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the seanze 
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 Topic: My clown fish is a BULLY!!!
Posted: March 18 2012 at 6:39pm |
Hello everybody,
I recently bought a new anenome for my clownfish, this is the second one we got for it. I thought it would make it less territorial. Now this fish attacks anything that moves! including my tubeworm!!!  I'm about to put it in "time out" and put it in the sump. If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it. Have a good night!
Thank you.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 19 2012 at 1:44pm |
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Feed it more.
What size aquarium?
Can you post a pic?
Is it the sole Clownfish?
What species? Maroon and Tomato clownfish are real buggers.
In the Reefkeeping Tips below, see the tip titled "Secrets of adding new fish, Fish Training and the Miracle of Garlic Oil."
A clownfish is one of the easiest fish to catch at night. I believe the Tip about this is also listed in Reefkeeping Tips.
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the seanze
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Posted: March 19 2012 at 8:27pm |
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the seanze
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Posted: March 19 2012 at 8:28pm |
It is a maroon clownfish, it is alone and it is a 65 gallon tank. Do you think I should feed it more? Also, I don't know if it makes much of a difference, but it has 2 anenomes to host. Does that make a difference? Here's a Pic. (sorry it won't stay still enough for a good photo)  and thanks Mark. I'll read your reefkeeping tips. 
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ptronsp
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Posted: March 19 2012 at 9:07pm |
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Welcome to the wonderful world of maroon clowns :). They are notorious bullies, but one of the most beautiful clowns IMHO. I would also like to add, clowns are extremely aggressive fish by nature, especially the maroon. It does not matter what kind of anemonies/corals you add they will show who is boss.
Edited by ptronsp - March 19 2012 at 9:14pm
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The only clowns I like are in my tank!
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bstuver
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Posted: March 19 2012 at 9:53pm |
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Also my guess is because you added another anemone it now has two territories that it says are his :-/
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Jackie Stuver
"wait these aren't the happy Hawaiians oompa doompa godly heaven on your face zoas? I dont want them then. lol!" Ksmart
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 20 2012 at 12:21am |
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I agree with both Jackie and Pam.
With a bad old Clownfish that, because of advancing age and isolation from others of it's kind, has turned cantankerous and mean, sometimes the best thing to do is put it with some larger fish and call it quits.
Training might work, but you have to be real mean and show it in no uncertain terms that you are the boss, not it.
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Crzyfshguy
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Posted: March 20 2012 at 12:32am |
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Mark, explain just how mean we have to be? I have a black clown giving me very similar issues
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45G w/ leds
15G sump
MP10es
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ptronsp
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Posted: March 20 2012 at 1:06am |
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I do not agree with Mark in the aspect of training. I just think you should allow nature to run its course. They are naturally aggressive and possessive of their territories. I enjoy watching their mean little ways.. Hmm maybe I am a bit warped :).
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The only clowns I like are in my tank!
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McClure
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Posted: March 20 2012 at 2:09am |
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We too have a fairly mean saddleback, adding a new anemone made it worse for sure, she does have a mate, but he is docile and not mean at all. We definitely overfeed so food is not an issue.
Anything smaller than her other than her mate that comes within a few inches of the anemone gets bit, except the snails, they get picked up and moved to the other side of the tank then dropped, its actually super cute to watch. She bit out the eyes of our Royal Gramma today.... we just resign to quit adding fish that are smaller than her. She goes for the big fish too but clearly they win :)
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 20 2012 at 2:39am |
This is about teaching an animal, your pet, to follow your rules. You have to be tough enough in the training that the fish knows in no uncertain terms that you are in charge and they must follow your rule not to fight with the other fish. This means that you are the aggressor with the stick and that you may need to chase that fish around the tank repeatedly for a long time. Admittedly, not an easy task for some people, until they get real mad.  But it should not be done in anger, it's about teaching the animal to follow the rules or suffer the consequences. Also, the fish should not be rewarded with food right after, unless there was a real noticeable change in behavior. Some hobbyists will feed the fish apologetically, though it did not change it's behavior. Can you see how this further reinforces the bad behavior?
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the seanze
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Posted: March 20 2012 at 7:20am |
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Thanks for the info! It doesn't hurt the other fish... But it makes me angry when it bites my feather duster! But I guess the real problem is that it keeps kicking sand into my overflow. So when should I chase it around with the stick? I tried over feeding and it made no difference.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 20 2012 at 2:40pm |
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The fish training post explains how to do it, but feel free to call me for a more in depth discussion.
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Will Spencer
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Posted: March 20 2012 at 4:56pm |
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I have heard that Mark's fish training method can work, but I don't believe it works with GSM clowns. When I try it on mine all it does is make me more mad and make the clown hide for a few seconds. Then it goes right back to it's old bad self.
I have had my GSM for over 10 years and although it has been a bully the whole time, they calm down a lot after you take away their anemone. I had about 10 large BTA's at one time and decided I wanted something else in my tank besides just them. When I had them the clown was a terror. She attacked my hand every time it entered the tank and kept all other fish away from it's homes, which meant pretty much the whole 180 gallon tank. Since I removed all of the anemones she has calmed down a lot and no longer attacks my hand or beats up on the other fish. She still won't leave any corals that are not solidly attached where I put them though and tries to bury the corals I put on the sand.
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the seanze
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Posted: March 20 2012 at 9:07pm |
Wow, Thanks for all the great advice people! I think I now know what I can do to possibly diffuse the situtation. I'm definately going to try some new things. I'm sure something will work out. Have a good night guys!!!
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: March 21 2012 at 12:35pm |
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Will Spencer wrote:
I love to agree with Will. 
