clowns nipping at corals!

BL1

BL1

.............
I've been waiting/hoping since I got my clowns that they would host something because I think it looks cool. Well, I'm watching my tank today and I thought I saw my female clown hosting my hairy mushroom. then I see her put a big chunk in her mouth and start chewing on it. So, I start watching more closely, and she's swimming up to my goniopora and nipping at their polyps too. And on top of that, the male clown is biting the mouth on my frogspawn and also nipping at my zoas.

Is this normal? should I be concerned? is there anything I can do to get them to stop? :frustrat:
 
How often do you feed,maybe bump it up abit...IDK,everyone has always told me they nip and pick because they are looking for food.I think its just alittle bit of natural behavior too.
 
I feed them frozen mysis, krill, or brine every 3-4 days and I put an algae sheet in every other day for the lawnmower but, they'll usually pick at that too. I thought that would be often enough. Is it not?
 
Well,you may be asking the wrong person,i feed my tank 3x a day,everyday:lol:...to me,thats not enough for your clowns...JMO
 
That is weird behavior. I've had clowns and damsels and never had them actually eat corals. I do see them pick around and in the corals though. They are just picking at the reef and not eating the corals though. I usually have fed my tanks every 3 days or so. 5 days if I forget. If they are not causing any visible harm to your corals maybe they are just grazing around your reef normally? They could just be snagging a few pods they find running around your zoos maybe?
 
Clowns will sometimes chew on the tentacles of their host anemones.The 2 I had did that all the time.
Dont know why they did it :dunno: but it never seemed to hurt anything.
 
They're definitely not picking around the corals, all of my LPS are retracted into the skeletons because they're actually picking at the polyps
 
yote said:
Clowns will sometimes chew on the tentacles of their host anemones.The 2 I had did that all the time.
Dont know why they did it :dunno: but it never seemed to hurt anything.
Click to expand...

The only thing that doesn't seem to mind being chewed on is the hairy mushroom
 
VAreef said:
I don't wanna sound mean but if they are hurting them that much maybe you should think about removing the fish?
Click to expand...

Thats not mean, I've been considering moving the corals that they are bothering over to my 75g now. It just sucks because it's going to leave my tank looking very bare
 
+1 yote, sometimes clowns just pick at their hosts, so may be the same or similar behavior. If it is getting really bad, either move the corals or move the fish...
 
I would probably move the fish out and get a new pair similar to them

But that is wierd, wierdest fish out there imo.

I also only feed every 3-4 days so i dont think thats whats wrong.
 
+1 Yote. My mated pair of clowns frequently suck on the tentacles of their anemone. I'm not 100% sure, but I think it may help the fish with it's ammunity to the stinging cells.
 
Thanks for all of your suggestions, I got home today and everything was opened nicely except for my goniopora. This was the 2nd day in a row that it's been like that, so it's been moved to the 75g. I'm hoping it'll open up again now that there's no fish to annoy it.
 

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