very aggressive (towards me) female clown...normal?

[JonsReef]

I have a 4+ year old clown pair that (until recently) have been model inhabitants. they even eat mysis and such directly from my hands. they swim together all day but usually sleep separately.

in the last few weeks, the female has been hosting good size (8-10" in diameter) colony of yellow polyps. during that time, she has become somewhat aggressive towards the male (saw them bickering today) and any hermits or snails that wander by, but especially towards me if i get close to the tank. if i lean over the tank with the lid open, she will quickly swim to the top towards me. if i act like i am going to place my hand anywhere in the tank (god forbid i want to move a coral!), she darts at me immediately to the point of jumping out of the water (literally). if i actually do put my hand in the water, she will bite at it constantly until i remove it from the tank.

i don't want to stress her out but i do need to clean the glass, move frags, etc.

is this behavior normal???

 

[LoveTheReef]

my female clown is EXACTLY the same way. She mellowed out a lot after we got them a wellso they can host in; but before that, I could not put my hand in the tank without getting bit a few times.

 

[dz6t]

It is normal. You shold come see my big maroon clownfish, her name is "bitsy" (named by my daughter) because she bites people.

 

[newenglandreef]

Sounds like post-honeymoon marital bliss! Might be some babies on the way...

 

[dannyp02908]

Agree. Perfectly normal. My female has jumped out of water and bit me in the eye.

 

[dz6t]

Agree. Perfectly normal. My female has jumped out of water and bit me in the eye.

That will hurt..

 

[Ellabug]

They might even have a nest in there that they are guarding. Totally normal behavior for clowns

 

[Acan Sam]

Maroon and tomatoes can actually draw blood, My Snowflake and black and white attack me whenever i reach in their tank, they are jerks LOL

 

[dannyp02908]

Agree with above as well. I have 2 percs and 2 black occellaris. The percs pay me no mind but the occellaris has gotten a little blood. Recently, the male likes to grab between my fingers and pull. That hurts.

 

[yomibro]

My female clown has been doing the same thing for about 6 weeks now, before it never bothered me when I put my hand in the tank but not every chance she gets she will try to bite my hand. I reduced my feeding from once a day to every three days, maybe she is trying to tell me something.

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

My female bites as well so I always wear thick gloves. She is the only clown in the tank since she killed my two attempts at finding her a mate. I don't think the biting has anything to do with eggs, sometimes they are just mean.

 

[Ruge13]

Agree. Perfectly normal. My female has jumped out of water and bit me in the eye.

agree 100% with this. Establishing territory is a good thing. When mine did this its because of eggs on the way or already there and you just don't see them. With mine the male guards the eggs while the female attacks everything near it.

 

[P-Nut]

Its the hormones. Females get aggressive with age....Oh crap...wrong type of female...JK

 

[Platehead]

Momma clown attacks my son every time he puts his hand near her frog spawn. She doesn't seem to bother with me.