Clownfish behavior

[slam308]

Hi All,
Our tank has been up and running since Christmas. We've had an O. clown and a chromis in there alone (except for snails and hermits) since the middle of Feb.
My question...recently, when I put my hand in the tank to clean, etc, the clown will come up and try to bite me. Since it has been 2 months with just the two of them, should I be worried about trying to add other fish? I'm thinking of going with a Rainford's goby and/or algae blenny, and/or cleaner shrimp next.
Between setting up a QT tank and a vacation, we haven't added anything new in two months. Do I have cause to worry??
Also consider I'll want to quarantee anything new for at least a month before introducing it into the tank, adding to their total "alone time" and making it at least three months since somebody new's been added.

 

[JohnnyW]

Our pair of Occeralis Clowns in one of our Aquapods do the same thing all of the time. We used to have a couple green chromis in there along with a bicolor blenny. It was about 4 or 5 months before we added a Scarlet Skunk cleaner shrimp in the tank as well. There were no problems at all between any of them at all. We also have a bunch of soft corals in there as well.
You are on the right track by having a QT tank to start everything in. Wish we would have been able to do that back when we first started. Just remember not to treat the QT with most meds while a cleaner shrimp is in there.
Some Occeralis clowns are just like that, they nip at my hands all the time, but I think it is more playful and acting like "hey, wheres the food at?"
I am sure that you will get some other opinions from more experienced people, but I figured I would give you a little input since I have almost the same setup.

 

[slam308]

Thanks Johnny,
Just wondering if it was my hand, or if I would have the same problem with other fish. I don't want to put anything in there knowing that they'll be beat up as soon as they hit the water.

 

[JohnnyW]

I have a cleaner shrimp in two of our 4 display tanks so far, they like to have a cave or an overhang so that they can set up their cleaner station. Whenever my hand goes near them, they like to give a free manicure. LOL.
The blenny likes to have plenty of hiding spots. When we got him, he was hiding in a large snail shell, so we got the shell to go with him and 7 months later he still loves hiding in that shell. He scoots just about everywhere and loves perching on mushrooms and just watching everything. Trust me, if the clowns get anywhere near aggressive with him, he is plenty fast to defend himself.
Our chromis are gone in that tank now, but it has been about 9 months since they all have been in there and I have had no problems between any of them.