My clownfish and the heater...

Hi All,

It annoys the crap out of me but my clownfish have had a long time love affair with the heater. They host it at night.

Can this hurt them? I have accidentally touched the heater before and it burned me bigtime. My clowns also have a couple of largish random dark spots which do not seem to match the description of black ich - rather, they seem to match what i see in regard to coral stings affecting pigmentation.

The problem is, my clowns host the darn tank heater....however - could a tank heater "burn" do this to them?

They both are as active and hungry as ever...no gasping for air or any behavior in that category. I just wish they would find something a bit safer to host.

Thoughts and comments are appreciated. thanks.

 

I'm not sure, but it seems like it could burn them if they are actually touching it. Stupid clowns!! Lol they do the weirdest things.

 

No kidding....it reminds me of your fish's constant flirtation with the power head!

 

yeah! I think they have some screws loose! Lol

 

Can you move the heater to your sump/fuge?

 

Unfortunately i do not have a sump or fuge. However you gave me an idea...maybe i can find something to fashion a wall mounted "screen" to go around the heater. hmmmmm...

 

I can hear the wheels turning from here.

 

Have you also noticed the burning smell?....and i am not talking about the clownfish!

I am still wondering if anyone else has had this experience with their fish.

 

Are they tank bred? Tank bred clowns seem to be the ones that host the weirdest stuff. They should be OK I would think.... As long as they don't get to close for to long. Do you have pictures at all? Honestly, I would rather them host a heater than a clam. I have seen clams close up on clowns leaving them scarred emotionally and physically. Plus, at least their keeping warm ;D

 

Yes to them being tank-bred - they are the most wiggly active things in the tank but i WILL make an effort to get some pics of the spots this weekend now that i have time to try to get them to hold still long enough.

I do want to be sure its a pigment thing and not the black ich. They just drive me nuts with the heater though. I have this lovely frogspawn i just picked up - but they haven't noticed it whatsoever. Go figure