Are my clown's eating habits normal ?

[Eric55]

I have a male who loves Formula 1 & 2 pellets, nearly-pulverized mysis shrimp, and Cyclopeeze Granules MicroCrabs.

If he is hungry enough he'll take pellets that might be floating on the surface, but he avoids big flakes that also float. I tried dried bloodworms, but they floated so he was not very interested. He prefers for pellet food to sink down to his level in the water. After a few bites of pellet food, he'll swim towards a pellet, sort of try to put it in his mouth (it almost looks like he is kissing it), and then swims away. He might do that once or twice more, then leave the food.

If a piece of mysis floats down, he'll take a bite only if he is really hungry. It seems like he shys away from food that he cannot put in his mouth in a single bite.

The female, on the other hand, eats like a pig.

Does this sound normal?

 

[rkelman]

Sounds like he's a bit picky.. I'd stay away from flakes all together. Phosphate issues.. Mine won't eat bloodworms either. (most of my fish don't like them) They like formula 1 but not formula 2. They don't really care for mysis as much as brine.. You can get some really good brine that are vitamin enriched. I think he's normal. His habits sound very similar to my experience.

 

[ACBlinky]

My maroon pair is the same, though reversed; the female is extremely picky, the male is a hog. He'll eat frozen, flake, pellets, anything in any size, provided it's not huge chunks. His mate, OTOH, likes Prime Reef flakes above all else, and only those that are dainty and bite-sized. Getting her to accept mysis at all has been a challenge, and most everything else isn't even considered. He'll eat off the surface, in midwater and off the bottom, but she'll usually only accept food that floats nearby in the water column.

Clowns are definitely funny fish, and I really don't think there's any behaviour a healthy clown can exhibit that's not 'normal'... for a clownfish.