Clownfish Gone Mad?

[ChitownRomeo]

So I have had the same clowns for 6 years. Lately it's like they have went nuts! No matter what I put in the tank they attack it to death. It started with some Duncans. They attacked it CONSTANTLY! Smashed their faces into it and started grabbing the tentacles and snatching them. The 9 headed duncan died. Then I added some Candy cane corals and some birds nest coral. They did the same thing. CONSTANTLY attacking the candy canes and always picking at the birds nest. And just today a friend gave me 2 cleaner shrimp since he was moving. They attacked them over and over again. Turned the lights on tonight and both shrimp are dead. They are in a big 90 gallon and they are hosting a huge leather so i'm sure it's not a hosting issue. After all these years the clowns just might have to go. They won't allow me to put anything in with them. Any advice?

 

[DaveK]

Clowns look really cute and are very colorful when little. However as they grow and mature, they tend to become very aggressive and territorial, not unlike FW cichlids. So that's why you have your current issue. They likely look at your entire tank as their territory.

In my own experience, I've never seen them reform, and I think your options are going to be exchange them for some other fish or just accept that you can't put anything with them.

If your talking about adding fish you could try totally rearranging the tank before you add something new, or you might get away with fish that are much bigger and able to take care of themselves.

With corals, I don't think you'll be able to do much about that, since a coral can't run away and hide.

 

[ChitownRomeo]

Do you think I'm not feeding them enough and they are trying to get food from the corals or something. I feed them once a day. After having them so long I would hate to get rid of them but they are destroying everything I add and it's just a waste of money. And the funny part is a few years ago before I redid the tank they didn't bother not one coral or anything. It was 3 9 headed duncans and alot of other stuff and no problem. But ah like you said as they matured they got crazy lol.

 

[Nobbygas]

Whenever I add new fish I attempt to change the scape a bit, so there is a 'new territory'. The best way to do this is to use plastic piping, just like the stuff people put in their hospital tanks. Just weigh down some bits of this piping to change the scape. Then the fish have more to worry about than just having a new boy on the block! It's easy to take out after a couple of days. This way there is no need to move rocks, corals etc.

 

[DaveK]

I doubt if your underfeeding them. Clowns can find a lot to eat in the tank. Fish are almost always hungry and will eat anything they like when they can.

 

[Blue Space]

Best bet is to remove the fish temporarily. A longer stay in a QT tank would be even better. Temperature acclimate the fish just like moving to any new water. Use this time to totally re-arrange the tank. The habitat needs to be brand-new to them. Get some new pieces of live rock if you can. Turn the other pieces you had upside down or orient them differently. Add whatever new coral or fish to the tank and let them get settled before adding your clowns back in.