Clown hates me

[SALTYwaterDOG]

I have a clown that exhibits extreme aggression towards me inparticular. None of the rest of the family gets attacked so viciously. She go's absolutely nuts,like a rabid paranha.bitting and darting around the tank. Yesterday I was doing maintenance as usual she was trying very hard to get me. My hand got near the top and she jumped for it. Three feet or so in to the wall,hitting the ato reservoir on the way down. It was a nasty fall. I scooped her up and put'er back in to the tank. That took the wind out of her sail's.as she swam in circles for about an hour.it seems as though she has made a full recovery and is acting normal. Why does she single me out for such treatment? Is there a way to repair our relationship? Or should I just accept the fact she hates me

 

[NailsInside]

Try hand feeding, she may feel like your hand is invading her territory, so naturally she will attack. My female clown does the same to me, her bite is pretty rough.

Hopefully by hand feeding she will begin to recognise your hand as non-threatening. This worked with my blenny, who now happily sits in my hand without any food, I'm working on this with my female clown who isn't as aggressive as she used to be.

Good luck

 

[Sounds Fishy]

I have a female Tomato clown that will chew holes in your arms if your not wearing gloves.It's nothing personal,she just feels threatened and is aggressively protecting her territory.She has developed a rather large ego(...if fish had egos...do fish have egos? )

 

[SALTYwaterDOG]

Thank for the reasherance guys. I'm going to keep working with her. I just don't understand why my wife and to daughters can feed this fish by hand ,and I can't get close to the tank with out it going nuts. It really does seem to not like me for some reason.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

About how old are your clowns? Or I should say what kind and how long are they?

There is a thread floating around here about clown aggression.

My Percula pair are maybe 2" her a little more him a little less and they are fine with the exception that he hates the glass cleaner LOL

 

[davocean]

Yes, type might give some insight.
I had a maroon that was pretty mean, but she was especially flared up when my red headed neighbor came over wearing a red sweater as well.
I've heard it said fish don't see red, perhaps that means red light, because she certainly saw red w/ that girl.
That same maroon also launched at me and hit the floor too.
I keep suggesting this trick, maybe people think I'm nutty, but when I wore my stainless dive watch she hit her reflection in that watch, and not me.
It became part of tank maintenance to put on that watch, and ended blood drawing bites.
It was actually kind of funny, knowing I could relax, and she'd just bump that watch over and over.
Any shiny bracelet for a shield would do, as long as reef safe of course.

 

[SALTYwaterDOG]

I have a single clown that is probably 3.5 in. Im pretty sure it a ocellaris she was a rescue from a crashing tank. So no idea on her age. She must be old because she sure is crotchety. lol. May be a boy friend would help.I recently got her a BTA because she was loving some the corals to death. Never thought of a distraction or a shield like a watch.that a good idea. Once in awhile she draws blood as well, making maintenance a nightmare. I wanted to re home her but now the wife and kids love it. So imGoing to have to figure something out for her.

 

[davocean]

They usually go ballistic over their own reflection.

 

[NailsInside]

Thank for the reasherance guys. I'm going to keep working with her. I just don't understand why my wife and to daughters can feed this fish by hand ,and I can't get close to the tank with out it going nuts. It really does seem to not like me for some reason.

Total speculation here, but maybe she can differentiate your hand from the others. I assume you're the one that does all the tank maintenance which would naturally stress her out a bit - she sees your hand in the tank or near the tank more often and usually it's when you've got to fix something inside etc etc (disturbing/threatening her territory or whatever)...
...Provided that you are the main caretaker of the tank haha. Again total speculation, not idea if the above theory is viable, but sounds pretty good right? Haha

Try hand feeding, show her that your hands don't always mean bad news

 

[addictedreefer]

My advice will be a bit different than the others. IME, you should not try to placate the clown, but rather show it who's boss. My mated ocellaris pair started to attack my hands when in the tank. After a while, when they showed aggression I would chase them back to their anemone with my hand and give them a firm "bump" if they were away from the nem. Then I would return to my work. After 3-4 such episodes, I have not had any problems, even when they are tending a nest full of eggs. This makes sense, as it is the way of nature. Animals respect dominance and need to work it out through conflict, most of which is pure display and nobody gets hurt. They don't offer food to each other in order to appease.

 

[davocean]

^^ I would not do that, most likely she will just become even more mean.

 

[addictedreefer]

^^ I would not do that, most likely she will just become even more mean.

Basis? When clowns fight for dominance, the less powerful almost always submits (or is killed). It does not become more aggressive.

 

[addictedreefer]

I should also advise that I have used this approach to significant success with other aggressive fish, including triggers and tangs. I make it very clear that I am the sheriff in my tanks and attribute my fish's lack of aggression toward me to that approach.

 

[davocean]

Based on about 30 years of clownfish keeping and trying this out of frustration way back when, that and a whole lot of posts read by other experienced clown keepers.
You will never beat them into submission.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Whatever works for ya Daveocean but Addictedreefer is correct :thumbsup: In the animal world and in their way of thinking it's about pecking order or most to least dominate. They will never get it if you try and get them to understand like people do, it simply doesn't work in the animal world. It doesn't take much to get the point across to a fish that is less then 6"

 

[addictedreefer]

I should also clarify, that I am not saying that there are not certain bad*** clowns out there that are just suicidal. I am just saying that it has worked for me and should typically work for others.

 

[davocean]

Animals may have their pecking order, that I agree, but if you think chasing your fish, flicking or bumping them will somehow get them to understand that you are trying to teach them a lesson, or that it will calm them down, and they will actually behave afterwards, I think you will most likely come to realize it only makes it worse.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Dave, it doesn't work quite that way. There is a lot more into animal behavior than just reprimand. I trained retrievers for over 20 years and had to constantly "fix" issues created by people who thought they were doing right be "teaching" them like they did their children. LMAO it doesn't work quite that way. I'm going to leave it at that.

 

[davocean]

Well you are comparing a dog to a fish, when you teach that fish to roll over or sit, I'll be all ears man!

 

[addictedreefer]

Animals may have their pecking order, that I agree, but if you think chasing your fish, flicking or bumping them will somehow get them to understand that you are trying to teach them a lesson, or that it will calm them down, and they will actually behave afterwards, I think you will most likely come to realize it only makes it worse.

I think the fundamental disconnect here is that we are not saying that we are chasing or bumping the fish to "teach them a lesson." I totally agree that fish do not understand the concept of punishment or cause and effect. Rather it is a matter of establishing dominance, which clownfish very clearly do understand.