Clownfish biting and now I want to bite back! What have you done?

[Orcus Varuna]

Well well well...

I have always "boasted" about how I have never had clowns that bit me. Well today, that changed! My daughter had set up her nano and then she went off to college so I inherited her juvenile pair of snowflake clowns. One of them hit puberty and now is misbehaving by methodically and aggressively stroking my hand with it's little mouth! Luckily it's still too small to hurt real bad but every once in a while she gets a nice little pinch!

So that being said. I hate them.

Ok not really but I can't stand biting fish and if there is no way to control it then I will get rid of them. Have any of you ever had a clown stop biting after it started and if so did you do anything to help stop it?

At least it’s not a 6”+ mama maroon with 1/8” razorblades for teeth, they draw blood haha. The only solution once the biting starts it to invest in shoulder length slop gloves or to employ a swatter to keep the demon at bay while you work [emoji225][emoji84]

 

[Krzydmnd]

I use the two handed approach, one hand holding a net to keep my little jerk at bay, the other whatever it is I need to be in the tank for.

 

[Cary]

My large clown (female probably) used to attack any time I put my hand in the aquarium. I just kept putting my hand in the tank and I guess she figured out that I wasn't going to do any harm to her or the male clown.

She stopped being aggressive on her own. I really think it is just a protective device.

 

[siggy]

This was all I could thing about last night working in the tank, I got nailed 4 times and spent more time Sparing than working. The silver lining is that my 6-line ended up in the overflow.;Woot

 

[Scott chilton]

the clowns in my 20 gallon are MEAN! but the pair in my 68 are gentle and actually come up to my hand and rub up against it.
i guess the smaller space makes the more defensive. i would never get rid of a fish for biting...then again my kids are all grown up.

 

[revhtree]

the clowns in my 20 gallon are MEAN! but the pair in my 68 are gentle and actually come up to my hand and rub up against it.
i guess the smaller space makes the more defensive. i would never get rid of a fish for biting...then again my kids are all grown up.

I have a pair of Picasso clowns in my main tank who show no aggression through several years of owning them. I can even mess with their eggs and they don't bother me or even act excited. The little pair of snowflakes would virtually come into my hands when I fed them. Then the other day....puberty.

 

[MartinWaite]

I have a pair of black and white clowns who I rescued and one standard common clown and the std clown will bite me everytime I put my hand into the tank which isn't very often but if my son puts his hand in the killer clown never touches him yet it draws blood from me. So I wait until my son comes home from university and let him go in the tank to do what needs doing.

 

[siggy]

Then the other day....puberty.

Sounds like my wife..... only its meeno-pause..... OOOOOHHH I have my next Halloween costume

 

[brandon429]

if you spank them with a tongue depressor they stop biting. operant conditioning should work well heh

 

[OriginalUserName]

I go on the offensive and chase it around the tank until it loses its desire to chase me. Usually only takes a few seconds of chasing it around.

That is exactly what I did with mine early on. They aren't stupid. If they figure out that they should steer clear of YOU then I don't see how they will stay aggressive. Same thing happens with new fish. Some take it, others push back and are left alone.

 

[siggy]

if you spank them with a tongue depressor

Wife or fish?

 

[brandon429]

heh

 

[evolved]

I know someone who used to catch her clowns and remove them from the tank anytime she needed to reach in. (@Tahoe61)

 

[Tahoe61]

I know someone who used to catch her clowns and remove them from the tank anytime she needed to reach in. (@Tahoe61)

Yup my Black and White miss bar!!!! Man they were so bad, drew blood. It's the anticipation of being bitten as much as the bite.

Went for Pink Skunk Clowns this time, no more aggressive clowns for me.;Shifty

 

[Tahoe61]

I know someone who used to catch her clowns and remove them from the tank anytime she needed to reach in. (@Tahoe61)

I used those clear plastic small Tupperware containers. She attacked it every time without fail. Be sure to put the lid container on while they are out of the tank. It really is a pain to remove the fish every time you want to stick your hand in the tank.

 

[jasonwible]

Reef safe my butt

 

[callumbacon]

Only my male bites me . Never had an issue until my previous female died and I replaced with a tiny black and white one . He is he perfect size to pinch . Makes me so angry. I have thought about trading the pair back to the LFS and getting another lionfish .

 

[Will Perry]

I used to have a Maroon clown with gold strips. It was the worst fish I ever owned he would try to bite me but it didn't bother me so much, he would attack corals he would knock over baseball sized rocks onto corals to try and kill them. I had to glue everything down to stop him then he finally mellowed out a little but he would attack anything that got near his side of the tank.

I came here to say this. Maroon clowns are THE WORST for biting!!! I have never had an occelaris bite, but every maroon I've encountered has been extremely territorial.

 

[LbulletM]

I put on thick shoulder length gloves and let her go at me for a while one time. Hasn't bitten since.

This is a fish that had jumped out of the water to bite me before.

 

[Will Perry]

I put on thick shoulder length gloves and let her go at me for a while one time. Hasn't bitten since.

This is a fish that had jumped out of the water to bite me before.

I was going to say... Over time, your clowns may stop buying. It's all about them getting used to you. Also, they are more territorial when. They believe it's mating season.