31, 2005 Share August 31, 2005 The water change is good, and they aren't consider to be the problem that was once thought. And use the phrase "dilution is the solution to pollution" and you'll see that makes sense. but replace exactly what you add, unless your salinity it wrong. Do you measure the water with a hydrometer? Are you dripping the new water in? Again, how deep is your sand? FF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex wlazlak August 31, 2005 Share August 31, 2005 its roughly around 2 3/4-3 3/4 deep. one of the reasons it would probly get screwed up before is because i didnt let the new water sit for a day, and i wasnt using ro/di water either. when i add water, i add a gallon at a time, and just pour it into my cpr in the back. and i use a deepsix hydrometer thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta August 31, 2005 Share August 31, 2005 I don't think I'd worry too much about the color, as much as I would about behavior. I have a pair of clowns, and one has darkened up (the male, or at least I'm assuming the male as its the smaller one) on its back. The other clown isn't showing any signs of darkening. Both swim/play like they always have. No ammonia, nitrates, nitrites in my tank. I used to be concerned about it, thought maybe he wasn't getting a proper diet. I feed mysis shrimp every 3 days or so, and they gobble it right up. That didn't help him turn more orange. Its possible he's eating other stuff in the tank that I don't know about, that is effecting his color. I don't have an anemone, and the clowns haven't tried hosting in any of my lps. They sleep at the top of the tank by one of the pumps, kinda waddling, right up against each other usually. Anyway, I would just say to not worry too much about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boostenmkiv September 6, 2005 Share September 6, 2005 I have had mine for around 4 years and all things described here sound like your talking about my fish....they have definatley darkened up and I was worried at first..but they act totally healthy and "normal" if you can call a clown normal http://members.cox.net/boostenmkiv/tank/percula.jpg http://members.cox.net/boostenmkiv/tank/percula1.jpg http://members.cox.net/boostenmkiv/tank/percula2.jpg http://members.cox.net/boostenmkiv/tank/percula3.jpg http://members.cox.net/boostenmkiv/tank/percula4.jpg Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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