Do all clownfish become jerks?

[Coralsdaily]

Bought my clown as a juvenile maybe 8-10 months ago and I'd always think, "wow,,, he's so peaceful", whenever I'd see posts like this.

Just within the last few weeks, he's now started aggressively attacking my hand pretty much every time it's in the water,,, even breached a little to bite me when my had was about an inch above the water when I was attaching ATO fill tube.

Yeah sometime sthey come up like jaws!

 

[Coralsdaily]

I have 6 pairs, and yes. All become jerks. I can watch my one female bite, then spit out a chunk of skin. Another female occasionally jumps out of the water at me when i approach to feed. I constantly have marks on my hands , and right now, one has turned into cellulitis, and im on antibiotics.

Does wearing gloves help at all?

 

[Coralsdaily]

Same. My GSM Felicia is a B*!
Luckily, she always seems to want to get my rings b/c they're shiny. Doesn't hurt, but I still yell Bye Felicia! and shoo her away just as aggressively as she attacks my sapphires!

That’s a nice tip to wear a shiny ring!

 

[Coralsdaily]

My mocha female loves to bite, and already has list of kills: firefish, her male, and possibly my royal gramma.
Question - what breeds are your evil occys? Curious to see if certain breeds are in fact meaner or not.

Good question, hopefully we can get some experts in this thread to express their opinion on breeds vs aggression

 

[Coralsdaily]

My 3 year old Ocellaris just started biting me. Scared the crap out of me when it first happened. Now I try and use something to keep her back if I remember.

Definitely got some bacteria in it, scabbed over kinda weird

Yep, thats my hand too, often get scarred…0

 

[Coralsdaily]

My clown will bite me sometimes. Strangely when I started putting on gloves suddenly she didn't care anymore.

Wonder if they don’t like the smell?

 

[RichReef]

Anytime I have to put my hands in the tank I set a large net in the corner. Every fish vanishes like farts in the wind.

 

[Andreas' Reef]

Any time my hand is in the tank I have to use the net as a shield.

SAME!

 

[Coralsdaily]

Funny thing. I only have one pair of Maroons, and they are the least likely to attack me. And actually, the female, who is about 4 inches, has never attacked me, but the male has.

It’s funny because I have heard of horror stories of maroons killing tankmates, but among all my clowns the maroons are the tamest. They also never leave the 5 cubic inch of the bubbletip anemone space despite a six foot tank space.

 

[Coralsdaily]

In reality, Finding Nemo should have been a snuff film!

So true…. And I try to educate everyone I know that in reality dad would have transfered to “mom”

 

[Coralsdaily]

I only have a pair of oscellaris, and never had a problem with them. I have them for about 5 years. I wonder if it is because I have neither corals nor anemones, or because of the other fish in the tank, but they do not really pay much attention to any other inhabitants and ignore my hand. At night they sleep on the top right top corner of my aquarium. I am not sure I can call them a mated pair, as they do not spawn, unlike my chromis, so maybe their aggression remains minimal. One is quite bigger than the other though.

Interesting, all my clowns are hosting either nems or some sort of lps. Maybe there is something to hosting and aggression

 

[Coralsdaily]

Two 17 year olds and have been model citizens from day one.

Wow! I wonder how long can they live

 

[Sharkbait19]

Wow! I wonder how long can they live

There are reports of 30, 40, and even 50 years for occys. I think maroons also commonly live well into their 40s.

 

[Unitylover]

My female (or soon to be) has started nibbling on my finger, It doesn't hurt, so I wonder If she thinks I have food or maybe she wants to murder me lol.

 

[EricR]

My female (or soon to be) has started nibbling on my finger, It doesn't hurt, so I wonder If she thinks I have food or maybe she wants to murder me lol.

Do clowns raised from juvenile in the absence of any other clown eventually become female or does that only happen in 2+ pairs/groups once dominance starts getting established?

...just wondering if mine is becoming female and if that has anything to do with triggering recent aggression

 

[BContos]

Pre cat, did you ever think, I can get an 8 foot custom tank, with 3/4 inch low iron glass, 3 closed loops, euro bracing and a custom stand, or …….. get the cat.

Hahahaha funny you say that- I got the cat before I got into this hobby but joke and tell everyone "there goes my college tuition running through the house!"

Honestly though he was worth every penny and then some. Hands down the coolest cat I have ever seen!

 

[Unitylover]

Do clowns raised from juvenile in the absence of any other clown eventually become female or does that only happen in 2+ pairs/groups once dominance starts getting established?

...just wondering if mine is becoming female and if that has anything to do with triggering recent aggression

if they're the only one, they will change gender.

 

[MONTANTK]

Like biting knockes vs fingertip?

More like the webs of your fingers vs the finger itself

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Just got my first pair of clowns yesterday - "iced mocha" occ. They SEEM pretty docile... I guess time will tell whether they're going to be nice, or naughty little buggers lol.

 

[kennedysherman]

I’ve had Kylo for 2 maybe 3 years. He will actually eat flakes of food straight from your hand. It’s the cutest thing! But after reading this thread I think it’s safe to assume that it’s a phase he will eventually grow out of..