Clown aggression

[douglasbnyhof]

I know that maroons are excessively grouchy but I’ve seen something that’s just not believable. The mated pair has a large bubble tip that split but then died shortly thereafter. That was about 6 weeks ago. Yesterday I bought them a new nem. A nice large LTA. These red buggers attacked the tentacles and pushed it off the rock. I had to move it 2 feet away to end the attacks.

 

[KrisReef]

I think they have rejected the replacement that you chose.

How come the bubble tip split and died? How old is the tank?

 

[douglasbnyhof]

I think they have rejected the replacement that you chose.

How come the bubble tip split and died? How old is the tank?

Yeah they definitely did reject it. The tank is almost 10 years old. I honestly don’t know why the nem died. It was in my tank over a year and maybe stress from the split.

 

[douglasbnyhof]

I think they have rejected the replacement that you chose.

How come the bubble tip split and died? How old is the tank?

I had posted about the nem in an earlier post from August before the split.

 

[KrisReef]

Now I am wondering if the clownfish are just too rough for their hosts?

I have also had Bubble tip nems just start wandering and die after they were established for many years, no rhyme or reason that I could identify.

I recently tried to remove one from a rock and it tore badly and I expected it to die. It has half-way divided, but my be rejoining itself, I can't tell. I could see the insides of the nem, and in the past I was told and have seen that these kinds of rips were the kiss of death. The jury is still out on if it survives, divides, half lives or fully dies. My new clowns are captive bred and they have been no help for any of the bubble tips in the tank.

 

[Jekyl]

Could be wrong so don't shoot me. I believe bubble tips and LTA are both not natural hosts for the clowns listed. Also, nems should be larger than the clowns being hosted. This due to the amount they can be "beat up".

Not saying it's the direct cause, however something to be considered. I also have some basic clowns with a bunch of BTA. They split their time between 9 or 10 nems instead of just 1 though.