Tail slapping

[twiggyb]

What does it mean when my clownfish is putting the smack down on the sand? Almost like its sweeping the ground quickly

 

[Toddrtrex]

It could be pre-spawning behavior, or it could be them trying to annoy you. Seems like most clowns will do that to some degree. IME, Maroons and Clarkiis are the worst at it.

 

[twiggyb]

these are just common clowns, I would put the latin name, but I'm bad at remembering how to spell them lol, its the O. one

 

[MarineFlake]

Normal behaviour IME.

 

[twiggyb]

Sprite on. Thanks for the info

 

[clowns101]

My tomatos do tihs very bad.Causes the anemone to move too.

 

[twiggyb]

Interesting, it's entertaining to watch, but I don't like the dip they're making in my sand. Oh well

 

[clowns101]

All I do is take my mag float and push it all back down.

 

[pimpman75]

is it scratching cuz if it is it can be ich

 

[twiggyb]

No it's not scratching, just smacking the sand around with it's tail. They're on and off with it. One week they'll do it alot and the next be swimming around the tank looking curiously at everything. I think it's just showin off protecting it's territory. It always gives the hermits dirty "looks" and follows it til it leaves the area. Kinda funny

 

[csdavis]

It is common to see clowns do it especially if they are not hosting anything, it is kind of their way of clearing sand for a little place to relax. I have also see them do it just a way to aqua-scape their territory. It is really cool to watch if you have a Jawfish or some other type of borrowing fish, they tend to have issues since one is digging and the other is usually covering up the same spot .

 

[Arkayology]

My clown likes to tail-slap me when my hand is in the tank. It is funny I guess, he is always very curious as to what I am doing.

 

[twiggyb]

Mine are scaredy cats right now, I'm sure when they get older they'll be more aggresive

 

[TRichardson79]

My True Percs are bad about this. They have cleared out a rather large spot all the way down to the glass. I push it back over and they move it out making an even bigger spot. Thinking about putting in some larger grain sand so they can't clear it out.

 

[twiggyb]

one is starting to dig a crater into my sand bed now, it's entertaining to watch, hopefully they don't do it to the glass

 

[gonzobob]

My clown likes to tail-slap me when my hand is in the tank. It is funny I guess, he is always very curious as to what I am doing.

My GSM does the same. If I just stick the tip of my finger in the tank she will swim up to it, turn tail, back up and start swinging with her tail.