N. Wennerae & Clownfish

[SMaxwell]

Probably should have asked this before spending $$$ on a pair of clowns, but...Has anyone ever had an N. Wennerae kill a clownfish? My N.Wenn seems intently focused on them and has made a few false charges at them. I quickly threw in the new handfull of bluelegs I got at the same time and he grabbed one and took off into his cave with it. He is either really fascinated or amused by the clowns or he's eyeing them for a meal. The clowns are close to 2" & then N.Wenn is 3" +. Should I be worried???

[leshnign]

I've housed 2 percs in a 30 cube with n.wennerae for 2 yrs. Never had a problem, but they have their own little personalities, and your little fella just might not like them. I'd just keep an eye on him. Good luck

[wogga]

I've got a maroon clown (about 2.5") in with my wenneraes. the big one (2.5" or so) has not shown any interest in him, but he did take one of the damsels that i put in. Perhaps adding another fish that is an easier meal would distract him from the clowns.

i've also heard that clowns will grow in direct proportion to how much you feed them, so if you feed the crap out of them, they will probably outgrow the wennerae (that's assuming he doesn't eat them) pretty quick.

Who knows though, maybe he has a taste for fish...

[Koshmar]

When I had tank mates with my N. wennerae, I kept a sally lightfoot crab with her. She would do the false charge thing just like your's is doing. One day she went from a false charge to a "grab and rip the belly off the crab" charge. This happened after they were housed together for about 3 months. You just can never tell. The false charge situation would have me expecting the worst though.

[lionbacker54]

it's funny how different mantis shrimp personalities are. i have a g.smithii who is terrified of my clownfish.

back to your question, i'd probably be worried if i were you. your mantis is showing aggression to the clowns. on the other hand, clowns usually dwell and sleep on the top of the water column, away from the mantis.

alternatively, maybe your mantis is being hyper aggressive because it is in a premolt phase. so maybe it's not intent on owning the clowns.

[SMaxwell]

So far both clowns are still ok, but, i was watching for a while last night and my N. Wenn ("Waldo") is still acting like a cat playing with a mouse. He will dart arund the tank and poke his head out from the rocks near where the clowns are and he will slowly creep towards them, just like a cat. Most of the time he dives back into the rock, but occaisioally he will to the "false charge" thing. The clowns are pretty fast, but I have to think that he could probably get them if he really wanted to. The clowns on the other hand aren't real smart, they like to hang out right in front of the Waldo's lair! Hopefully he's just having some fun with them.

[Koshmar]

Yeah, that's how it started with my Sally Light-foot. I thought it was real cute until I came home one afternoon from school and found Dallas snacking on a crab leg, seems she finished what she started before I left. The good thing is N. wennerae usually close up shop at night (at least mine does), which is when your clowns will be most vulnerable. At night green chromis enter a sort of sleep mode where they can be easily captured by anything that can swim up to their sleeping spot. I would venture to guess clowns do the same.

[peasofme]

he will kill the clowns sooner or later. every clown i've had sleeps at the bottom. they also swim all around, not just the top and middle of the tank.