I've watched clowns rip tentacles off and not in a nice way
I think your putting too much into just how they "feel" about their host
(little pricks, be nice
)
Wow, really?
It seems counterproductive from an evolutionary standpoint. Kind of like tearing down your own house. That behavior wouldn't contribute to longevity of a species. Those with less protection are more likely to be eaten and their genes being lost from the pool; thus snuffing out that destructive behavior.
As much as I like clownfish and their cute and charming antics, I also understand that almost all of what thy do is prewired in them for survival which has developed over millenia. The need to host and bond with an anemone varies with the clownfish species, but even my little Ocellaris strongly bonded with their fake plastic anemone. They would clean it of algae and "feed" it by pushing flake food onto its' fake mouth.
I'm sure that you, Mike, and others have seen destructive clowns, but it make me wonder if the fish was not compromised in some way (like a rabid dog biting its master), or the behavior was stress related (mother animals will sometimes kill their young when stressed). Being captured and put into a tiny tank with a gazillion noses pressing up on the glass has got to be disconcerting. :-
It would make an interesting behavioral study; to see if destructive clowns increased their rate of nipping/biting of the anemone when people were near the tank. OK, I'm going off into zoological geekiness, sorry. I just find it interesting, albeit sad, that the clown should "bite the hand" that protects it. Just doesn't make good evolutionary sense.
) so now when I turn on the lights in the morning they are laying in the anthelia. Once they notice the lights on, they bury them selfs really deep into it just like how most people don't want to get up till 9:00 or 10:00 
