Is my Occelaris sick?

colejr · Dec 22, 2020

I bought my first 2 fish, small Occelaris clowns 10 days ago. I don't have a QT, I know I should. A couple days ago I noticed the slightly larger and clearly more aggressive of the 2 was a slightly darker shade of orange over the length of the fish only on top. Yesterday I noticed the same fish has some dark patches on its first white stripe, no where else. Eating well, coming front and center as we approach tank, acting normal. The other one looks and acts normal as well. Water parameters are super clean. Nitrates are 10. No corals, no news, so I know it s not stings. Am I just paranoid? Thanks

MugenReef95 · Dec 22, 2020

YEH looks fine too me man maybe over thinking it lol

resortez · Dec 22, 2020

New fish tend to display a more pale coloration when first introduced because of the amount of stress it has had to endure during transport. It takes quite some time for any new fish to acclimate & settle into their new permanent home. Once settled, it will display its true coloration. Also, with a mated pair of clown fish, the female will tend to display darker coloration & continue growing much larger than the male. Because of the mention of no QT, I would still keep a close eye on them. Just make sure they are well fed but I highly recommend having a QT system ready before your next fish purchase. Believe me, it is extremely heartbreaking & expensive when dealing with infections in your main display & seeing all your fish struggling with the infection. Hope that helps & good luck.