CRAZY Maroon Clown Help!!

[grilai]

Ok, I’ve had my Maroon clown for 4 years now. When I moved everything to my new 80 I left an area with no LR in the front. He loves to sweep that area until there is no sand left; I always have to go back and re-arrange the sand, last week I bought a finger leather and placed it in that spot. Earlier I noticed that the leather was out of place (almost tipped over). I put it back in place and later noticed the clown nipping on it and then hitting it; when he saw me, he picked up one Hermit Crab and slammed him against the glass. :scared: just like if he is trying to mess with me. Now he is messing with my hammer coral. I really don't want to get rid of it.

 

[tangs123]

let him keep his space then; move most of the corals away from the spot to
he might be making a spot to lay his eggs, is he the only maroon in the tank?

 

[grilai]

Yes, Tangs123 he is the only clown I have, the rest of the crew are a yellow tang, 1 damsel, and 1 gobby.

 

[poniegirl]

I have a yellow tail and a yellow that rearrange my zinnia and waving hand frags. Unbelievably irritating. Funny, tho, too.
You will either have to anchor the coral (the fish will get used to it) or place the coral out of the hit zone.

 

[debbie]

Hey don't feel bad, my bad maroon clown is doing the same thing. I bought a frag toadstool and wanted to attach it in the area that the clown is and that is absolutley not going to work. That clown picked up that frag and tossed it to the otherside of the tank, then went to the far end of the tank where I had some frags of Anthelia and took those off my barnacle and carrie them to the back of the tank. This little pig thinks the whole tank is hers...
So what I would suggest is that you put those leathers in a corner where the clown will not touch them, I am just doing this until they attach to something and then try and move them back to that place when they are good and sturdy.
Maroons, are the most beautiful clowns in my opinion but man do they every rearrange things in the tank.

 

[xdave]

You can take the fish out of the ocean...
I'm always amazed at how strong fish are.

 

[murph]

It wants an anemone.
They might take up with some corals. A large toadstool might work. Unfortunately due to the maroons robust nature and ultimate size hosting a maroon often leads to the decline of the coral.
From my personal experience and that of other hobbyist in my area this seems to be a common problem with maroons not to mention there aggressive nature in general toward there own species.
Most likely the only real alternative is the proper lighting and a BTA or removal from the tank. I have seen this problem get to the point where the tank was in a constant state of "cloudy" due to these fish constantly moving sand around.

 

[nasovlam]

I had a maroon w/o a anemone and he eventually paired up with a giant cup mushroom (Amplexidiscus) I had. I don't think that either was thrilled with the arrangement (mushroom had a tendency to "ball up" from time to time as if it had caught lunch). Both seemed healthy enough though. Once the maroon paired up with the mush, he was much less mischievous in the tank -- didn't move stuff around much, rarely stirred up the sand. If you try the giant mush route, be aware that the maroon could very well end up as lunch for the mush.
I have also heard of them settling into toadstools as Murph mentions.
The obvious answer that comes to mind is to get an anemone but remember that most host-type anemone can be a little tricky to keep (some can be very difficult) and all have a mind of their own about where they want to be in the tank (they move around -- they probably won't choose the same spot where you think they'd look so cool).

 

[debbie]

Mine really does not bother my large mushrooms or hairy mushrooms to much. I do find her perching on the rock that the hairy mushrooms are on. But she loves, loves the flow of the water in the tank from the Aqua Clear Filters and is always there.
I don't have a deep sand bed so my tank is never cloudy. She starts and stops this act but never hursts anything in the tank.

 

[debbie]

Say I want to say "her" if a clown is all by themselves and the only one it is a female right?
:notsure:

 

[xdave]

Wait a second, you have a Maroon in a tank with no anemone?

 

[microlady]

Originally Posted by xDave
Wait a second, you have a Maroon in a tank with no anemone?

Well, you don't have to own an anemone to have a clownfish. Most of the tank raised varieties have never even seen one.

 

[fishgeek01]

Originally Posted by xDave
Wait a second, you have a Maroon in a tank with no anemone?

YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE AN ANEMONE IMO, AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED TIME AND TIME AGAIN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A CLOWN AND ITS HOST CAN BE WITH SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF CORALS. MY PAIR OF MAROON CLOWNS THAT BREEDS EVERY 12 TO 15 DAYS HAS A VERY LARGE BUNCH OF XENIA THAT THEY CALL HOME, THE BASES ARE AROUND 2 INCHES THICK, AND THERE ARE ABOUT 8 DIFFERENT COLONIES IN THAT AREA. tHEY LAY THIER EGGS AT THE BASES OR ON THE GLASS BEHIND THEM AND DO THEIR THING THEYA LSO USED TO DO THE SAND FLINGING ACT. BUT ONCE THE MALE WAS OF SIZE THE FEMALE QUIT DOING IT AND THEY MOVED INTO THE XENIA AND HAVEN'T LEFT SINCE

 

[saltfreak4]

how did u get a mating pair? do you move the fry once they hatch?

 

[fishgeek01]

I BOUGHT MINE AT NEARLY THE SAME TIME AND THEY WERE NEARLY THE SAME SIZE. OVER TIME ONE OUT GREW THE OTHER AND BECAME THE MORE DOMINANT FEMALE, WHILE THE MALE HAS STAYED SMALL, WHEN I GOT THEM THEY WERE BOTH ABOUT 1 INCH IN SIZE. MY FEMALE ISNOW WELL OVER 4 INCHES AND MY MALE IS ONLY ABOUT 2 INCHES. tHE EGGS ARE LEFT IN MY REEF TANK TO HATCH OUT AND THE LARVA ARE LEFT TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES. NONE OF THEM WILL SURVIVE IN A REEF ENVIRONMENT, AND WOULD HAVE TO BE TAKEN OUT IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, BUT BECAUSE OF TIME AND MONEY I DONT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO DO THIS. MY CORAL AND OTHER INVERTS EAT THE FRY FROM THEM AND MY WATCHMAN GOBIES EVERYTIME THEY HATCH, SORT OF LIKE A SELF FEEDING REGIMINE FOR MY TANK. I HAVE NOTICED AN INCREASE IN GROWTH IN MY CORALS SINCE MY FISH GOT ON A REGULAR BREEDING SCHEDULE. ESPECIALLY MY LPS CORALS.

 

[saltfreak4]

So..let me get this straight. You just bought two yellow strip maroons as juveniles and then they sexed themselves? Or you just got lucky?

 

[debbie]

Originally Posted by xDave
Wait a second, you have a Maroon in a tank with no anemone?

As mentioned, clowns don't need anemone's. I don't have an amemone for two reasons, my lights are not good enough for one and secondly they are very, very dear in price here and have to be ordered in. Not big sellers here and tons of people have clowns without them.
I hope that when my toadstool gets big that my maroon will maybe if she is good host in that. But she has other big huge mushrooms that she quite often will perch beside or in.

 

[debbie]

Originally Posted by saltfreak4
So..let me get this straight. You just bought two yellow strip maroons as juveniles and then they sexed themselves? Or you just got lucky?

Clowns have the ability to change sexes. The bigger one will be the female and the smaller the male. That is why they say if you buy two try and get one bigger and one smaller.

 

[puffer32]

Funny this thread is happening now, I can't believe what my maroon just did! We just got a Crocea clam and we didn't like where we had placed him, so we decided to move him before he became attached to the rock he was on. We moved him to another rock and were looking trying to decide if he was to to close to the anenome. Before we could reach in and move it again, our clown swam over to him and nipped at his mantle. I guess because that didn't chase him, he backed up to get a running start, and head butted the clam so hard the clam fell off the rock!

They sure are strong little buggers. Hubby and I just looked at each other and he said, man, now that was impressive!!!!

 

[debbie]

Head butting....

Funny you say that, my maroon will head butt the hairy mushrooms sometimes. One thing is for sure. If you want entertainment, put a maroon clown into your tank, sit back and watch.....