Clownfish mouthing zoanthids?

[TheStrangler]

Hello, I just noticed some somewhat odd behavior and was wondering if anyone had any insight or had seen this before. I just watched my clown, not quite nip, but mouth one of my zoanthids. It very clearly had the edges in its mouth and looked as though it was taking a couple of bites, but it didn't do any damage at all. I figured that maybe the zoanthid had caught some food that the clown had wanted, but a few minutes later it did it again. The zoas are fine, they closed up for about 1 minute then opened back up. No damage or anything, it looked more like tooth brushing than a bite with intent to eat. Just curious if anyone had ever witnessed the same thing before.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Hello, I just noticed some somewhat odd behavior and was wondering if anyone had any insight or had seen this before. I just watched my clown, not quite nip, but mouth one of my zoanthids. It very clearly had the edges in its mouth and looked as though it was taking a couple of bites, but it didn't do any damage at all. I figured that maybe the zoanthid had caught some food that the clown had wanted, but a few minutes later it did it again. The zoas are fine, they closed up for about 1 minute then opened back up. No damage or anything, it looked more like tooth brushing than a bite with intent to eat. Just curious if anyone had ever witnessed the same thing before.

Is there a nem in the tank?

I ask, as this is typical behavior for clowns when they attempt to let a nem host them. They lightly mouth the tents to see a reaction and if the nem retracts.

it may be doing this to the zoas, as it is looking for them to let it host it.

 

[TheStrangler]

Oh thats interesting! No there isn't a nem currently.

 

[mdb_talon]

Could also be pods in the zoas it is trying to eat.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Oh thats interesting! No there isn't a nem currently.

Then more than likely what it is doing. It won’t hurt a thing doing that.

 

[TheStrangler]

Could also be pods in the zoas it is trying to eat.

I thought maybe a piece of frozen food, or pods might have gotten nabbed by the zoa, but after a closer look (the second time) there was not. It was just kind of gently mouthing the tentacles.

Then more than likely what it is doing. It won’t hurt a thing doing that.

Thanks for letting me know! I wasn't very concerned about the zoa given how quickly it bounced back and the lack of any real damage. I was just more curious about the behavior. Maybe it'd be worth getting my clowns a BTA to see if they'd like it. I knew getting an anemone and hoping clowns would host it can be a futile battle, but maybe its worth a shot if they're showing signs of looking for a home.

 

[mvbrandt]

This was a good thread to find; my clowns decided quite a while ago to host in one of my big zoa gardens, and I'm sitting here and seeing the gal just gumming one Zoa at a time. It's adorable, but I definitely had a bit of a "what the heck" moment about it.