Are you considering getting a wavemaker for your aquarium to suit your clownfish? Is the presence of wavemakers in the tank likely to make clownfish swim better? In this article, I will review all you need to know about wavemakers.
Do Clownfish Need A Wavemaker? Clownfish need a wavemaker in the aquarium as the fishes prefer being kept in places that imitate their natural habitat. Wavemakers make water surges that generate waves similar to that of seas and oceans and installing one in your aquarium would make the fishes happy.
Do You Need a Wavemaker in a Clownfish Tank?
Yes, you do need a wavemaker in your aquarium to help with stimulating the water and allow for simulating the natural habitat of the fish which would be beneficial for the fish’s health and mood.
Wavemakers are devices that create water surges in the aquarium water which mimics the water in the clownfish’s natural habitat.
Fishes are used to having water waves glide across their skin; therefore keeping a wavemaker in your aquarium would make the clownfish feel like home and comfortable in the tank.
The use of wavemakers in the tank helps to ensure circulation of water in the tank thereby helping to eliminate the build up of poisonous substances that grow in a typical marine aquariums whilst also helping the corals and other invertebrates that the clownfish depends on to deliver food.
Do Clownfish Like High Water Flow?
Clownfish are generally shy fish and would avoid areas that have high flows in the tank- implying that to keep your clownfish happy you should endeavor to set your wavemaker to low pressure to benefit your clownfish.
Maintaining a high water flow in your tank could be damaging to the clownfish as it would be unable to act freely and would be affected by the high water current in the water resulting in the fish feeling stressed.
However, water flow is important in the fish tank as this would help to prevent the tank from experiencing static water that would result in buildup of poisonous ammonia and other debris which could otherwise have been moved around in the water and diffused.
Advantages of a Wavemaker for Clownfish
The Merits that can be derived from keeping a wavemaker in your aquarium ranges from allowing a circular vortex in your tank to keep water moving to assisting in generating enough oxygen for the clownfish.
Some of the advantages of wavemaker for clownfish include;
- It helps in Keeping waste and debris from getting stuck in the dead spot of the tank
- The clownfish likes good current; therefore, a wavemaker helps in generating currents that are soothing to the clownfish.
- The wavemaker helps the clownfish in reducing stress by keeping them busy and actively swimming rather than sticking to a spot
- It helps in surface agitation by creating waves on the surface of the water which will help in the transfer of oxygen into the tank; which is very important for the clownfish. The clownfish would become stressed if there is not enough oxygen in the tank for it to aerate.
- Wavemakers would help you keep your clownfish happy as they would be able to swim happily in the tank whilst feeling like they are in their natural habitat.
Disadvantages of a Wavemaker for Clownfish
The wavemaker could result in too much current for the clownfish, which could stress the fish. It could also scatter the fish food, making it challenging for the fish to feed.
Some of the wavemaker for clownfish include;
- The wavemaker could result in too much current for the clownfish, leading to increasing stress levels for the fish.
- A high pressured wavemaker in a small aquarium could result in a situation where the clownfish would be unable to relax when it feels like the pressure on its skin is too much which would make it feel agitated
- A wavemaker could scatter the food that is meant for clownfish making it more difficult for the fish to locate its food as this would create current in the water that sucks the fish food away into the filter before the clownfish could eat it.
How to Position a Wavemaker in a Tank
When you position your wavemaker in a tank, you need to ensure that your wave pump is indirectly pumping water to the corals in the tank and fish.
You can position your wavemaker in the tank by following the tips below;
- Mount your wavemaker in spaces in the middle to upper portions of the aquarium
- Ensure that it is not placed too low where it might blow the substrate around in your tank
- Ensure that they are not placed too close to the top of the surface of the tank as this might result in the wavemaker sucking in air or generating waves in the water that would be too big for the aquarium.
- You could also place your wave pumps in areas that are shadowy in the tank pump due the lighting of your tank and this would draw less attention to them and prevent the fishes from being hit by an unduly heavy current.
- If you have tall soft corals or gorgonians in the tank; anchor them in a manner that would help you hide the wave pump from the fishes in the tanks.
- You should also position your wave pump in a manner that would not create waves directly affecting your corals as this could damage the soft tissue of your corals whilst also ensuring that they are not placed in positions that would result in the sucking up of the long tentacles of the corals and subsequently damaging the tentacles.
- You could also place the wavemaker in a position where it would utilize the glass panel of the aquarium to deflect water all over the tank.
What Strength Should I Set the Wavemaker To?
The strength of your wavemaker could be between 2000 to 3000 GPH depending on factors such as the type of fish you are keeping in the aquarium and the water needs of the corals that you have in the tank.
The water current of fishes in the aquarium is a good determinant of the strength that you would want of your wavemaker; the clown tang is generally used to fast current as this helps to aid its water movement while the Copperhand Butterflyfish is noted for its preference for low water movement;
Therefore you should take adequate care in studying the current need of the fishes you are placing in the tank when setting the strength of your wavemaker.
Another important factor is that the level of the current could adversely affect the corals if not properly set in the water tank.
The LPS corals due to their soft tissue prefer low-medium flow of water in the aquarium, unlike the SPS corals who prefer an aquarium with high pressure – meaning that you might be willing to alternate the strength of your wavemaker to suit the inhabitants of the aquarium.
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