Hippo Tang eating firework cloves

[drmofjeannie]

I noticed this past week that half my cloves polyps were retracted and some only had half a head. I just saw my Hippo Tang rip off the head of one and eat it. Now Im thinking the half are not retracted but have their heads completely eaten off. Im going to put Nori in now, but has anyone had the same issue and were you able to stop it.

 

[mfinn]

I've always had issues keeping hippo tangs and zoanthids.
I've found that once a fish finds a food source it will not stop.
I would try to rehome the cloves, because they will not survive in the tank with the tang.

FWIW, I lost a huge colony of fireworks clove polyps in the last year ( plus 6 new frags recently bought ). I always thought it was my filefish or the copper banded butterfly. Completely wiped out.

 

[drmofjeannie]

I've always had issues keeping hippo tangs and zoanthids.
I've found that once a fish finds a food source it will not stop.
I would try to rehome the cloves, because they will not survive in the tank with the tang.

FWIW, I lost a huge colony of fireworks clove polyps in the last year ( plus 6 new frags recently bought ). I always thought it was my filefish or the copper banded butterfly. Completely wiped out.

I am going to buy a domed coral cage off etsy and put it over the cloves.

 

[mfinn]

I am going to buy a domed coral cage off etsy and put it over the cloves.

I Hope they last until then. When the hippo tangs I've had gone after corals, they were relentless. I'd find something to protect them until you can get the item.