The Puffer Forum

Thanks PP for the link to a DIY fish trap, but I'm happy to report, the damsel is leaving the clowns alone now. My clownfish are active, great fish. I'm happy with the addition, and I'm confident that my GSP (sweet little dude) won't ever bother them, so all is good

If they are mature and comfortable enough with the tank and its care to spawn, they tend to turn nasty on me. They are not large enough or strong enough to do the the damage Tomatos (or Ephippiums can do, but those tiny teeth are as sharp as razors.

*GSP*Fan* wrote:Glad to hear everyone is getting along, hope it lasts.

Tim wrote:Seems like my pair of ocellaris are a bunch of wusses, they are mortally afraid of my hands and leave other fish alone, I even think they are friends with the 4 stripe damsel as they pretty much spend every night close together

Give them time, I have a pair exactly like yours and up until recently I thought the same of mine. Mine had been getting braver, not hiding and all, but didn't show any aggression until this morning. I was doing some rearranging with the aquascaping, which took me a little while, and my orange clown (larger of the two) decided I had had my arms in the tank too long and nipped me..3 times

Mine host a part of the front glass so they do not seem afraid , but time will tell. What I really want is Maroon clowns or Yellowstripe maroon clowns, but decided against it after reading plenty of stories of them claiming entire tanks.

RTR wrote:They are not large enough or strong enough to do the the damage Tomatos (or Ephippiums can do, but those tiny teeth are as sharp as razors.

I have taken in a very mean tomato & have been victim of those razor teeth quite often! I moved the poor Copperband butterfly from his tank, because he's such a bully. If he wasn't such a beautiful & personable fish & looked so cool hosted by my giant leather, they'd both be gone (the leather takes up a LOT of room).

They are why I invested in mail gloves and dry-box gloves. The may bruise you fingers, but they do not cut through the SS mail. Back when I was in the lab, I coud not work with and fresh cuts or scrapes - if you could not scrub in and out, you could not work. Protecting your hands became the rule to live by...

Tim wrote:

*GSP*Fan* wrote:Glad to hear everyone is getting along, hope it lasts.

Tim wrote:Seems like my pair of ocellaris are a bunch of wusses, they are mortally afraid of my hands and leave other fish alone, I even think they are friends with the 4 stripe damsel as they pretty much spend every night close together

Give them time, I have a pair exactly like yours and up until recently I thought the same of mine. Mine had been getting braver, not hiding and all, but didn't show any aggression until this morning. I was doing some rearranging with the aquascaping, which took me a little while, and my orange clown (larger of the two) decided I had had my arms in the tank too long and nipped me..3 times

Mine host a part of the front glass so they do not seem afraid , but time will tell. What I really want is Maroon clowns or Yellowstripe maroon clowns, but decided against it after reading plenty of stories of them claiming entire tanks.

Mine actually seem to prefer the back glass about midway

I noticed they had stopped being skidish when I was messing in the tank for any reason, didn't think much of it then.

I guess my arms were in their spot for too long, and least too long for the orange clowns liking. Thankfully they won't get large enough, or probably mean enough, to do any real damage. It was just kinda annoying


The maroons are nice looking clowns, just too bad they don't act that way

Maroons BTW are the nastiest of the clowns IME, worse than Tomatos And Ephippiums.

RTR wrote:Maroons BTW are the nastiest of the clowns IME, worse than Tomatos And Ephippiums.

That what I had understood just from what I've read, I believe I've even came across post on here where you had said the exact same thing.

Too bad though, they are lovely looking fish. I avoided them thought because of their temperament. My two ocellaris already have a nice little attitude, with the nipping and all, and I'm sure that could get worse.

I wouldn't want a larger fish, as the maroon, with more aggression and potential for more pain from a bite.

Maroons are among the most elegant appearing clownfish, but in pairs they will not allow much else - if anything- in their tank. It is not hard to set for a barrier or two to confine them while tank cleaning is in process. Mine were not nearly as fast as Tomatoes or Ephippium clowns in my experience, so a bit easier to work around, especially if you give them a largish tank. But if they do nip, it is not trivial. The small but still very showy ocellaris you mentioned originally are definitely among the showiest and easiest to work with clowns. The "skunk" species is even gentler, but not nearly as showy. The whole group of clowns are long-lived and healthy if well-kept. They always are fascinating fish. You just have to smile at them.