Help! Clownfish pecking torch coral????

[Cassian]

my clownfish started pecking my two torch corals all of a sudden this morning. it is a naked cinnamon clown and it is supposed to be reef safe. do I nee to remove her or is this normal behavior? could she be cleaning it like some clownfish do to their anemone?

 

[James M]

Probably developing sting cells. How is your torch reacting ?

 

[Cassian]

Probably developing sting cells. How is your torch reacting ?

it was closed up but thats because the lights were off. it is coming out now. what do you mean by developing sting cells? never heard of that.

 

[SDK]

I have a Darwin Clown that did that with a two head torch before it wound up hosting the clown. They now get on fine and the torch normally expands close to the size of a baseball. This particular clown does not aggressively hide within the torch, so your mileage may vary. From what I understand it's variable how an LPS coral will react to hosting. I wouldn't do anything just yet, but keep a close eye on the situation...

 

[Cassian]

I have a Darwin Clown that did that with a two head torch before it wound up hosting the clown. They now get on fine and the torch normally expands close to the size of a baseball. This particular clown does not aggressively hide within the torch, so your mileage may vary. From what I understand it's variable how an LPS coral will react to hosting. I wouldn't do anything just yet, but keep a close eye on the situation...

thank you. I just found this weird because this clownfish has hosted in the torch and my hammer for months.

 

[SDK]

thank you. I just found this weird because this clownfish has hosted in the torch and my hammer for months.

You're welcome. I don't think it's anything to worry about, as long as it's "pecking" and not "eating or tearing". If the behavior continues let the torches reaction dictate how you move forward....