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Post by haleigh on Apr 8, 2014 10:18:13 GMT -5
Hey all!
I got a hammer coral the other day at Easy Aquariums, and today my clownfish is showing A LOT of interest in him. I have seen videos and heard that sometimes they will host in them instead of Anemones. So, my question is are there any signs that they could be considering hosting?
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Apr 8, 2014 10:27:42 GMT -5
LPS corals make poor hosts for clownfish. Clowns tend to irritate the host coral to a point of coral tissue recession. Many times a clownfish that chooses a coral like a hammer or frogspawn as a host can actually irritate the coral to the point the coral dies. I'd say try your best to keep the clown out of your hammer coral or get it an anemone or some hairy mushrooms to act as a host for your clown instead.
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Post by doverdoug on Apr 8, 2014 10:27:45 GMT -5
Very possible. Ive seen them in quite a few corals when no nem was present. My maroon took a liking to a ball of codium algae before he went mia.
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Post by jasonandsarah on Apr 8, 2014 10:32:49 GMT -5
Mine hosted a feather duster
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Post by haleigh on Apr 8, 2014 10:44:09 GMT -5
I have a video but of course my computer doesn't want to let me upload it currently. So is it okay that he likes the hammer coral? I mean it doesn't seem too upset that hes around it at all.
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Post by haleigh on Apr 8, 2014 10:50:46 GMT -5
Here we go - Sorry my lighting and everything is off!
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Post by Lance on Apr 8, 2014 10:58:18 GMT -5
That's hosting behavior. Whether it's ok or not will depend on how the coral reacts. If the coral starts to retract then its a problem. More than likely it will become a problem as the clown becomes more aggressive in its hosting behavior.
My recommendation - get it a bubble tip anemone or two.
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Post by haleigh on Apr 8, 2014 11:00:43 GMT -5
That's hosting behavior. Whether it's ok or not will depend on how the coral reacts. If the coral starts to retract then its a problem. More than likely it will become a problem as the clown becomes more aggressive in its hosting behavior. My recommendation - get it a bubble tip anemone or two. My only issue is my tank is somewhat new! I've had both the clownfish and hammer coral about 3 days.....I don't want to get an anemone and have it die because of how new the tank is. Any other thoughts  |
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Post by jasonandsarah on Apr 8, 2014 11:03:41 GMT -5
That's hosting behavior. Whether it's ok or not will depend on how the coral reacts. If the coral starts to retract then its a problem. More than likely it will become a problem as the clown becomes more aggressive in its hosting behavior. My recommendation - get it a bubble tip anemone or two. But there's not guarantee that your clown will do what you want it to and host the bubble tip. It may swim right by 5 bubble tips and continue trying to host the hammer believe me I know from experience. I have bta's in my tank and one of my clowns still loves his hammer. No damage so far though he only hosts it at night for some reason. |
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Apr 8, 2014 11:08:15 GMT -5
The hammer may be fine for a while but more often than not the constant brushing and aggressive movements from the clownfish trying to be hosted will either irritate or damage the soft tissue of the coral. I'm currently at the point of dealing with this exact issue in my clients tank that I maintain, I've got a good sized bicolor frogspawn in there that a small cinnamon clown has chosen for its host and after the last four months or so the clown has caused 4 polyps to stay closed and now are starting to shrink back into the skeleton. Needless to say either the clown or the coral is getting removed this week when I'm there.
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Post by haleigh on Apr 8, 2014 14:28:31 GMT -5
Well for my sake I hope they both love it!
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Post by Sean (90 reef, fw rack sys) on Apr 8, 2014 15:45:11 GMT -5
I had a pair of percula that bonded with my frogspawn coral for over 3 years until they recently passed on. Never saw any signs of recessed tissue. As a matter of fact whenever I fed a cube of frozen brine, they would drag a chunk of it down as if to feed it. As with any other creature on this planet, it all depends on the individual!
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Post by Lance on Apr 8, 2014 15:52:26 GMT -5
IT'S NOT NATURAL THOUGH! YOUR CLOWN NEEDS TO BE CURED OF ITS UNRIGHTEOUS OBSESSION WITH A STONY CORAL!
WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY CAN CHANGE SEX?!?
- The Fundamentalist Hobbyist
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Post by jasonandsarah on Apr 8, 2014 16:24:33 GMT -5
Spear it! Lol
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Post by Lance on Apr 8, 2014 16:32:46 GMT -5
Only works on gobies. For clowns you need a young priest and an old priest. |
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