Could clownfish get poisoned/high by nipping on hammer coral?

[Scissorhand]

This is perhaps an odd question.

But my clownfish who had started to hang out in the hammer coral sometimes swims a bit funny with his mouth kinda hangs open.

I've caught him often times putting a tentacle of the hammer in his mouth, and then spits it out. Is this just playful behavior/habit, like kid sucking on his thumb?

He's still eating and bites me whenever he gets the chance, but I don't know, his swimming behavior just looks a bit odd, sometimes lethargic.

He would also try to lie in the hammer head like it were a bed.

Reason I ask is because I understand sometimes corals contain toxin, correct? such as zoanthids? So if he keeps on chewing on it, would it act as some kind of drug/hallucinogen? Hah hah. Just trying to see if others had similar experience.

thanks.

here he is:

 

[roblack]

I believe they do become intoxicated by more poisonous corals. For example. my friend had a pair that acted high all the time after he picked up a carpet anemone, and they would hardly ever come out of it, except to eat. They wallowed in it like it was their little opium den. I truly believe that anemone fish catch a buzz off the more potent corals, whereas other fish are disabled and harmed. Many drugs that people use are actually toxic, so this is not far fetched to me. Don't smoke your hammer coral though!

 

[ezcompany]

my true perc was not able to close its mouth after hosting a frogspawn coral.

 

[Scissorhand]

dang, that doesn't sound too promising.

should I remove the hammer coral guys? any people with longer experience with clowns hosting in frogspawn or hammer? I don't want to remove his favorite hang-out place, but at the same time if it doesn't benefit his health then I guess I have no choice.

how come I haven't heard of this issue more often? I'd imagine a lot of people have clowns and lps in the same tank.

thanks roblack & ez.

 

[fish02]

I had a clown that hosted my hammer coral for about 5 months doing the whole tenticle in the mouth thing and all and never had a problem kinda cool to watch. No my picasso does the same thing and no problems, even sleeps in one of the hammers "butt cracks" at night.

 

[Slakker]

Shouldn't harm the fish. I would think that the mouth problem was pretty unrelated to hosting the hammer...probably just an injury that happened around the same time.

Many people have clowns that host Euphylllia corals without issue.

 

[Scissorhand]

Thanks fish02 and Slakker. I guess I'll keep that "house" for him.

 

[Tyler.L]

it shouldnt be hosting the coral it can do the coral more harm and eventually it could just die from stress from the clowns hosting it. i say lose the coral and pick something else up...

 

[Fish'InMN]

Our true percs host in a hammer and the female was caught doing the same thing only a month or so ago.

Now, she and her mate are doing very well, and she has stopped sucking on the hammer polyps. Only issues lately have been them knocking the hammer into the sand when they get too aggressive with cleaning the skeleton. But that was fixed this weekend with some epoxy.

Cheers,
Marty

 

[Scissorhand]

The hammer coral is very healthy. I think some LPS are more tolerant of this behavior than others. The open brain that I had didn't really like this and some tissue receded. That's why I was very glad when the clown decided to move over to the hammer.

 

[Slakker]

Clowns hosting an LPS coral certainly can damage it, and it has absolutely been documented...but some vigilance on the part of the aquarist can prevent it from killing the coral.