Spork3245
02/12/2014, 03:25 PM
Okay, the title may be hyperbolic :p
I grow flame algae for nitrate reduction and what-not in my refugium. Now that the 'fuge is near filled and the algae's growth has slowed to a near-halt I'm assuming that now is the time to "get rid" of some of it. My foxface and flame angel LOVE the stuff and it's almost like a treat for them compared to the regular brown/red/green nori I usually hang for them.
However, it seems like one of my tank-bred Ocellaris clowns, after a few hours, begins to "guard" the algae piece I hang on the clip. When my foxface goes to eat it, the clown fish rams itself into the side of the foxface, my foxface then flashes his spikes for a few seconds and swims off, about 20-30 minutes later this occurs again. As far as I can tell no "biting" is occurring and there's no signs of damage on the foxface and it really is a "headbutt"-like ram from the clown. If I take the piece out, return it to my fuge, put a new piece on the clip my foxface is able to eat it unbothered... for a couple hours, then the process repeats itself. Obviously this is the wrong fish for my clown to mess with considering the foxface is much larger and also poisonous.
What the heck is going on? Does my clown think that the flame algae is an anemone and is protecting it? I've put this algae in the tank in the past without issue, however I don't believe that the clown was sexually mature yet (as it likely is now).
I grow flame algae for nitrate reduction and what-not in my refugium. Now that the 'fuge is near filled and the algae's growth has slowed to a near-halt I'm assuming that now is the time to "get rid" of some of it. My foxface and flame angel LOVE the stuff and it's almost like a treat for them compared to the regular brown/red/green nori I usually hang for them.
However, it seems like one of my tank-bred Ocellaris clowns, after a few hours, begins to "guard" the algae piece I hang on the clip. When my foxface goes to eat it, the clown fish rams itself into the side of the foxface, my foxface then flashes his spikes for a few seconds and swims off, about 20-30 minutes later this occurs again. As far as I can tell no "biting" is occurring and there's no signs of damage on the foxface and it really is a "headbutt"-like ram from the clown. If I take the piece out, return it to my fuge, put a new piece on the clip my foxface is able to eat it unbothered... for a couple hours, then the process repeats itself. Obviously this is the wrong fish for my clown to mess with considering the foxface is much larger and also poisonous.
What the heck is going on? Does my clown think that the flame algae is an anemone and is protecting it? I've put this algae in the tank in the past without issue, however I don't believe that the clown was sexually mature yet (as it likely is now).