clownfish and long tentacle plate!?

hey guys! i purchased this pair of tomato or fire clown yesterday... and they already hosted my long tentacle plate coral... is this normal?? is it safe for them to host it??? or should i take out the plate coral???
thanks guys!

 

well... as long as you don't see any problems arising from that, then i think it should be fine.
i heard clowns are picky when hosting something, so if they hosted the coral i don't think there should be any problem. but wait to see more comments and then make your decision.

 

thanks for the reply mate!

 

the main thing i see is the chance of the clowns damaging it..LTP's have very delicate flesh and the slightest bump against it's skeleton could tear it..if they're not rough with it everything should be okay

 

On top of the fact clowns can be rough with their hosts long tentacle plate corals (heliofungia) can be difficult to keep, make sure you're familiar with their care requirements. Good luck!

 

They will at some point kill it , Clowns need to be kept with anemones not corals I my self would not keep either in a community reef coral tank. What will happen is the pair will want to spawn and the plate will not be in a location to the liking of the clowns and they will nip at the tentacle tips to agitate the animal to force it to move to a location of their liking , now thats fine for an anemone as the anemone animal has evolved that way, but the plate will not understand the gesture and can not move all that fast or far and can in no way walk up on a higher rock only thing a plate can do is walk off one .. And Tomato clowns are very aggressive ..

 

thanks guys!maybe ill consider getting an anemone then! will tomato clown host BTA??

 

Clowns may host in anything, there's no guarantees they will even host in anything at all. Here's an article about their natural/most likely host anemone species.
clowns_anemones

 

thanks mate!

 

ya just this week my clowns hosted a green w/ pink tip 3 headed hammer coral, after their anemone got sick and died. kinda weird, but what ever floats their boat. just keep a eye on your plate. the clown like to almost nurse on the tentacles of anemones, it they decide to do the same to your L.T.p. coral, it wont take much to rip it off. my idea would be: take the plate coral out and set it in a holding tank for a few days to a week and get a anemone if possible(if you already dont have one) then just wait til your clowns decide to use the anemone. they will soon relies that the anemone is more compatible for them.

I plan to do the same when i get money for a new anemone
GOOD LUCK