Biting Tomato Clownfish

[Henryreef]

Ok, so i got my tomato clown a nice BTA for it to host in and it turned from a nice little guy to a mean monster. Now it thinks my hand is dinner and whenever i come within 2 feet of it i will attacked. I was wondering if i could tame him and get him to stop eating my fingers! Any advice is welcome.

[metal1971]

You are just going to have to deal with it. It has staked out its territory ,and doesnt want you near it. I have one in a 46bow that does the same thing.Just there way of saying "GET OUT"!!!

[metal1971]

correction, I have a maroon in a 46 bow that does the same thing.Not a tomato, srry!!!!

[Gary Majchrzak]

same deal. Both fishes are protecting their anemone (or territory).
It's a good sign your fishes are healthy and normal.

[Henryreef]

hmm. so there is not much i can do, i guess i will just have to keep an eye on him when i am in the area :)

[jetfixr]

My clown used to do that, it really didn't hurt or anything. The problem was that it would startle me more then anything. On more then one occassion I knocked over a few rocks causing a rock-slide. I could have a potentially ended up with a broken tank over it. What I do know is when it looks like she is ready to strike I make a backhand motion towards her and she swims back and nestles in her anemone. I have done this a few times and she doesn't really bother me much anymore. It puts her into defense mode as opposed to offense mode. She doesn't really seems spooked of me either. I know she is just trying to protect her territory, but if I drop a rock into the side of the tank as a result she may not have any territory.

[Victor1046]

What exactly are you doing in the water?

[Mike31154]

Wear a glove and/or place a net into the tank near where you are working. That will preoccupy the fish and help keep your hand safe.

[DTeuton]

GOOD LUCK I HAD SOME AN I GOT MY OUT OF MY TANK.

[Henryreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13895675#post13895675 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Victor1046
What exactly are you doing in the water?

Just regular aquarium maintenance

[LadyEquinox]

first of all how big is the fish? next thing is is there one or two fish? i would say that the tomato clown is territory because it is ready for mating.plus this type of clown is know for it's aggression to other fish and humans hands in the tank.