Corals Eating Fish

[snorkel]

Who has any knowledge of how common it is for corals to eat fish in an aquarium? I have heard it can happen. To get specific I have a hawk fish who of course spends his life perching on everything in the reef. I also have a number of corals that open up fully with sticky tentacles that can grab my finger with a decent amount of suction, surely enough to restrain the little hawk fish. Is it reasonable to assume that he might get caught and eaten? Or not? These corals have gotten a lot bigger since I added them, and now it appears that they could consume most any fish in the reef if given the chance. Thanks in advance or the feedback.[/i]

 

[cdeakle]

It would help to know exactly what corals you have?

 

[danlu_gt]

yes, I have lost many fish to an elephant ear. Then I took the elephant ear bak to my LFS.

 

[ChrisV]

I have problems keeping fish with my metallic mushrooms, I am accually fishless in one tank because of this... Keeping the mushrooms well fed with jumbo shrimp seems to help, but somtimes I still lose fish to them.

Green carpet's can swallow a fish too right?

-CV

 

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah, I see posts all the time "My carpet anemone ate my fish."

 

[snorkel]

The coral that I believe could eat my hawk fish ar open brains. The one that seems most able to eat him because it opens the largest (much larger than the fish) is this kind: www.aquariumarts.com/openbraincoral.jpeg


Should I worry? Its my girlfriend's favorite fish, so I am trying to be cautious, thanks very much for the feedback.

 

[snorkel]

This is probably obvious, but I should point out that this picture is of the coral closed, and at night it opens up wide with big sticky pits and tenticles.

 

[snorkel]

any takers?

 

[Juck]

I really doubt an open brain could snag a fish. I have a large open brain and my firefish steal food out of it's tentacles on a regular basis.

I don't think I've ever heard of metallic mushrooms catching and eating fish either.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm with Juck on this one...I think you'll be fine.

 

[snorkel]

thanks. The reason I was thinking about this was becuase the hawk fish perches on everything, unike other fish.

 

[_range_]

I've had a few kinds of hawkfish in my tank with open brains, and never seen them rest on the brains - you should be fine

 

[snorkel]

thanks for that direct evidence. they must know not to mess with certain corals.