Clown fish keeps attacking my feather duster

[Mcgrew]

I’m not sure what else to do but as title suggest, they have happily lived together for 8 months and now every time the worm comes out the fish nips it and it retracts into its tube it’s an ongoing battle

I put some rocks to protect the worm and that worked for 24 hours until the fish learnt how to swim around them…

Other than removing the fish or worm is there anything else to try??

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

How big is the tank?

Maybe the clown has chosen a certain spot in the tank to call home and the duster is too close. Are you able to move the feather duster as far away as possible?

 

[Mcgrew]

How big is the tank?

Maybe the clown has chosen a certain spot in the tank to call home and the duster is too close. Are you able to move the feather duster as far away as possible?

The clown lives in the opposite side of the tank and only goes to this side when the worm is out I think it somehow thinks the work feathers are food

 

[Tahoe61]

The clown lives in the opposite side of the tank and only goes to this side when the worm is out I think it somehow thinks the work feathers are food

More likely movement is attracting the clowns attention. Clowns nip and mouth the tips of anemone tentacles. The clown is likely looking for a host or the clown showing aggression towards a pending intruder.
I have had clowns that killed every single item including fish, snails, hermits and corals. It can be problematic smaller systems. It's not an easily remedied problem unfortunately.

Good luck.

 

[BryanM]

Arm the feather duster with a knife

Seriously if it can be moved, its worth a shot, possibly mostly hiding it from eyesight from where the clown hangs out.

 

[Mcgrew]

Arm the feather duster with a knife

Seriously if it can be moved, its worth a shot, possibly mostly hiding it from eyesight from where the clown hangs out.

He’s attached to a rock so I’ll likely break the tube, but he does come out at night the fish leave him alone then