Do Corals Provide Neurological Benefits to Fish?

[BeardPoseidon]

So I’ve had one Ocellaris in my 10 gallon tank since May. The tank had just finished cycling and I put him in there with a cleanup crew and one coral back in May. Within two weeks a I added more coral and several Rock Flower Anemones. 
 

The Ocellaris is the only fish in the tank, and I’ve recently read that clownfish will sulk or go through depression if they’re alone. 
Throughout this entire time he has not shown any signs of depression or lethargy. He’s very active, responsive, and just happily going around the tank hoping to find a copepod. He also never shows any signs of stress; he doesn’t swim erratically or anything like that. 

 

I’m wondering if the amount of other life in the tank (corals and anemones) provide a neurological benefit in which he doesn’t suffer from depression or other characteristics of a lonely fish. 
 

Not sure if this has been discussed before, and google didn’t yield anything on the subject. 

[seabass]

I have no idea.  I wouldn't think they experience loneliness the same way that we do.

 

Rock Flower Anemones aren't host anemones, so they probably don't help or hurt the fish's view of its environment.  A BTA would likely affect their behavior, and the fish would likely eventually choose to hang out in the host.

 

A mate would definitely affect their behavior.  I typically view it as a positive, as their instincts are to find a mate.

 

Aggressive tank mates or even competing fish of the same species may be stressful.  While ample territory, clean water, enough nutritional food should all help it feel more comfortable.

[Clown79]

My clown in my 20g was alone in a 10g for almost a year. He was active but also preferred staying in 1 area, acted very skittish.

I then added a blenny and he became far more active, hung out with the blenny like mates, and his skittish behavior went away.

 he was most recently  a 20g with a damsel which he didn't overly care for, there was aggressive behaviour from him at times so i moved the damsel to my other tank.

Since he is now alone again, he has definitely acted differently. Stays in 1 area, not swimming throughout the tank, and his skittish behaviour has reappeared.

 

Its not a natural environment, fish are around fish in the ocean and often when there are no fish around, its usually because they are hiding from predators