Weird Fish???

[Kasha_lee]

I have 2 tomato clowns. 1 Female and one Male. The female who is twice the size of the male keeps digging in the sand and stirring up all the crap and junk on the bottom of the fish tank. What is this and is it normal for her to be doing this? She doesn't appear to be sick or anything like that, I am just wondering what she is doing. As it is making a LARGE cloud of messy stuff.

Thanks for your help into this matter...

[Rainetheiceman]

Sounds like she's looking for something to host in!! Do you have a anemone??

[Kasha_lee]

I can't seem to keep them alive..any suggestions on one that is a little bit harder to keep??? Mine usually die with in like 5 days of getting them. It isn't my levels or anything like that. Because after they die I take my water into the fish shop I buy all my fish from (Saltwater Specialist) and they say it's fine...

Kasha

[CroatianGuy]

describe dead anemone? they deflate(shrivele to nothing) often to poo and exchange body fluids and puff back up within the day
so just guessing maybe your anemone didnt die just did her bussines.

[static416]

My maroon clown always digs in the sand. She tends to move small rocks, coral, snails, and anything she doesn't like out of her little area.

Tomato and cinnamon clowns are the same way, very territorial and like things not to change. She's probably just moving stuff to the way she likes it, maybe preparing to spawn.

[lotus02]

I have a pair of percs that do the same thing , went out two weeks ago bought a BTA. They won't go near it.

[Kasha_lee]

They are dead trust me on that one...They become a giant pile of goo on the bottom of my tank and start to rot away. I then have to take them out of my tank and they fall apart when I pick them up...And boy do they make your tank stink when they um...Past from this world...Is that a good enough discription for you? It's a pretty big and gross mess...

Kasha

[nevareth]

My female Tomato likes to dig as well, and both Clowns have been hosting my BTA for about 4 months. I have read that what she is doing is digging for a rock or other solid spot to lay her eggs on. I've tried pieces of PVC, ceramic flowerpots, etc…. No luck. I haven't gotten any eggs either. LOL

[swiseman]

It seem strange to keep loosing your anenomes. One loss could be a poor specimine, however, if I read your post correctly, you have lost more than one which would indicate a larger problem. What kind of anenomes are you buying? There are certain ones that require more intense lighting than your power compacts can provide, however, most will be fine if spot fed small pieces of marine food to compinsate for lower lighting intensity. You may want to consider a bubble tip anenome or a long tenticle. The bubble tip will tend to wonder around your tank and I am not sure they are a natural host for Tomatoes. The long tenticle anenome is a natural host for Tomatoes and they will do alright under your lighting. LTA's do get a little large and prefer to be on the bottom of the tank. As for your original question, sound like a nesting behavior, however, I have a lone Sebae clown that does the same thing next to it's anenome whenever the Yellow Tang is hanging around. Take a look at the rock around the clowns usual hang out area. Their eggs are usually orange and deposited ina circular pattern on the face of the rock in my friends tank.

[Dman]

Kasha Lee,
Two things come to mind in regards to you losing your anemones.
First is your lighting, MH's are almost a requirement for all but the hardiest of anemones.
Second is your skimming, an RS prizm on a 55 is a little on the small side for a 55 that isn't coupled with a hefty water change regimen and probably isn't removing enough crap (for lack of a better term) from your water.
Now to the clowns, all clowns will stir up the sand as it's part of the body movement associated with spawning, especially if there is no other suitable surface for them to consider as a spawning site. I once had a maroon that I nick named "Digger" for this very reason.
At this point your options are to move the clowns to a bare bottom tank or live with the digging as once they've (she's) started, they (she) probably won't stop.
Dman
:spin:

[reefbeginner77]

I have a maroon hosting in a BTA, my maroon is constanly digging and stiring up the sand picking up rocks and putting them on the other side. I really like the BTA he hasn't moved since I put him in the tank, he hides in a cave like structure that I built with the rocks and extends out to the top.

Now I was reading in some places books etc.. and talking to people when I was first looking at an anemone. And most of them said that anemones don't really like bright lighting they perfer lower lighting. thats why they end up at the bottom of tanks basically under rocks under the brighter lighting. Thats why there found at the edge of reef systems where the water is deeper. now thats just the opions that I heard. I'm sure someone else will say something different, but they're are anemones that like bright light like the ritera or whatever it's called.

[nynick]

If you had more than one Anemone die within 5 or so days of putting them in your tank there might be something wrong with them. Did you buy them from the same place? Do you keep any corals at all successfully? If not you might have some specific water problem relating to corals/Anemones only. Five days is too soon for an Anemone to die from light starvation or any regular water parameter problem. I assume that your ammo, nitrate and stuff isn't off the charts since your fish is ok and it could not be copper since your hermits are ok. How long did you float/drip them?

Reefbeginner, I have the same experience with my Carpet Anemone. It only took it about a day to find a shady corner and there it has stayed put. It is growing well and is as sticky as can be. Before it came to my tank it was thriving for several years under NO flouresents! There are lots of different anemones though......