Does separating clownfish from anemone cause fish stress?

[Mako72]

Hello. I have had a clarkii clownfish for about two years with a small green BTA. I was thinking of removing the anemone due to it stinging nearby corals.
Does getting rid of a BTA traumatize the fish?

 

[velvetelvis]

I think it's probably upsetting for the clownfish, especially if it's a long-established clownfish/anemone pair. If you have any LPS, you may find that the clarkii will try to establish a hosting relationship with them, possibly to the detriment of the corals. Can you move the rock that the BTA is on, or prune back some of the corals that are getting stung?

I will admit that my answer is biased in favor of anemones and clownfish, though, since that's what I'm into...corals, although I love them, are secondary for me.

 

[duncaholic]

yes it will upset your clarki, but not for long if you have plenty of other places like cracks, crevices, or euphyllia type corals for it to host. One other thing to consider though is the fish density of your tank. if your density is high, the clarki will likely displace the territorial c;aim of at least one of your other fish. All in all if your clarki is substantially larger than any of your other fish, it isn't likely that you will have too much in the way of aggresion while it establishes it's new home.