Clown fish digging a hole?

[higorc]

Hello everyone. Does anyone's clown dig holes in there sand? I have a Ocellaris about 2 1/2 inches that seems to really insist in digging a hole in the middle of the sand. He will swim down on the sand and wiggle his tail really fasts. He does this many times. I even had to move my brain coral because he is getting it burried. I have checked him for Ick and other parasites and I don't see anyting. I have seen fish scrub against the sand before to get rid of parasites and they usually get sideways to scratch. He is doing this with his tail instead., Any ideas?

 

[NateHanson]

Would you describe the shaking as "twitching"? Do you have a female as well? Does she nip at him as he does the twitching display?

Sounds like a submissive mating display by your male.

I haven't seen them do that with their tail in the sand, but otherwise it sounds like what they do when they're trying to endear themselves to their femdom.

 

[dz6t]

One of my clownfish did that and now he is in the sump.

Nothing to worry about, they do that some time.

 

[delta]

Seems to me, to be nesting behavior. My False percs do this when they are preparing to lay the next batch of eggs.

 

[dz6t]

The clownfish I have is not mated. May be he was telling me something...

 

[higorc]

It's definetelly not twitching. He slowly swims to the bottom kind of looks at it and then wiggles his tail. I put the sand back, and she digs the whole again. It's been a fight now for the past 2 days! I have had him/her for about a week now. I had a black Ocellaris in the tank before. I added the orange one so the other one wouldn't be alone. The orange Ocellaris is clearly bigger the the black. I would say the black is a little over 1 1/2 inches while the orange is 2 1/2. My brain coral is getting irrated with the sand being thrown at him and has closed up. I don't see the clowns fight at all and they do stay close to each other. It almost seems to me he wants to make a nest! But I just got them together and I don't think she's (if that's really what it is) mature enough.


Here are the 2 little guys.

 

[dz6t]

ohh, he does have a mate.

 

[SteveDola]

my marron clown digs in the sand...i think hes trying to host there. Do you have a BTA for him to play in?

 

[higorc]

i do have a BTA, but it's been kind of deflatted for the last week. I also have given up on moving the sand back. He just moves it back again. It seems that if I just leave it like the clown wants is, he doesn't seem to shake the sand again.