Clownfish keeps pecking at corals!

[oceanboy]

My ocellaris clownfish has been pecking at my red goniopora recently. I constantly catch him picking at the poor thing, causing it to shrink back into its skeleton. It stays retracted like that for hours. A few days ago my clown was picking at it so much that the goniopora didn't open for two whole days. He also does that to my zoanthids but they recover after a few minutes; it's my goniopora that I'm worried about. I love them both but I don't know what to do and need some advice 😪

[WV Reefer]

17 minutes ago, oceanboy said:

My ocellaris clownfish has been pecking at my red goniopora recently. I constantly catch him picking at the poor thing, causing it to shrink back into its skeleton. It stays retracted like that for hours. A few days ago my clown was picking at it so much that the goniopora didn't open for two whole days. He also does that to my zoanthids but they recover after a few minutes; it's my goniopora that I'm worried about. I love them both but I don't know what to do and need some advice 😪

Sounds to me like he’s trying to find a home.  Mine would “suck” on my Goniopora and eventually he hopped right in it...... but he almost loved it to death in the beginning. 

 

- I think the “mouthing” prepares them for the “sting”.  

[oceanboy]

24 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

Sounds to me like he’s trying to find a home.  Mine would “suck” on my Goniopora and eventually he hopped right in it...... but he almost loved it to death in the beginning. 

 

- I think the “mouthing” prepares them for the “sting”.  

It's pretty annoying to be honest. My goni's one of my favorite corals and it sucks seeing him closed and agitated all the time. How's your goniopora doing now? Did he get used to the clown or did the clown leave him alone?

[seabass]

She's definitely looking for a host.  How big is your tank?  Is there enough room for a BTA?

[WV Reefer]

58 minutes ago, oceanboy said:

It's pretty annoying to be honest. My goni's one of my favorite corals and it sucks seeing him closed and agitated all the time. How's your goniopora doing now? Did he get used to the clown or did the clown leave him alone?

It finally accepted the clown..... but it was pissed for awhile. 

 

 But he has now moved on to my Paly patch. Weirdo. 

[oceanboy]

19 minutes ago, seabass said:

She's definitely looking for a host.  How big is your tank?  Is there enough room for a BTA?

It's only a 15 gallon. Is that too small for a BTA? I've always wanted one and I've had the tank running for almost a year now  but was afraid it would move around and cause trouble

[RustyRocket]

2 minutes ago, oceanboy said:

It's only a 15 gallon. Is that too small for a BTA? I've always wanted one and I've had the tank running for almost a year now  but was afraid it would move around and cause trouble

If you're tank is a few years on and haven't had any large swings or crashes, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But if not, just go with caution and research :) anything is possible. But there are haters out there, just saying. 

How about just moving the Goni? I've had my clowns host my toadstools and annoying the crap out of them. Literally polyps would die off. I've had enough of them biting me everytime I do maintenance so I ditched the clowns. 

[seabass]

In theory, it might be a little too small.  However, I know people with smaller tanks that keep them.  IME, they don't really move around unless something pisses them off.  Are you willing to upgrade your tank down the road if it grows too large?

[oceanboy]

11 minutes ago, seabass said:

 Are you willing to upgrade your tank down the road if it grows too large?

I've already been thinking about upgrading to a larger size 😄. I'd like to move up to a 40 gallon within the next year, depending on when I outgrow my 15g. However the only thing I'm worried about is the BTA running around because there isn't much room for him to move around without hurting anything (there's a coral every 4 inches or so). What's the best way too make sure it doesn't do any damage when I first get it? Should I just place it in the liverock and observe it carefully for the first day or should I protect the other corals in some way?

[seabass]

That's a good question.  Not only do you need room for it, but it has to be a place that it likes.  Sounds like that might be hard to come by.  You might want to wait until you upgrade and have some new rock for it.  Then once it has settled, you can add a few more corals.