Clownfish just clowning around?

My male True perc has been exhibiting both odd and entertaining behavior.
He will not leave the Hammer coral (The same one that was half dead that I got for free, its doing so much better with new growth now).

He has been swimming through it constantly and wiggling around in the middle of it. (I have seen clowns do this in anemones before and figure its just normal hosting behavior,so I am not worried about it.) The coral shows no signs of stress and in fact look healthier and brighter than before he began to do so. The female is also hosting the Hammer, but not as frequently or vigorously.

What I do find odd is that the small male keeps rubbing his face in the coral and sucking on the tentacles. I noticed that (beginning yesterday) he has been swimming around the hammer with his mouth open. He is eating normally and is energetic, but continues to keep his mouth open as he swims around and through the coral stopping occasionally to suck on the tentacles.

I see no visible parasites or wounds in or around the face, nor does he exhibit any signs of illness whatsoever. I can't say he doesn't show signs of stress as I don't know if this behavior is stress related or not.

Is this normal hosting/mature behavior for a male True Percula clown fish?

Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20 (Has been steady at 20 since tank has started. Water changes have not been able to lower it)
Temp-76
Tank size/age- 55gal/3 months
Clown age- I've owned for over 1 year.
Sump/fuge-both
Skimmer-yes/excalibur

 

If pictures are needed I could try my best to get one.

 

BUMP
Nothing guys?

 

They host more than anemones my black and white is hosting a torch right now I figure they just do what they do lol

 

clowns are funny little critters.. Mine strictly host one of my koralia pumps.. and I know that they like this specific one because after cleaning it, I switched its tank side(it has the flow attachment on the front) and on the hour they were over there harassing it and swimming in its current..

they also decide when im allowed to mess with the tank or not.. If I go in on a bad clown day I get bit like hell in the middle web of my fingers, and if im allowed they rub up against my hand.. I swear they are bi-polar.

 

Lol. That's cute, bi-polar Clowns.
Any clue as to why he would be sucking on the Coral or why his mouth is like this

>(*O*)< (If you have a good imagination, thats what he's doing)

 

Yeah, clowns are weird. My clown hosts in a fake plastic coral and a small piece of live rock. Those clowns sure act like....clowns! hahaha. Hilarious. :-/

 

the suck on the coral to clean it... part of the reason that corals like the clowns to host them is that the clowns do a few things for the coral:
1. Clean parasites and algae off of it
2. Most corals feed off the clowns waste so they add to the growth
3. The clowns will bring real food back to the coral for it to eat.
4. The movement increases the oxygen flow to the coral

Its truly a great symbiotic relationship!

 

Thanks. I dont think any one else picked up that I was asking a legitimate question and not just sharing a cute story, lol.

Why would his mouth be gaping open tho? He just swims around with an open mouth constantly.

 

hmmm lol idk why his mouth would always be open...?
Mine swims with its mouth open once in a while but not all the time.