Blueface Angel picking on S. Haddoni

[bureau13]

All along I've been afraid the carpet would eat a fish, but it turns out I have to worry about the other way around.

I have a decently larged size S. haddoni and a 4" adult-colored Blue Face Angel. The Angel has not picked on anything else (that I'm aware of) but he seems to like nipping off the short tentacles of the anemone...there is now a "bare spot" along the edge that used to not be there.

Is there any way I can stop this without removing one of hte animals?

Thanks,
jds

[rkelman]

I'd separate them... One day the angel will stick its head in a little to far and become lunch. Or it will stress your carpet until it dies. My coral beauty likes to pick food off my carpet. A couple weeks ago I saw the angel's face was all white from anemone stings. He's alot more carefull now :)

[maww]

my chrysurus angel tries the same thing with my anemones. I have an orange skunk clown in the carpet- he chases the angel off whenever he gets near enough to take a bite. Why not get a decent sized clownfish to protect the anemone?

[sonofgaladriel]

I had the same experience. I got a nice huge red haddoni and within two weeks, my Red Sea Asfur and my Majestic angels started nipping at it. First I moved the angels out since I wanted to keep the carpet. After a few more weeks, I decided to move out the red carpet as I was worried that my juvenile Red Sea Regal would get eaten ;)
Either you lose the angels or lose the carpet. You just have to decide which gives you the more pleasure.

[rkelman]

The clown might work if you could get it to host before the anemone is stressed beyond repair... My little black Ocellaris chases everything away now. I got lucky he hosted in 6 days.

[bureau13]

I thought about the clown solution...that would be ideal, except...I have a pair of Maroons hosting in a BTA. I'm not sure if I could keep them separated. I have an anemone crab in there but he hides under the anemone when the angels come for a visit.

jds

[rkelman]

I wouldnt try and put any other clowns in.. Your Maroons would surely kill them.

[bureau13]

Someone told they thought I had a 50/50 chance if I put in a pair of Clarkiis of roughly the same size as the Maroons.

jds

[rkelman]

50/50 chance the Clarkiis might kill the Maroons instead? :) I think its a bad gamble.

[bureau13]

I would feel a bit better about it before...but the BTA split a while ago, so the maroons are actually out and about more now, "commuting" between the BTAs...I don't have a good feel for it, but...I'm still thinking about it.

One other thing...both the offending angels have white, blistered areas on their mouths now, from getting stung...what's wrong with these guys, its stinging the crap out of you, STOP IT! Now I'm concerned that they may get infected...anyone have any experience with this? I have laid my acrylic fish trap so that its more or less covering up the anemone now...it can still get light, but no picking. Aesthetically, I'm not a fan, but hopefully it will protect both 'nem and angels while I decide what to do.

jds

[shutiny]

This is my personal experiences:
I had a Majustic Angel that was nipping at one of my Haddoni. The anemone was stressed and contracted, so I cover the anemone with a clear plastic container. One morning, I found the angel managed to get in side the plastic container and was injured badly by the carpet. Although the angel was not eaten by the anemone, it died a few days later from the injury.

The carpet also died a few weeks later. I do not keep angels in my main tank any more, though I like them a lot.

[bureau13]

OK, well here's an update...I found a pretty good sized wild-caught Sebae clown, also a natural host for S. haddoni. No time for QT if I want to accomplish anything in the way of saving the anemone, so I did acclimated him, did a freshwater dip, and introduced him (fingers crossed) right after the lights went out. He did not immediately enter the anemone, but as of this morning when the blues fired up, he made his way there fairly quickly.

The Maroons are pretty curious about this, especially the Bad Mamma. Any time he pops up she swims over there quickly, and he nestles back down into the anemone, and she swims away. I've also seen the angels come around, and he hasn't made any overtly aggressive moves towards them, it appears that his mere presence, at least for now, is making them turn back. Now, I'm not sure exactly how this will all turn out, but so far so good. I'll try to post up a picture later. I am a little concerned about that anemone. His overall shape and behavior seem pretty normal, but he's got some pretty broad patches of no more green at all. Will he be able to regrow these areas, if the picking stops?

jds

[apayne]

good luck!

[phender]

A true sebae clown was a good choice. IME, sebaes are very much home bodies, prefering to stay very close to their anemone. That will lessen the chances of aggression between the two clown species.
Healthy carpet anemones are pretty resilient. It should be able to grow back its tentacles fairly quickly.

[bureau13]

That's good news....he does seem pretty happy snuggled up in there. Hopefully he'll get a bit more aggressive in terms of how he defends his territory, before the angels get bolder.

jds

[rkelman]

My Ocellaris changed how aggressive they were over a few days. Now if anyone messes with the anenome they are promptly chased away.

[bureau13]

Well, unfortunately the angels have grown more bold, not so much the clown. He now backs off and waits for them to stop picking and go away :( I keep hoping he'll get more aggressive, so we'll see. I know, small relative to the angels though he is, they'd run if he just swam over towards them. They're not THAT bold.

jds