brook?

[airhead6025]

i have recently bought a new juvenile maroon clown from petco (probably not the best idea) to hopefully mate with my 2 1/4" maroon clown.

he has been in the tank for about 24 hours, but this morning i noticed a clear string coming from my original clown but it went away in about an hour. but about 20 mins ago i noticed a white stringy "poop" coming from the new arrival

also there has been been quite a bit of aggression (chasing and nipping).
and im not sure if the arrival is hiding on top of the power head (half and inch from water line or if its having trouble breathing.


any advice?

[Amphibious]

"Any advice"? Yes, research, research, research and take the new arrival back to Petco before it dies. Then read up on any and every fish before you buy it. Maroon clowns are notoriously territorial making them aggressive to tank mates, even their own kind. In smaller aquariums the problem exacerbates itself.

White stringy poop is common in newly purchased fish and is a sign of constipation due to several factors one being highly stressed, another is usually a sign of a wild caught fish that hasn't been feed properly on top of being stressed. It will most often pass if the fish is feed properly and the stress is removed.

Your new arrival is definitely hiding, trying to save his life, stressed out, probably breathing heavy from panic, fear for his life and from running away from his aggressor.

Take him back and do your homework.

Sorry if I come across as harsh or critical but, you would be amazed at how often this question (or one like it) comes up. This hobby is like any other hobby, you have to research BEFORE you add anything to your system. Except that this hobby deals with living things that we rip from their huge, nearly infinite, home and dump into a glass box the size of a closet and keep adding more living things. Our thinking is there's no limit to what we can add, everybody will magically get along. It doesn't work that way.

I've been in this hobby for 62 years. People that know me think I'm knowledgeable. I've got news for them and you, What knowledge I have came from research. Start a reference library. Mine is extensive and I have my books at hand and refer to them daily.

Here's a quote, "If you are going to do the 'thing' right, you must do the 'right' thing". That means research.

Take him back to Petco, save his life.

[Elsherst]

A note that kinda goes along with Amphibious, just because they are the same fish and "could" mate does not mean they will. They can be very picky sometimes on who they want to mate with. If the new guy is hiding it's probably not going to work out. So returning him would be a good thing. It does help to rearange your tank while your aclimating to your display tank (keeping in a hospital/quarintine tank before hand to make sure it's health would be a good thing before you aclimate it). Your current fish won't be as territorial because nothing looks the same to it, it will feel somewhat lost as if it just moved to a new neighborhood with new neighbors (your new fish). This trick does not always work, but it does a lot of the time.